Monday, December 31, 2018

5 modern lies sold as truth

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

Detail of Prophet Isaiah in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling.
Acquired from Wikimedia Commons.


Today's culture, in plain sight, successfully sells lies that are often 180 degrees opposite the truth.

Contraception
Birth control is "medicine," claimed Hillary Clinton in 2017. Planned Parenthood has called it "basic health care." Yet contraceptives used to prevent birth are the opposite of medicine—for their end goal is to cause a normally functioning body to malfunction. Birth control more closely resembles the medical definition of Poison: a substance that "may cause structural or functional disturbance."

Read more in earlier TCV blog post: "Birth control" is not medicine.

Abortion
"It's my body!" shouts the 21st century feminist of enwombed offspring. Yet, in reality, the fertilized egg—the zygote—has its own unique DNA, distinct from the mother. A mother thus advances the culture's lie when she refers as "her body" to that which is not her body.

Additional resources: Science is clear: Each new human life begins at fertilization (Sarah Terzo, 2013); 41 Quotes From Medical Textbooks Prove Human Life Begins at Conception (Terzo, 2015); The Science About When Life Begins Makes Pro-Choicers Look Terrible (Dr. Donna Harrison, 2018)

Marriage
During the years leading up to the 2015 gay "marriage" ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, there were three common slogans used to advance the idea of gay "marriage": "love is love," "same love," and "marriage equality."

Dialogue on this issue was minimal and even discouraged. Then-First Lady Michelle Obama declared: "In a country where we teach our children that everyone is equal under the law, discriminating against same-sex couples just isn’t right. So, it’s as simple as that."

Although the state declared marriage redefined by stroke of a pen, marriage was not the only thing their verdict "redefined." The censoring of discussion disguised this. Notice how each of the three slogans advanced the idea that men and women are interchangeable with no difference. One ingredient is equal to another. This was among the undiscussed, dangerous side effects of the formulations: "same," "equal," "A is equal to B." These were the Orwellian newspeak that tickled many ears.

The idea that Man+Man = Man+Woman is absurd on its face. The sale of this idea that men and women are interchangeable variables is also contrary to science, which shows the unique qualities brought to parenthood by mothers and fathers, as well as the obvious family structure innate in the male and female union. Any children raised in such arrangements are deprived of one or more of their mother and father. The idea also paved the way for society's next chapter, discussed below (Sex/Gender), in denying the significant qualities between males and females.

Additional Resources: Reengineering the Family (Heather Mac Donald, 2010); How Re-Defining Marriage Harms Society (Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, 2012); Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom (Dr. Ryan T. Anderson, 2015); and additional social science resources in the endnotes at Same-Sex “Marriage”: The Victims. The Children (2015).

Sex/Gender
Modern transgenderism: It is the idea that a man can "become" a woman (or vice versa) either based on his own feelings and/or after a surgery alters some of his body parts. A significant portion of society is at the point where it cannot tell the difference between a boy and girl and even believes there are a multitude of sexes beyond male and female. This is the hypnotic effect that abusing truth has created.

The idea of switching "genders" is again contrary to science:
In human embryos, the SRY gene encodes a unique transcription factor that activates a testis-forming pathway at about week seven of development. Before this time, the embryonic gonad is "indifferent"... (Genetic Mechanisms of Sex Determination, Nature Education 1(1):25, 2008)
Instead of simply admitting a boy with xyz feelings is still a boy who has these feelings, society fosters the lie that he's not a boy at all, or that somehow a new "gender" can even be created as a result of sexual proclivities.

But calling a boy a girl and a girl a boy is a dangerous inversion of reality that has led to regretful surgeriesharmful use of puberty blockers in children, and other personal and public damage, not to mention the instability caused to any other truth. In "redefining" marriage and what is a boy and girl, society has paved the way to other redefinitions, such as the recent effort to rebrand pedophilia under the moniker "minor attracted person (MAP)." The trajectory will result in future "redefinitions" of parenthood and more as previously discussed in 5 difficult issues human cloning will cause.

Additional resources: Transgenderism: Semantic contagion or biological fact? (Dr. Anne Hendershott, 2018); The Genetics of Sex Differences in Brain and Behavior (NCBI, 2010); The myth of gender-neutral parenting (Dr. Deborah Soh, 2017)

Morality
As previously detailed at length, modern atheists such as Sam Harris, Gad Saad, or Patricia Churchland have attempted to explain morality strictly as a function of biology and evolution. Harris goes so far as to say morality exists even though he believes free will does not.

But these efforts are as misguided as they are ironic. By assigning the label "morality" to biological instincts or automatic actions devoid of free will, morality's necessary feature of obligation is stripped from the equation. By reducing man to an automaton or animal obeying euphoric bodily chemicals, these atheists actually make the argument that morality doesn't exist.



Conclusions
The significance of these lies is not something to take lightly. They are prone to cause damage, whether to public policy, the innocent baby, the fatherless child, the sexually confused, or the very foundation of moral truth. We end with a relevant quote from a saint:
[Y]ou did well in urging me not to betray the truth, but to refute the slanderers, lest, by a success of falsehood against truth, many might be injured. (Gregory of Nyssa, On the Holy Trinity, ca 375 A.D.)

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Thoughts on Gosnell film

Dean Cain in Gosnell
(production still from gosnellmovie.com/press)

Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer is one of the most important films in recent years. It is an engaging, well-paced crime drama that sheds overdue light on the nature of the abortion industry and the government and media powers that protect it.

ABORTION COVERUP
Perhaps the scariest moment in the Gosnell movie is when one realizes how protected the abortion industry is. During a scene depicting pretrial questioning, a state official shrugs at the fact that the state of Pennsylvania neglected to properly vet abortion businesses.

In the actual case, Pennsylvania health department official Janet Staloski testified that health department attorneys "changed their legal opinions and advice to suit the policy preferences of different governors" and that the state didn't want to be "putting a barrier up to women" seeking abortions.

The lack of media interest in the case likewise reveals the propagandist quality of the abortion industry. Whether from government or media, such propagandists have proven reluctant to even discuss abortion's true nature.

The actual Gosnell Grand Jury report filed in 2011 goes on for over 60 pages detailing how the Pennsylvania Department of Health woefully permitted unsafe medical conditions to persist at abortion offices. Gosnell's office, as the movie reiterated, went uninspected at one point for a span of 17 years.

That section of the report begins:
We discovered that Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has deliberately chosen not to enforce laws that should afford patients at abortion clinics the same safeguards and assurances of quality health care as patients of other medical service providers. Even nail salons in Pennsylvania are monitored more closely for client safety. 
The film moves along at a decent pace, beginning with investigators discovering illegal prescription drug activity from Gosnell's office. The abortion horrors transpiring there might not otherwise ever have been exposed if not for the state following the drug leads.

It is a fascinating watch, especially for those interested in true crime, courtroom drama, and police investigation. Ed Morrissey, senior editor at Hot Air and regular guest host on Relevant Radio, reviews some of the other accurate attributes of Gosnell here.

Although the subject matter largely revolves around abortion, the movie is not graphic. Evening television depicts far more gruesome imagery than can be seen in Gosnell. That brings me to Baby Boy A.

BABY BOY A
Baby Boy A was born alive and subsequently murdered by Gosnell. "[T]he doctor just slit the neck," testified Kareem Cross, an assistant at Gosnell's office. A photo of the baby factored into Gosnell's guilt. Gruesome details of Baby Boy A's fate are given in the Grand Jury Report beginning on page 100. Cross was asked why she took the picture of this boy Gosnell killed. Cross testified:
Because it was big and it was wrong and we knew it. We knew something was wrong. ... I’m not sure who took the picture first, but when we seen this baby, it was – it was a shock to us because I never seen a baby that big that he had done. So it was – I knew something was wrong because everything, like you can see everything, the hair, eyes, everything. And I never seen for any other procedure that he did, I never seen any like that.
Below is a screencap of Baby Boy A from the Grand Jury Report.

I asked film director and star Nick Searcy via Twitter why the photo was not shown in the movie. He graciously replied: "Because we have good taste and discernment."

While I respect that decision and the audiences Gosnell had to consider, I would like to have seen the photo in the film. Granted, the film's epilogue does refer the viewer to the Gosnell film website to see the photo.

The issue brings to mind the question of whether or not to show images of aborted babies. For example, images are shown by the Pro-Life Action League's "Face the Truth" tours. Pro-life theology professor Dr. Monica Miller argues photos expose the truth of abortion's atrocity in a way non-visual communication cannot. In 2013, not long after the Gosnell trial, she was interviewed on the Kresta in the Afternoon show on the topic Graphic Images: An Apologia (written form of her arguments can be also read at Pro-Life Action League).  In the case of Baby Boy A, I do not find the photo that graphic. It is a photo of a newborn. I would like to have seen the image in the movie, if even by way of a long camera shot. To include the photo in the film seems consistent with the unmasking theme of the film itself. The matter also reminds me of the graphic nature of The Passion of the Christ (2004). Although many criticized the brutality in that film, many others argued for the necessity of depicting the violence. And the Baby Boy A image is far more benign than what is depicted in The Passion.

GOSNELL EVEN WORSE THAN FILM REVEALS
Depicting all of Gosnell's crimes could probably fill multiple television seasons. The Gosnell film focuses largely on the investigation and parts of the trial, including Baby Boy A and the death of Karnamaya Mongar. However, his gruesome legacy went much further. As the film mentioned, Gosnell's atrocities go back at least to the early 1970s in which he participated in an experimental abortion technique that badly damaged many women's insides.

The Grand Jury Report goes on for hundreds of pages about his improprieties, including especially disturbing accounts beginning on page 6 under the subhead "Butcher of women."

For example, Gosnell tore the cervix and colon of one woman, prevented relatives from getting to her, and only let them in once they threatened to call police. The victim was brought to a hospital and had to have a portion of her intestine removed. Multiple other stories in the report tell of similar horror.

SUMMARY
All in all, this is a gripping film full of accurate details on one of the most important issues of our time. Not to be lost is awareness of the collaborative effort by government and media in facilitating Gosnell's crimes in the name of abortion. It is an eye-opening account to anyone unfamiliar with the abortion industry and the schemes that hide its true horrors.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Revisiting Fr. John Corapi in light of current Church scandal

Detail of Fr. John Corapi from
his "Heaven & Hell" CD collection
THE CURRENT SCANDAL
Fr. John Corapi was considered among the greatest Catholic preachers of the 1990s and early 2000s. He left public ministry in June 2011.1 I blogged about his departure back then, including this timeline of events. A statement from a priest in his order claimed his behavior was "unbecoming of a priest." Rumors abounded that he engaged in improprieties with one or more women and possibly returned to drugs, from which he escaped decades ago. Fr. Corapi argued the canonical process was flawed, stating that his canonical and other attorneys concluded he "cannot receive a fair and just hearing under the Church’s present process."

Today, the Church faces a renewed look at the modern sex abuse scandal. More prominently figuring in coverage is that 80% of victims have been male and post-pubescent.  This is consistent with data reported in 2004. Although this does not mean simply being "gay" makes one a predator, it does mean those who are gay and predatorial are active in the Church.

Reigniting the current attention to the scandal was the August 22, 2018 letter by Archbishop Carlo Maria ViganĂ². In the letter, he describes a network of pro-homosexual and/or heterodox clergy having risen to key positions in the Church throughout the decades.

ViganĂ³'s account is striking because of the high position within the Church from which it comes. But it is not unique among clergy itself. A scathing exposition on the homosexual subculture and powerful clergy blocking faithful clergy was written in 2012 by Fr. Dariusz Oko. In June, journalist Rod Dreher recounted his efforts to break the Cardinal Theodore McCarrick scandal as far back as 2002, but those with information would not go on record. A popular homily on August 26 by Fr. Robert Altier expounded on infiltration dating back to the early 20th century, as described in such places as the famous book AA-1025.

There are many other accounts describing the scandalous behavior of infiltrating culprits, roadblocks encountered throughout the decades by orthodox priests, and more. Heterodox clergy are at the highest levels. Faithful clergy are persecuted and threatened. With all this in mind, let's return to Fr. Corapi.

I recently listened again to a number of Fr. Corapi's talks from the 90s and early 00s. Whatever the truth about his departure, his talks were among the most popular the Church has heard in recent memory. They were candid, typically delivered passionately, truthful, and backed firmly by magisterial teaching. If you have old CDs or MP3s, I would recommend giving them a listen again. His messages from back then are largely just as relevant today.

