The View of God from my Anti-theist bridge: Good

The common argument that ‘religion does a lot of good’ needs to be measured against the consideration that any generally agreed ‘good’ could easily be produced altruistically without the precursor of religious belief. It is perfectly possible to behave in a considerate way simply because it is a reasonable thing to do. Or to help fellow human beings in order to make them happier or more comfortable. Such acts can be performed altruistically, without either the approval of an unseen attendant or the instructions from a holy book.

An often used apologist aphorism in support of religion is “Without God, where do you get your morality?” This should be quite insulting to anyone with only a moderately enquiring mind. In effect, it is saying that we are not competent to fashion our own moral codes, too primitive to use our rational faculties to differentiate between right and wrong. We need to be guided every step of the way. Are we as fodder for the divine shepherd?

“You are created incurably sick and then ordered on pain of death to be well. This is not morality.” (Christopher Hitchens describing God)

Most British people think religion causes more harm than good and atheists “can be just as moral” (as the faithful) according to a survey commissioned by the Huffington Post. (26^th March, 2015). Surprisingly, even among those who describe themselves as “very religious”, 20 per cent say that religion is harmful to society.

“Human decency is not derived from religion. It precedes it.” (Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything).