Matthew Parris – Spectator
..though an atheist, I accept that my morality \u201d\u201d and to a considerable degree what we call western morality \u201d\u201d is anchored in a Christian culture. Whether or not we ourselves believe in God, we\u2019ve all soaked up the ethical teachings.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re useless. \u201d\u02dcDo unto others as you would that they would do unto you\u2019 is, like \u201d\u02dcLove your neighbour as yourself\u2019, either impossible or circular. Circular if it means \u201d\u02dcAct towards others as you think they should act towards you,\u2019 because this leaves open the question of how you think people should act, and would permit a cannibal to eat another cannibal. If, however, the commandment means \u201d\u02dcTreat others as it would please you to be treated by them,\u2019 then the precept is impossible because you\u2019d give all your money to the first beggar you encountered. We\u2019d all be off to Calais to try to smuggle migrants in our car boots.<\/p>\n
Christianity (as represented by the Gospels) is all but silent \u201d\u201d extraordinarily so \u201d\u201d on the question of familial obligation. There is some evidence that Christ was impatient with family, and none that these were ties He wanted to reinforce. As to \u201d\u02dccommunity\u2019, the parable of the good Samaritan suggests a certain impatience here, too. As to nation, I find \u201d\u02dcRender unto Caesar\u201d\u00a6\u2019 an evasive answer, because it does not assist our understanding of which things \u201d\u02dcthose things that are Caesar\u2019s\u2019 might be.<\/p>\n
If, as I believe, the main difficulty that faces us in deciding moral duty is the difficulty of prioritising, then Christianity is profoundly unhelpful…<\/p>\n