Morality & Politics

Biblical Morality

There are two Creationist "moral arguments". The first is the argument that atheists are immoral. The second is the argument that the Bible is the source of all morality. As with the atheist morality argument, it is fallacious because the validity of a scientific theory has nothing to do with morality. But it is also factually incorrect, because the Bible is not the source of morality in modern society. Morality is something that people can eventually discern on their own through reason if their minds are uncluttered by dogma, as demonstrated by the universality of certain ethical principles all around the world, with or without Christianity. But more importantly, Biblical morality proponents tend to ignore huge sections of the Bible which preach an absolutely abhorrent view of morality.

You've heard their mantra a thousand times before: "Societal values are breaking down. People don't even read the Bible any more, much less follow it." Or perhaps you've heard something like this: "Schools must do more than merely teach a vocation. They must also teach values and morality, so we need to bring the Bible back into the classroom." Over and over, the right-wingers say the same thing: the Bible is the source of morality. But do you question that claim? Even if you ignore the fact that morality existed in many parts of the world without Christianity, or the fact that Christianity has never been a guarantee of morality (as demonstrated by the medieval Catholics), have you ever examined Biblical morality to see whether it's something people should be proud of?

What kind of morality does the Bible teach? While there are undeniably some nuggets of wisdom hidden in it, the Bible frankly has far too many horrifying messages to be considered the unequivocal and unquestionable source of morality that fundamentalists make it out to be.

Continue to 1. The Ten Commandments

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