{"id":3982,"date":"2022-08-10T10:36:29","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T14:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=3982"},"modified":"2022-08-10T10:36:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T14:36:29","slug":"ben-shapiro-explains-the-deepest-problem-of-atheism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2022\/08\/ben-shapiro-explains-the-deepest-problem-of-atheism.html","title":{"rendered":"Ben Shapiro Explains The Deepest Problem of Atheism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro\u00a0detailed<\/a>\u00a0the \u201cdeepest problem of atheism\u201d in a Facebook post-Sunday, arguing the biggest problem is it \u201ccannot establish a moral framework.<\/p>\n

Shapiro, who is Jewish, opened the post by noting many nonbelievers will turn to the \u201csins of believers\u201d to explain why they oppose God and faith. The critical question these nontheists will ask is, \u201cIf religion is good, why are religious believers often so bad?\u201d But Shapiro\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0some of the problems with this thought process.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne could ask this about any philosophy \u2014 most people are, in fact, sinful and wicked and have the capacity for good,\u201d he\u00a0wrote<\/a>. \u201cThe question is whether there is a philosophical connection between the religion and what its purported believers do \u2014 and more deeply, how we are supposed to judge whether the religion is promoting something morally good or bad without another frame of moral reference.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Shapiro, this is where things fall apart for atheism, as it is neither capable of establishing a moral framework nor can it help delineate \u201cbetween what is and what ought to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

While atheists can act in moral accordance with the societies in which they live, and while they can make suggestions about righteous living, Shapiro detailed the limitations and pitfalls of an atheistic worldview, including materialism and a lack of perceived value in human beings, among other issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is no coincidence that the most militantly atheistic governments \u2014 communist and fascist governments of the 20th century \u2014 have been far more murderous and tyrannical than any religious theocracy in history,\u201d he\u00a0continued<\/a>. \u201cAtheism promotes a vision of mankind entirely at odds with the building of a productive society.\u201d<\/p>\n