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Entry: What's So Scary About Evolution?--For Both Left and Right, a Lot Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/whats_so_scarry_about_evolution#27323 Post contents: <i>Are you seriously asking me why genocide is wrong? Up to now, this thread has been about the supposed power of religion to PREVENT genocide after it was implicitly granted as wrong--not whether in fact it was wrong at all. </i> Yes, I am. What is your rationale, as an atheist, for saying genocide is wrong? Some extreme version of sociobiology could maintain that genocide is "ok," since competition for limited resources justifies it. After all, you are the one who is making the claim: <i>We have perfectly fine answers for that nonsensical question.</i> So if you don't mind, indulge us with those perfectly fine answers. <i>I am the one who recognizes the value of life--something far more important than the invisible authority of supernatural phantoms, who so conveniently seem only to express themselves through very mortal authority figures who already hold the power of life and death over their subjects.</i> The value of human life? Why is human life valuable, more so than the life of the animals that are killed and eaten every day? Some would argue that human beings are no different in value or worth from other animals, since human beings are animals too. <i>For those who seriously think human life only gains value from God, it logically follows that it has no actual value of its own, and is disposable: nothing more than the presumed will of a god, the lack of the proper omen, etc., is required to justify taking those inherently-worthless lives away. If one thinks life is only special because God says so, it follows that life isn’t special at all. </i> You are failing to make the necessary distinctions here to fully flesh out the Christian defense of life. Perhaps there are still a few divine command theorists who would want to say that human lives are valuable only because "God says so." But I do not think Mr. Piatak or more mainstream Christian understandings would agree with this. You are ascribing a voluntaristic understanding of morality to Christians who do not hold it. Sent at: 2008 12 01