Who said that atheists don’t/can’t have a moral code? Not me. (See my previous posts.)

Certainly every atheist is free to make up any moral code they like. The problem though is, if everyone is free to do that and if people make up different moral codes, as they do, who then gets to decide which moral values are “right” and which are “wrong”.

One person says abortion is quite alright, another says it is wrong. One person says paedophilia is quite alright, another says it is wrong. One person says slavery is quite alright, another says . . ., etc.

Who is to say who is correct?

Remember, if atheism is correct, then we can all make up our own moral values.

So, could any of the atheists out there please tell me what basis there is for moral values beyond one’s own personal preferences and opinions.

And please don’t simply attack me, please answer my question.

JP that is an excellent question.

We live in a society with conflicting moral codes. That is nothing new. For instance in the past there was much conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

We all prefer to adhere to different moral codes. I don't think anyone can say that any particular moral code is correct.

The only way to make a democracy work is compromise and tolerance.

Fundamentalism just polarises society to the point where it disintegrates and nothing gets done. It would seem that the US is heading in that direction.

Angie, good luck to you and your family.

All you need to know is that this was your's and your boyfriend's decision, and that it is totally legal.

You are doing what is right for your body, and no one else has the right to force you to carry on with an unwanted pregnancy.

You are certainly very brave to put your thoughts on this subject on twitter though.

Be very careful of all the angry people out there who do not want to accept that abortion is legal.

All the best.

Jp, I did give you a rational basis for a moral code; one which has existed for at least 5 centuries before Jesus adopted it.
I would suggest one of the main reasons God needed to be invented was that people -consciously or unconsciously- realised that if everyone is basically equal, no one had the right to impose their moral code on anyone else; except by majority vote, of course.
Only a God can allow small minorities to impose their moral code on the majority, regardless of the majority's wishes.
Now we are at least on the road to true democracy, and the concept of equality of rights and opportunities for all people is not seen as completely unreasonable, we no longer need a superior arbiter.
We can do it ourselves.
Yes people can make up their own moral code, but when that code impinges on the rights of others, then it must be deemed invalid.
No one has the right to tell Angie what she can or cannot do with her own body, and that includes her unborn baby, as it could not survive without 'forcing' Angie to support it.

pelican,

I bet you have a bidet. A true chardonay socialist.

Frim,

'The concept of treating others as you would have them treat you '
That's a fallacy. I used to live by that, but now I'm older and wiser, I treat others how they would like to be treated where possible. Just because you don't mind when someone does something to you doesn't mean they wont mind if you were to do it to them.

Phil Matimein,

You obviously don't know me well enough. I'm a moral relativist, probably even a nihilist at heart. I believe everyone lives in their own reality.

StG,

'There's a place for it, but tweeting it blow by blow is, well, F%^$#D up IMHO.'

My sentiments exactly. Is there any end to peoples need for attention?

Dougthebear,

'Having an abortion is a private and personal decision'

Apparently not. Times have changed. Now it's entertainment and a ruse for a media career.

JP,

There’s a few points you need to remember.

Firstly, anyone who does good and is kind to others because they fear punishment in the afterlife, deserves no credit for any good they do.

Secondly, an Atheist’s ability to know right from wrong comes from the same place you know how to cherry pick the nice bits of the Bible. Going by your logic; given how authoritative Christians like yourself think the Bible is, I could just as easily argue that the Christians are a danger because they have no way of knowing which parts are good and which are bad.

Thirdly, if Humankind needs a belief in an invisible magic man to prevent us from raping and pillaging, then why didn’t we wipe ourselves out in the hundreds of thousands of years before we tried to explain the unknown with superstition?

Fourthly, the only reason Christians aren’t still burning heretics at the stake and behaving pack of savages is because values such as the separation of church and state have enabled secularism to drag religion kicking and screaming out of the dark ages and into modernity.

Fifthly, with or without religion, you will have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things that takes religion.

Christians are all smiles and sunshine now, but give them total control and then see how nice they are. We’d be back in the dark ages, burning heretics within a few generations.