FATHER CORAPI'S WORDS
Let's review several excerpts from Fr. Corapi's talks in light of what has been described about Church scandal today. Emphasis mine:
I sat in a meeting not that long ago with a number of bishops and theologians. I sat between two bishops. The one on my left said, “Well, we’re wasting our time in this meeting.” It was on moral theology. I said, “Why is that, Bishop?” He said, “Well, until we come out and publicly denounce Pope Paul VI and Humanae Vitae, we’re wasting our time.” Yeah, the Bishop said that. To my face. I didn’t read it on the front page of The Wanderer. He said it! My hearing was fine. I made him repeat it three times to make sure. The one on my right said, “I don’t think we can talk much about formation of conscience, you know, it’s in the catechism, but, you know, we have to tell our people they have to form their conscience to the world around them.” What? What do you mean by that? “Well, we’re not the only ones with a good idea. We have to be up to date and people of our times.” “What do you mean, that if the culture says that it’s all right to commit mortal sin, we should form our conscience in accord with that?” He said, “Oh, mortal sin, I doubt there is such a thing.” Now if you’d ever confront one of them with this, they’d deny it to your face. We tolerate evil men! And watch out, the consequences are about to come home to roost.  ...  (MP3)
Those self-styled apostles, who are nothing of the sort, you found that they don’t really teach what the Church teaches, however clever their language, however subtle their heresies. Let me tell you something, and I’m saying it straight out. There are two Churches right now. The right one and the wrong one — God’s Church and Satan’s assembly. (Apocalypse Now #2 of 4, 1994) (MP3)
A religious sister I knew for years, forty-some years professed in an active order, marginalized because she was faithful to the Church. Still wore her religious habit. Thought it was odd that the only novice they’d had in years was about to be professed, and she wasn’t invited. She also thought it odd that the ceremony was to take place on what she thought was the vigil of All Saints Day—midnight, Halloween in other words. She hid in the choir loft. What she saw can’t be repeated. It involved witchcraft and lesbianism. She confronted the superior the next day and was told “If you ever say a word, we’ll put you in a mental hospital. And it will be your word against ours, and you won’t win.” She came back from the school she had taught in for thirty years to find her suitcases in the parking lot and the locks changed. Her reward for forty-some years of religious profession. And a good lay woman had to come and take her to live with her. (Apocalypse Now #3 of 4, 1994) (MP3)
I sat in a room having dinner with a group of 10 priests two months ago. After dinner, one of my brothers said, “What do you think of the new encyclical on moral theology?” [probably Veritatis Splendor from August 1993] They didn’t know me. I was a stranger there. One of the priests responded, “He’s got some nerve trying to tell us what to do.” And it escalated. Like sharks smelling blood working themselves up into a frenzy. And the hatred that radiated out of that room would frighten you. And I’ve seen it for years. ... (MP3)
At a recent convocation of priests in a diocese in the northeast, [to] get together to discuss the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the main speaker, who had 90% of the time, said in a nutshell, “Don’t pay too much attention to it, boys.” And the bishop sat there. “Don’t believe it literally. Because we don’t believe that anymore. The parts on moral theology—ugh! They talk about sin! Never talk about sin. Talk about immature behavior. Talk about a psychological deficiency, but never mention sin. We don’t want to give anyone a guilt complex.” This is what’s going on in your Church and mine, the Bride of Christ. But the Bride of Christ is indefectibly holy and beautiful. But at the moment, She’s being attacked—in a sense raped. That is not alright with me, nor should it be with you. (To Love the Church is to Love the Lord, 1993) (MP3)
I know many places right now where a lie is being taught that there is no such thing as original sin. That is a heresy. In case you didn’t know it, you’re hearing it here. Heresy. Jesus Christ is divine without any question. That’s an old heresy that’s been recycled—Arianism. He is not merely human. He is fully God and fully man, true God and true man. The Blessed Virgin Mary is immaculately conceived, preserved without sin from all eternity in virtue of her son’s passion, death, and resurrection. Virgin before, during, and after birth. Dogma. Doctrine. Without faith in that it is impossible to please God. Why? Because He’s revealed it to us. We have a better idea than God? I think not. We smarter than God’s Church? I think not. And it is nothing but unmitigated callous arrogance to think that we know more than what’s been revealed. And there are millions, possibly, who fall into that category. And you can go in many diocese and see it taught at the highest levels, from the chancery office down, including in our seminaries. And then you wonder why Father has a problem. Then you wonder why Father has a moral problem. Then you wonder why Father isn’t feeding you with the substantive doctrine of truth. (The Truth is a Matter of Life and Death, 1993) (MP3)
Very often a moral problem is behind a doctrinal problem. Why is it that they can’t see that artificial contraception, homosexual behavior, just isn’t right? In some cases, part of their life. And how are you going to preach against it, unless you convert, change your life? (Attack on Truth, ca 2004) (MP3)
OBSERVATIONS
Notice in the first story about the meeting with bishops, the bishops condemn the papal encyclical on human sexuality, Humanae Vitae. Fr. Corapi proceeds to then describe something like a competing subculture when he refers to "God's Church and Satan's assembly." Notice how Fr. Corapi describes teachers in the Church who try to make "conscience" the primary driver of "morality" instead of Church teaching.

