The claim is often made that without god, moral relativism is the only possibility, and therefor the Nazis are just as justified in saying their moral perspectives were "good" as the United States would have been in stopping them.
However, I would argue that the extreme atrocities and immoral horrors committed by the Nazis could only occur within the framework of an absolutist moral system (e.g. "This is good/bad because God said so..."). Think about this for a second; In order to justify his crimes, Hitler made absolute assertions without actually evidence. A moral framework the depends upon humankind's empathy, logic, and ability to reason would never allow this to happen. Only when someone asserts complete and total morality, asserting authority arbitrarily (via a god, personal experience, a priori) can these acts occur.
Up till now, I haven't even mentioned atheism yet, and this is the most important point of all: atheism cannot lead to ANYTHING! Atheism is a lack of belief in a single, specific claim (that a god or gods exist). Someone who says that atheism leads to horrible crimes (Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot are the commonly used examples) does not understand what atheism means (or at least isn't interested in understanding). A lack of belief cannot lead to action. If you don't have a personal preference for the color red, and you kill someone who was wearing all red, it is a logical fallacy to conclude that you lack of preference for the color red was the motive behind your killing. Actions are based upon beliefs (not a lack thereof).
Theists often argue that, because someone was an atheist, they don't have morals or an ethical system of any sort. While it is certainly true that atheist have, are, and will continue to commit crimes and sometimes do horrible things (as could be said of any group of people) their atheism is not to blame. If a person doesn't not believe in god, and believes that there is nothing special about humankind and does not value life, and he goes and kills 20 people, his atheism did not lead him to do this. It was his positive belief/assertion that life has no value, which may or may no be consistent with his atheism, but it is not contingent upon it. This is a very important distinction to make. So next time some theist pulls out the old "some of the biggest mass murderers and evil political tyrants of all time were atheists" card, all you need to explain is that atheism has no tenets, no dogma, no commandments or rules or laws. A lack of belief or acceptance of a claim cannot lead to action, whereas positive beliefs can, and that is how we end up with religiously motivated horrors like the Crusades, witch hunts, and suicide bombings.
 |
| Wait a second... |
However, I would argue that the extreme atrocities and immoral horrors committed by the Nazis could only occur within the framework of an absolutist moral system (e.g. "This is good/bad because God said so..."). Think about this for a second; In order to justify his crimes, Hitler made absolute assertions without actually evidence. A moral framework the depends upon humankind's empathy, logic, and ability to reason would never allow this to happen. Only when someone asserts complete and total morality, asserting authority arbitrarily (via a god, personal experience, a priori) can these acts occur.
Up till now, I haven't even mentioned atheism yet, and this is the most important point of all: atheism cannot lead to ANYTHING! Atheism is a lack of belief in a single, specific claim (that a god or gods exist). Someone who says that atheism leads to horrible crimes (Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot are the commonly used examples) does not understand what atheism means (or at least isn't interested in understanding). A lack of belief cannot lead to action. If you don't have a personal preference for the color red, and you kill someone who was wearing all red, it is a logical fallacy to conclude that you lack of preference for the color red was the motive behind your killing. Actions are based upon beliefs (not a lack thereof).
Theists often argue that, because someone was an atheist, they don't have morals or an ethical system of any sort. While it is certainly true that atheist have, are, and will continue to commit crimes and sometimes do horrible things (as could be said of any group of people) their atheism is not to blame. If a person doesn't not believe in god, and believes that there is nothing special about humankind and does not value life, and he goes and kills 20 people, his atheism did not lead him to do this. It was his positive belief/assertion that life has no value, which may or may no be consistent with his atheism, but it is not contingent upon it. This is a very important distinction to make. So next time some theist pulls out the old "some of the biggest mass murderers and evil political tyrants of all time were atheists" card, all you need to explain is that atheism has no tenets, no dogma, no commandments or rules or laws. A lack of belief or acceptance of a claim cannot lead to action, whereas positive beliefs can, and that is how we end up with religiously motivated horrors like the Crusades, witch hunts, and suicide bombings.
