Can you produce a moral framework from atheism?

Can you produce a moral framework from atheism? To clarify, this question is not, ‘Are atheists moral?’ Of course, atheists are moral and immoral. Many are excellent people, who live out their moral code with rigour. Others, are deeply immoral, living out their moral code. So, yes, atheists act morally, in a good way. But also, like others, terribly. That is not the issue.

The issue is, can an atheist have a consistent moral framework? Can they answer the question, what is truly good? And what is not? And, the answer is no.

This isn’t my opinion. The considered opinion of Duke philosophy professor Alex Rosenberg in his book The Atheist’s Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life without Illusions is shared below. At the bottom of the list you’ll see his assertions about morality in a universe if there is no God.

  • Is there a God? No.

  • What is the nature of reality? What physics says it is.

  • What is the purpose of the universe? There is none.

  • What is the meaning of life? Ditto.

  • Why am I here? Just dumb luck.

  • Does prayer work? Of course not.

  • Is there a soul? Is it immortal? Are you kidding?

  • Is there free will? Not a chance!

  • What happens when I die? Everything pretty much goes on as before, except us.

  • What is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? There is no moral difference between them.

  • Why should I be moral? Because it makes you feel better than being immoral.

  • Is abortion, euthanasia, suicide, paying taxes, foreign aid, or anything else you don’t like forbidden, permissible, or sometimes obligatory? Anything goes."

This is stark. But it is also the truth. Professor Rosenberg has laid out the logical implications of a world in which ultimate reality is whatever physics says it is. This is the logical and rational position of atheism.

Hone in on that 10th question and answer, ‘What is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? There is no moral difference between them.’ On this basis, you can not create a moral framework. For there are no differences.

And so how do you decide what to do or not do? You do what makes you feel better. As per the 11th statement, ‘Why should I be moral? Because it makes you feel better than being immoral.’

But as we know from different cultures and changing societies feelings constantly change. What was once disgusting and taboo is now relished. What is delighted in one culture is utterly despised in another. Feelings fluctuate. Radically.

Not only that, but what one makes one person feel better may be to the detriment of another. Andrew Tate anyone?

So, why do atheists still act morally, in a good way? Are they going against the grain of reality? If they are right, it seems so. They live against the reality they believe in.

Or could it be, they were created as moral agents by a God who loves justice and mercy? And so despite their intellectual beliefs, they are moral agents. Like all of us.

Once we accept that, we must ask, why we so often fail to meet our own moral framework. Let alone God’s.

*Cited by Rebecca McLaughlin in Confronting Christianity.