We still see this. For example, in February 2018, Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich stated in February 2018 that conscience must be the primary driver of morality instead of universal Church precepts. His statements remind us of the idea of the "dictatorship of relativism" then-Cardinal Ratzinger warned about in 2005. In September, Cupich swiftly sanctioned a priest for burning a flag promoting homosexuality that once hung at his parish. Of ViganĂ³'s letter on Church sex scandal (which named Cupich), Cupich quickly called the allegations going down a "rabbit hole," made accusations of racism, and insisted the Church has a "bigger agenda" to worry about. Cupich also endorsed the book of and invited to speak a Jesuit priest who regularly promotes homosexual behavior, has referred to a man's same-sex partner as "husband," and hopes so-called "married" same-sex couples will kiss at the sign of peace in the same way married couples do. These are just examples of many occasions in which Archbishops, bishops, and priests deviate from Church teaching and deceive the laity.

Notice Fr. Corapi describe how a heterodox priest said to "never talk about sin." In Cupich's entire February talk, sin is mentioned once only when he quotes Pope Francis dismissing the idea that people in "irregular" relationships are necessarily in mortal sin. The concept of sin is supplanted with the notion of "accompaniment," which is mentioned in some form 18 times. He describes what includes sinful arrangements only as different types of "situations" some 10 times.

Notice in Fr. Corapi's story about the nuns and witchcraft, the faithful sister was threatened with mental rehab. A September 25 blog post by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf describes the frequency of this same ploy used against orthodox priests.

Notice in the other stories the attack on authentic doctrine that often comes with corruption and moral problems. According to ViganĂ³'s now-famous report, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was instrumental in Cupich's ascension to Archbishop. And McCarrick, as is now well-known, has been a central figure and culprit in the Church's sexual scandal for decades. Doctrinal and moral corruption, as Fr. Corapi described, often work in concert. Exceptions are not strong objections. If a doctrinal error is deliberately perpetrated by a clergyman who has not committed sexual scandal directly, he still, by virtue of diluting the truth of the faith, fosters the belief that Church morals are malleable.

REVISITING THE DEPARTURE
Many voices have now risen to describe the devil's vicious tactics to silence orthodoxy and promote immorality in the Church. It is not publicly known what was the true fate of Fr. John Corapi and why he ended his ministry. We know his popularity and willingness to call out heterodox bishops no doubt made him a thorn in the sides of infiltrating powers. We know in his younger years he lived a sinful life, including cocaine use and spending a year in a mental hospital. What happened with him in 2011 could range anywhere from him relapsing into sin or an infiltrating subculture of enemies plotting his demise. He could have succumbed to his old ways, or, in light of his past stay at a mental hospital, he could have been threatened by an infiltrating subculture with mental rehab as were many other priests.

He did start a website, since closed, under the name John Corapi minus his "Father" title for a brief period after departure. Criticism abounded even among faithful Catholics that he acted in disobedience no matter what happened. The entire affair seemed chaotic. It is my opinion that the quality of his talks particularly lost some sense of candidness and zeal somewhere in the mid-later 2000s. But, before that, he was arguably the best preacher of his time.

In June 2011 the Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, Rene Henry Gracida, stated: "I believe that he is justified in not seeking to clear his name through a canonical process; at the present time such processes are very flawed in most dioceses." In July 2011, a since-deleted post from the webmaster of Fr. Corapi's order, SOLT, cautioned against believing Fr. Corapi and that "Church authorities ... have been trying to bring him in for years."

