>>I find it somewhat bizarre when people defend logical contradictions.<<

Grey, your definition of a logical contradiction presumably includes those Christians who observe the commandment "thou shalt not kill" by joining the army and blowing people up?

How much more "morally relative" can you get?

Graham Prestons literature review was flawed because to assert McLeay’s work is flawed requires reason rather than just say so. It could be accidental on Prestons part or it may be due to lack of interest on the subject or some loaded agenda. Who knows?

To address the issue raised about self determined morality we only have to look at ourselves and our neighbours. As a godless person I have never stolen, never killed, never cheated. An extraordinary number of Christians kill, cheat, steal; backstab ect while at the same time claiming moral superiority. Proof complete that morality is anthropogenic and in most cases individual constructs.

If morality was absolute that makes God or Allah immoral according to their deeds in scripture. Hell itself is immoral. Jesus demonstrated very bad values through his exclusionism and his preaching that those who were not of his superstition would be eternally tortured. Again God is not proven , it is claimed on the basis of made up knowledge so is a superstitious tool of deception so the concept of god is immoral.

No real god to speak of then morality belongs to man and man only and his invention.

The historical adage of morality is treating others the way you would like to be treated (No Christians, Jesus did not invent this). Good is what has a positive or at worst benign effect on people and their lives. Bad is what has a negative effect on people. Evil is the bad with complete lack or empathy for others. Primates are hardwired through evolution to be social animals and social cohesion is the characteristic which has made many primate species successful. From Baboons and Gibbons to Humans we share what we may describe as a trait for common good. Nature through evolution throws in doomed genes in which we will be confronted by a certain percentage of what we call evil which society will eject and in the wild at least snuff out that line.