THE EDITOR, Sir:ONE OF the popular lies that has been spread by theologians is that without belief in God, there is no basis for ethics. This was recently asserted by a number of men of the cloth on a T.V. programme hosted by Mr. Ian Boyne.
One suggested that an atheist "would do anything", in other words, that atheists were necessarily devoid of morality.
This, of course, is absolute nonsense. It is in fact the altruistic atheist who is truly moral. For he acts without expectation of any future reward or punishment after life.
I am not at all suggesting that atheists are necessarily moral, but neither are theists. Theists throughout history have done all manner of evil in the name of Jehovah, Jesus, Allah and Zeus.
Atheism only becomes dangerous when it is approached with a religious attitude. Scientific socialists guilty of this attempted to spread their doctrine with evangelical fervour, insisting that it was the absolute and only true way of viewing the world and its history.
It is not surprising that religious belief tends to decline in more highly-educated societies. Yet, these societies, such as Canada and the Northern European countries, have not descended into anarchy. In fact, they tend to have lower crime rates than societies like the United States with powerful theistic traditions.
The people in these countries understand, in ways that we do not, that it is wrong in most cases, to take other people's property away from them, or to kill them, whether or not God says so, and that the consequences of allowing people to do whatever they want to do would be detrimental to everyone. Our own society, might become extinct, not by some act of God, but by natural selection. This, in effect, is what will have happened if it becomes a failed state.
I believe that morality should be taught in our schools in a secular and rational manner. It is obvious that the fear of God preached by so many churches is not working. Our children need to be brought up to understand the Darwinian logic of not doing unto others what we would not have them do unto us. Societies, even among the heathens, have become successful, largely by recognising that such qualities are necessary to the survival of the group.
I am, etc.,
R. HOWARD THOMPSON
C/O Manchester High School,
P.O. Box 137, Mandeville