What we do know is that Fr. Corapi's earlier talks often spoke candidly of a poisoned Church, including the hierarchy. We know that his theology was firmly grounded in orthodox truth. In re-listening to his stories, we can see that they are consistent with many others who have since come forward to describe improprieties, heterodoxy, and infiltration in the Church.

STAY VIGILANT
What we can learn from Fr. Corapi's and others' accounts from years past are clues to what attention we should give to what warning signs. He warned of an overlap of doctrinal and moral deviance. We must be alert to linguistic snakery that gives way to doctrinal and moral corruption. It may be necessary to intensify sanctions regardless of whether a clergyman deviates even slightly from a dogma or commits grave sin. In another talk, Attack on Unity, Fr. Corapi proposed the notion that a lack of understanding in Thomistic metaphysics and philosophy has resulted in a "downhill" trend in theology, because many teachers fail to understand the meaning of "being," for example. Many are calling for a return to a more traditional liturgy and traditional Church decor and iconography. If doctrinal and moral faults are as intertwined as they appear, then the Church's solution to this crisis must include doctrinal correction in addition to a systemic correction of checks and balances. If it takes a soft inquisition to purge any defiant, unbelieving clergy, so be it.

Remember the famous quote from then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1969:
The church will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. ... As the number of her adherents diminishes...she will lose many of her social privileges. ... But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. (Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, Faith and Future, 1969)
Time will tell if the Spirit wills such a purgation to shrink the Church and raise it again to "great power." We must pray for wisdom and invoke Our Lady, the angels, and saints.

Decades have passed while several voices have cried out in the wilderness as did Isaiah or Jeremiah during tumultuous times for God's people. The time for purification of this scandal is overdue.



1Fr. Corapi's current whereabouts and status are difficult to ascertain. I sent an inquiring message to his former order, SOLT, on Monday, Sept. 24, but have not received correspondence as of Oct. 3, 2018.

Related reading:
St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
Dr. Ryan T. Anderson's Truth Overruled on marriage between a man and woman.
Austin Ruse on the science of fatherless or motherless children.
Dr. Jeff Mirus: In denial about not ordaining homosexuals?
Phil Lawler: The McCarrick scandal & the gay lobby: a problem the bishops won’t address
Dr. Janet E. Smith: McCarrick, dissent from ‘Humanae vitae’, and the ‘sensus fidelium’.
Rod Dreher: Voice of Conscience = Voice of God, a critique of Arch. Cupich
The Catholic Voyager: Psychology of a pedophile

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Analysis of Pope Francis on death penalty in modern society

In a rescript of the Catechism on the death penalty, Pope Francis approved new language that concludes with the statement:
Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. (new CCC#2267)
Many on social media and elsewhere are confused and wondering if Francis has contradicted prior Church teaching. Others are far more concerned about the apparent exposure of widespread homosexuality within the global clergy or bishops wanting to give Communion to non-Catholics. And, Pope Francis himself is not known for his effective communication as we have seen multiple times in which the faithful find themselves confused after his comments. (Multiple articles have been written about confusion and he still has yet to respond to a Dubia from 5 Cardinals who asked for clarification on Amortis Laetitia). Mass media is not always accurate or forthcoming, as we have also seen. Thus, let's have a quick look at more background on this Catechism change.

The prior version of the Catechism 2267 read in part:
 the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty ... the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." (prior CCC#2267)
As you can see, even the prior language of the Catechism treats the death penalty as an extremely rare method of recourse.

So is Francis absolutizing the idea that the death penalty has always been "wrong," or never could be acceptable in the future? This story broke only today, but my initial analysis is no. I think a very fair interpretation of the new text renders this teaching as within the realm of pastoral law as opposed to moral law.

Judith and Holofernes (fresco detail, Sistine Chapel),
Michelangelo, 1509. Acquired from Wikimedia Commons.

