העורך Editor

To Promote Atheism Is to Promote Crime!

Many promoters of atheism make a personal claim about themselves; they don’t need to “believe” in Divine punishment here or in the afterlife to avoid committing a crime.

Forget about whether the claim is valid, and with what degree of accuracy, the true definition of “crime”, competing explanations, the non-sequitur inherent, etc., etc. There’s a bigger problem: For other individuals, predictions of punishment do act as a deterrent.

If they do succeed in corrupting someone else, someone who does, in fact, require this doctrine to stay innocent of a crime, these promoters have thereby lowered the subjective costs of committing crimes (howsoever defined), while all the perceived benefits remain just the same (not to mention Ahavas Hashem…).
It follows promoters of atheist beliefs for every man on earth are promoters of criminal activity.
P.S. This is why the Rambam (and those he quotes) call certain beliefs “necessary for civil society” (not an esoteric way of denying mitzvos!). As Voltaire said: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him” (and he would know!). Indeed, the word “Atheist“, until circa John Locke’s time, used to be synonymous with “Criminal“.
N.B. I am not implying anything else.
By the way, we referenced the above article in our free, special ebook on answering atheists. To receive the full Hebrew ebook, subscribe to Hyehudi’s Daily Newsletter here.