"Proof Positive that ONLY Christians Can Have Morals and Ethics!" by Harry McCall (Debunking Christianity)

Here's some of the latest garbage coming from a Debunking Christianity contributor:

"Time and time again we atheists at DC are sternly informed that, without God, we atheists have no bases at all for morals and ethics which can ONLY come from God alone."

Harry...uh...first of fall, it's spelled "basis". More importantly, I think that if these types of comments are propping up on Loftus' blog (and there isn't much reason to doubt that they would from some commentators), they are not as direct as Loftus and the gang interpret them. Based on the article's ludicrous title, this is making an assumption of a belief held only by the most extreme of Christian fundamentalists. I don't see this sitting well with the mainstream Christian community.

Yes, most Christians believe that God alone is the source of morality. And the key word here, of course, is that God is the source, not a qualifying factor in terms of personal belief. Most Christians would also tell you that atheists can be good moral people, but that their lives are not fufilled without having some sort of connecting contact with what they consider to be "God." This does not imply that those without a God in their lives, are automatically moral people. Instead, it can be interpreted that because we are all human beings, our system of morals passed down throughout the ages has stemmed from God.

So earlier this afternoon Mr. McCall posts a news headline of a Christian minister acting "immorally." Reading this article will set the stage for humorous mockery:

Police Arrest Pastor for Allegedly Setting Fire to His Own Church

Church Previously Vandalized On Several OccasionsAnderson, SCMonday afternoon, Rev. Christopher Daniels, who is from Belton, was charged with second-degree arson. His bond was set at $25,000.The State Law Enforcement Division has joined the Anderson County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.In recent months, there have been incidents of graffiti and vandalism in the church that are still under investigation.Investigators said Blue Ridge Baptist was targeted by vandals four times at the end of 2008.In mid-December, gang symbols and hate-filled messages were left in the church's Sunday school building.Earlier that month, the same thing was done to the classrooms downstairs.Rev. Daniels is being investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division also as a suspect in the earlier vandalisms which caused over $20,000 worth of damage to the chruch.

It's funny that during these times McCall would conveniently pull up what would otherwise be a rather insignificant crime as compared to those of the recent week (forgive me for posting a link that hails from the UK but I'm rather lazy and decided to just copy and paste an article that Punkish from the TWeb forums posted in the March 2009 Screwballs thread):

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090308/twl-minister-shot-dead-during-church-ser-3fd0ae9.html

Minister Shot Dead During Church Service

A minister has been shot dead during a church service by a gunman who then stabbed himself and two other people. The man walked down the aisle during the early morning service at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois, state police said. He exchanged words with senior pastor Dr Fred Winters, pulled out a .45 calibre handgun and shot the minister once in the chest, Master Trooper Ralph Timmins said. The gun jammed before the attacker could fire again, so he then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself...Mark Jones, a worship minister at the church added: "We have no idea what this guy's motive was. We don't know him."

Oooooooh........seems like da' moral argument backfires again! Owch, that hurts!

I bet McCall wasn't so interested in sharing this, now was he? It seems that many recent shootings have been the result of crazy people going after the ordained. And all McCall comes up with is a reverend committing arson? Somehow I don't believe that McCall is unaware of these shootings, but he would rather ignore them willingly in hopes of convincing himself they never happened. Or, he clearly lives under a rock.

At either rate, destroying your own safe-haven and then spontaneously murdering a pastor along with their church-participants would be like comparing apples and oranges. Of course, I only say that in terms of which is the heaviest on the weight scale.