Consistent references to modern means
Leading up to Francis' new language in the Catechism is the earlier part of the new paragraph:
[M]ore effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens... (new CCC#2267)
The prior version of the Catechism similarly referred to modern methods of detainment:
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime... (prior CCC#2267)
A letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was also sent to the bishops explaining the new Catechism language. It claims the language is a development of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. In quoting each of these two papal predecessors, we again see an appeal to modernity:
"Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform." (quoting John Paul II) 
"[T]he substantive progress made in conforming penal law ... to the human dignity of prisoners and the effective maintenance of public order." (quoting Pope Benedict XVI)
In all four main citations in the matter—Francis' new Catechism language, prior Catechism language, and quotes from both John Paul II and Benedict XVI—there is an appeal to modern society's ability to effectively police and protect the public without using the death penalty. (Others have already made similar observations, including Francis author Ross Douthat or Fr. Alek Schrenk, STL in Patristics)

Significance of the term "inadmissible"
Thus, I think it is significant that Pope Francis did not use a morally theological term such as "intrinsic evil" or "objective evil" when describing the death penalty as meted by the State. It is true that the final paragraph in Pope Francis' new Catechism language appeals to the dignity of the human person. However, so did the previous Catechism. And, certainly, the prior two Popes offered much in the way of teaching on human dignity. All prior aversion to the death penalty in the Church was indeed based on the reality of human dignity.

But, refer to other unchanged paragraphs in the Catechism, such as an earlier excerpt on self-defense:
Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow. (CCC#2264)
Similarly, the Catechism addresses the concept of "just war" which could involve killing of others (CCC#2308ff).  If one killed another in self-defense or as a soldier in a just war, that would not mean the deceased did not have human dignity. So, the Catechism is not contradicting the idea of human dignity by not attributing the crime of murder, per se, if it involves a grave situation like self-defense or just war.

Therefore, the prior Catechism, in granting the possibility of the use of the death penalty, even if extremely rare, demonstrates that the death penalty, per se, is not automatically evil. And, the new Catechism paragraph repeats the appeal to how modern and "[m]ore effective systems of detention have been developed." In doing so, the new Catechism language attaches the idea of an "inadmissible" death penalty to a society's ability to avoid it, for the sake of human dignity.

We cannot argue, ex post facto, that prior societies, particularly in ancient times, were necessarily "wrong" to employ a death penalty. Neither does the language of the new Catechism paragraph eliminate the possibility of a future society needing recourse to a "death penalty" because it lacks the  "means" to protect the people without it. One could posit such a situation in war zones where containment options are absent. One could similarly imagine a science fiction scenario in a post-apocalyptic world, where resources are minimal and technology is destroyed. Or, one could hypothesize that there even today might exist a yet undiscovered society in remote lands, who haven't effective resources to contain a dangerous murderer. Such a society might be steeped in "immodernity" that would not fall under the context of the new Catechism language.

I do not believe one can fairly interpret the new Catechism paragraph on the death penalty as an "absolute" moral truth in all places in all times. To do so would be to render meaningless its own preceding sentences appealing to modern "development" of "systems of detention." To do so would also render moot the same appeal in all three of the other key citations behind this linguistic development.

This new appeal on the "inadmissibility" of the death penalty is, in its own words, built not only on the notion of human dignity, but on the current situation, on modern society's resources and technologies of criminal containment. The notion of the death penalty's "inadmissibility" in this new context is thus not a dogmatic comment about objective morality but more closely resembling pastoral law in light of modern resources.

Other recommended reading:
Pope Francis and the death penalty: another dose of confusion by Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture
Tweet thread on Pope Francis and death penalty language change by Ross Douthat

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Can morality exist independent of God?
A refutation of the atheist claim

A Psychology Today article asserts in the subtitle: "Morality is within us independently of God." I will use this article as an outline to address atheistic claims currently prevalent on this subject. The author is atheist Gad Saad, professor of marketing and holder of the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption. I intend to show that the arguments in the article, although common in modern atheistic circles, do not withstand scrutiny. Toward the end of this blog post, I will critique several other atheist professors and scientists.

In the attempt to demonstrate that "morality is within us independently of God," the article includes 3 main arguments:
  • Not all religions have an identical view on all moral questions
  • Many atheists have done moral things in the past
  • Scientists have written books explaining the evolution of morality
Let's review these 3 assertions to see if they support the claim: "Morality is within us independently of God."

"CONTRADICTORY POSITIONS TAKEN BY RELIGIONS"

The first assertion states there are:
extraordinarily contradictory positions taken by religions on every imaginable issue of human import, let alone the fact that there are thousands of religions and Gods. Which God/religion should one use to guide his/her moral system? ... [There is a] conundrum of religious contradictions...
This is followed by a list of moral views by different historical religions that aren't in agreement.

