A rational standard for morality

Submitted by Ralph C. Whaley MD (United States), Apr 15, 2010 at 18:00

Lactantius Jr.

Thank you for your comments. Religion is a superstiton. I t has no referents in reality. All serious religionist agree that Faith is the essence of religion. Faith is a belief in the absence of evidence or in controversion of evidence. The attributes given to the mystical being of God are fantasies such as omni-presence, omnipotence( the ability to bring matter into existence ex-nihilo or send it out of existence).

Contrary to your view that without a foundation of Belief in God no standard of the good can be identified. Ayn Rand cites the facts of reality that give rise to the concept of value(living organisms). Humans are the only living organism's that have no automatic means of preserving or promoting their lives because they are rational animals, tabula rassa at birth, who survive not by strength of muscles, sharp teeth or claws but by using their faculty of reason to learn what their lives require and bring those values into existence by productive work. In short the good for man is that which is reqired for the preservation and promotion of his life on earth. Evil is that which opposes them. In sum Faith is anti-reaso , anti-mind, anti-human life. I defend you right to be religious but profoundly disagree with you view in this matter. Fortunately for you, you live in the only country in the world that defends indidvidual rights and makes it safe to be religious, in sharp contrast to all tyrannies including and especially religious ones.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".