Apparently, John Loftus over at Debunking Atheism has a problem with morality.  He insists he has a reason to state something actually is moral and another thing actually is not moral.  But when you ask him how this could be the case, you’ll quickly find him escape to the realm of It’s-moral-according-to-a-certain-framework which is nothing less than pure relativism and thus not applicable to anyone outside of that relative framework (and thus, not actually moral or immoral).

In point of fact, Mr. Loftus’s “morality” is nothing more than “might makes right.”  Indeed, that is the only kind of morality any atheist can have.

Oh, they’ll couch it in different terms. They’ll say that society dictates the norms of behavior (but which society? Oh, that’s right–the one with the might to enforce it).

Atheists hate this though.  I, for one, can’t understand why they would have such a reaction as the meltdown they go through on the issue of morality (I mean, if they actually believe their atheism what’s the problem?).  They’ll use words like “altruism” “where moral behavior is its own reward.”  But what reward is that?

You’ll “feel” better.

But what if I feel better hacking you to pieces with an axe?  What if I like torturing people?  I would certainly not feel better if I was not allowed to engage in such behavior.  So why should your feeling better mean that you can force your morality on me?

“No, if you feel that way then that is “deviant” behavior–it’s wrong!”  But why is it wrong?  It is only wrong because you feel it is wrong.  If I don’t feel the same way, then I am not violating my own version of morality.  Thus, we are back to square one yet again: might makes right.

There is no way around it, this is the only kind of “morality” that atheists have.  It’s the morality that says that Hitler wasn’t actually evil, that if the majority of the world happened to be Aryan then the moral thing would have been the extermination of the Jews.  Morality, for an atheist, does not exist outside of power.  There is nothing intrinsically good or evil about anything.

So, Mr. Loftus, what reason is there that stops anyone from (to put it as personally as possible) killing you?  If might makes right, then why can’t I force you to agree with me at the point of a gun?  How would that possibly be wrong?  How do your feelings determine reality?

This is all the morality you can muster in atheism.  You force your views on people for the sake of your feelings, so that you can feel better about yourself, and then you self-rationalize it and pretend that it’s how the world will be a better place.  But “better” is a term that is only defined relativistically–it was certainly better for the Nazis if Jews were dead.

Thus, all morality is is an arbitrary rationalization of the projection of power.  You have the power, so you say “This is how you ought to act.”  There is no truth behind that power–it is only the excercize of power. 

Frankly, if this is how morality really is, why bother to even rationalize it?  Why not just live consistently and force your views on everyone you have the power to force them on?  Why even go through the trouble to justify it?