Q&A: Atheism and Morality
Atheism and Morality
Question
Based on what you explained about an atheist not being able to be consistent in moral principles because morality is God—does that mean that if I seek the truth and want to adhere to moral principles, I must end up believing in God?? This is a question that really bothers me, and I’d be glad if you would address it.
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. First of all, morality is not God. What is the meaning of this strange identification? What I argue is that morality is grounded in a divine command, and conversely: without such a command there is no morality. What I mean is that when you adhere to moral principles, you are implicitly assuming belief in God. But your wording is not correct: you can’t say that if you want something, you therefore have to arrive at belief. This is not a matter of desire, but of what you actually think. See a fuller explanation in the fourth notebook, in the third part.
If you want to clarify this further, read the reference I gave to the fourth notebook, and afterward explain your point and your question more clearly.
Discussion on Answer
That is not considered belief. Belief is something conscious, and therefore even if you have an implicit belief, it has no religious value. I wrote columns about implicit beliefs—search for them.
There is no certainty about anything, including belief. Belief is a conclusion like any other conclusion. If you think there is a God, then you believe. You do not need certainty for that.
I’ll explain what I meant.
I can’t rely on my own thinking alone, because I don’t have enough knowledge or the intellect to understand theological arguments and so on, like the Rabbi does. So what I’m left with is to rely on smart people who did understand, and I do that out of a desire to reach the truth, not because of what I myself think.
And my question is this: if I consistently follow divine morality, is that considered that I believe in God, even if, for example, in prayer or in anything else, I’m not certain that I’m really talking to someone or that I’m doing God’s will?
Or is that really not enough, and I need to reach a state where the existence of God is one hundred percent clear to me?
Sorry for the unpolished wording, presumably.