If you know me personally or have been reading my columns for a while, you know I am an extensive reader. If you strike up a conversation with me about books, I will talk for hours. And now, you will benefit from one such bookish rant.
Last week, I finished the book, "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It had been on my book bucket list for a while, and my book club was reading it. We are serious readers. After finishing it, I can honestly say that it should be on every person’s list of books to read before they die. I’m not the only one of that opinion. Many found it to be a life-changing book, including Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, William Faulkner, Pope Benedict XVI and many more.
I won’t get into the plot too much, but to say there is a murder and a good deal of questioning about who committed the murder and whether the murder was justified. At the heart of the question is the moral philosophies of each suspect. There are a lot of long-winded discussions in this book and not a lot of time spent on the plot line, but that’s rather the point. Because at the heart of this are competing philosophies of life.
One particular line of discussion captured my interest. One theme explored is the existence of God and thus the existence of morality. He links this with socialism and whether it is possible without God, but I won’t get into that here. Read the book and give me a call. The point often made is that without the existence of God, there can be no morality. Thus, everything is permissible, including this murder.
Not long after finishing the book, I listened to an interview between Allie Beth Stuckey and Andrew Klavan in which Klavan gave his story of how he came to Christianity. Of no surprise to me, having read Dostoevsky now, the first thing to make him consider seriously the existence of God was Crime and Punishment. Yet another theme in this book is whether morals can exist without God. Expounding on this, Klavan pointed out that we all draw the line morally at murder. Correctly so, but why? What would cause an atheist to grant another human being dignity and the right to live?
As Dostoevsky muses, there has to be a God, for if there isn’t, mankind would have to make it up; otherwise, there would be moral chaos.
What right did the Americans of 1776 have to tell their sovereign king that they had the right and duty to address their grievances with the King or else withdraw from Britain? The Declaration of Independence posits that they may because they are on equal footing with the king. Preposterous! Why? Because they were made by the same creator, God, and were endowed with the same rights and liberties.
Where did your rights and protections come from? Why are they enshrined in our law? Our very foundations of law proclaim it is from God. We are bold enough to state in our founding documents. But logic itself tells us it is true. If there is no God, there is no basis for morality. As Dostoevsky points out, all things are permissible.
It’s been a long-held soapbox of mine to declare the notion that you cannot legislate morality is ridiculous. All legislation is inherently a moral statement! All of it. Why do we make the parent who does not have at least shared custody of minor children pay child support in a divorce? Why does this money belong to the child as a duty the parent owes to the child? Because morally, we agree that parents have a duty to the children they bring into the world to care for and provide for them. Why is it illegal to speed? Because we agree morally in order and against chaos, especially when death is a possible consequence of this chaos. Why are there laws against giving a child pornography? Because morally, we agree that the innocence of children should be protected.
Can atheism truly agree with this on any principled grounds? No! If you ask enough probing questions like “and where do you get that idea?” They cannot answer other than it seems like a good idea to keep order and not cause chaos. But who told them chaos was bad and that moral order is good? Could it be the God who engraved Himself on their hearts, though they refuse to acknowledge Him? I would argue yes.
Our laws and the existence of morality declare the existence of God. This has long been held as true throughout history, only now we are trying to yet again deny it. But to quote Rudyard Kipling’s The Gods of the Copybook Heading, “The Gods of the Copybook Heading limp up to explain it once more.” Society will wake up to the truth again. It has been ever so throughout history. We just have to keep proclaiming the truth of it. And read good books.
Laura Clark is a wife, mother, and community activist. She currently serves as the interim president of Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm that fights for limited government, free markets, and strong families in the courts. Anything written by Laura for this publication does not constitute legal advice.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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