Direct counterargument: I would phrase my attitude to ethics as: “I have decided that I want X to happen as much as possible, and Y to happen as little as possible.” I’m not “believing” anything—just stating goals. So there’s no faith required.
Reflective counterargument: But even if God did say so*, why should we obey Him? There are a number of answers, some based on prior moral concepts (gratitude for Creation, fear of Hell, etc.) and some on a new one (variations on “God is God and therefore has moral authority”) but they all just push the issue of your ultimate basis for morality back a step. They don’t solve the problem, or even simplify it.
*Incidentally, what does it mean for an all-powerful being to say something? The Abrahamic God is the cause for literally everything, so aren’t all instructions written or spoken anywhere by anyone equally “the speech of God”?
Direct counterargument: I would phrase my attitude to ethics as: “I have decided that I want X to happen as much as possible, and Y to happen as little as possible.” I’m not “believing” anything—just stating goals. So there’s no faith required.
I’d agree. By switching from morals to your individual preferences, you avoid the need to identify what is objectively good and evil.
Direct counterargument: I would phrase my attitude to ethics as: “I have decided that I want X to happen as much as possible, and Y to happen as little as possible.” I’m not “believing” anything—just stating goals. So there’s no faith required.
Reflective counterargument: But even if God did say so*, why should we obey Him? There are a number of answers, some based on prior moral concepts (gratitude for Creation, fear of Hell, etc.) and some on a new one (variations on “God is God and therefore has moral authority”) but they all just push the issue of your ultimate basis for morality back a step. They don’t solve the problem, or even simplify it.
*Incidentally, what does it mean for an all-powerful being to say something? The Abrahamic God is the cause for literally everything, so aren’t all instructions written or spoken anywhere by anyone equally “the speech of God”?
I’d agree. By switching from morals to your individual preferences, you avoid the need to identify what is objectively good and evil.