There are many problems with this line of thinking. First, moral truth's validity is not dependent on the absence of competing claims to the truth. A moral truth is true whether there are one or ten thousand false assertions surrounding it. It is true even if it is a "conundrum" to identify it. From the Catholic perspective, deviations in moral claims are explicable in a number of ways, such as the principle of Original Sin, that man sometimes acts contrary to reason, or develops his conscience and understanding of natural law over time.

Dismissing the possibility of a reliable religious tradition on account of it being a "conundrum" to discover it is the fallacy of personal incredulity. This is to run from a problem by claiming it's too tough to solve.

Second, remember, the article opens with the subhead "Morality is within us independently of God." But not all atheists, secularists, scientists, pagans, nor whomever else, have an identical view on every moral issue. One atheist believes abortion is the taking of a life and another doesn't. One secularist believes homosexuals should marry and another doesn't. We could imitate the article's hyperbole and just as validly claim there are contradictory positions taken by the non-religious on "every imaginable issue."
The article dismisses religion as unreliable because diverse moral views exist in religions. But, by the end, the article depends on non-religion as reliable despite diverse moral views existing among the non-religious.

Using Saad's definition of "conundrum," the atheist abandoning religion in favor of "non-religion" is just trading one conundrum for another. But, if "morality is within us independently of God," why is that hypothesis not held to the same standard of producing uniformity as is demanded of "religion"? If morality is in us independent of God, and man is just misidentifying that inner voice by producing a variety of non-religious morals, why couldn't human error also explain man's various misinterpretations of God? The atheist argument here is not consistent. If we are to believe we don't "need" God because non-religious traditions can produce contradictions too, then you could also say following a religious tradition is just as good as being non-religious.

But all this avoids the issue. Is God the source of morality? Are man's moral sensibilities only conceivable in relation to God? Does science reveal moral truths? Pointing to this or that group's contradictory teaching doesn't address those kinds of questions. The "contradictory positions" argument is a straw man that can neither categorically discredit nor credit religious nor non-religious traditions.

Third, why are the similarities in moral teaching across religion not credited to God as their source?
The idea in the article that religions contradict on "every imaginable issue" is an obvious exaggeration, considering the overwhelming unity in religious history on many issues such as murder, honesty, robbery, or that due worship should be given to supernatural authority.

The article only cites deviations in moral teachings as evidence against religion's moral reliability. For example, it asks whether we should employ Kosher slaughter rituals as in Judaism or Halal slaughter rituals as in Islam. But, although there are differences in the specifics of these tenets, there are also similarities. For example, there is a larger moral obligation behind both of these religious teachings that beg a different question: Why do both religions believe human action is required in regard to a supernatural deity in the first place? One would be hard pressed to find a religious tradition lacking a similar teaching.

That Saad is even able to cognitively categorize religions as associated with "God" is an unwitting admission that they are overwhelmingly in agreement that some form of other worldly power exists. If all religions are unreliable on account of them having some differing moral precepts, then isn't it fair to say all religions are reliable in areas where they agree? At least that is what the atheist should conclude if he seeks to discredit all religion on account of them having some moral variation.

Saad concludes this section:
Incidentally, I have never received a reply from a religious person as to how to resolve this conundrum of religious contradictions other than to state: “Well, the other 9,999 religions are false. I know this to be true because my religion is the correct one. It states so in my holy book.”
It is not uncommon to hear atheists to mock Christians (or other religions) as having no concept of moral truth beyond "the book says so." But, an atheist who has "never" heard a religious argument "other than" "it states so in my holy book" is grossly unfit to speak on this topic.1

There is an abundance of material, certainly in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, that delve much deeper into moral concepts rooted in natural law, philosophy of the human person, and other arguments not merely dependent on "my book said so."  Many names come to mind like Albert, Aquinas, Chesterton, Newman, Kreeft, Ratzinger, Sheen, Sheed, Augustine, Chrysostom, and apologists like those at Catholic Answers or EWTN, just to name a minuscule few. And many of them build on philosophies of the human person such as Socratic or Aristotelian thought foundations.

Such study of religions would serve well in solving the "conundrum," by actually scrutinizing their most revered teachers and apologists, instead of throwing one's hands up and saying "Well, they don't agree, how can I tell if one is right! On to atheism!"2


"ENDLESS INSTANTIATIONS OF MORAL...ACTS...COMMITTED BY ATHEISTS"
There are endless instantiations of moral, compassionate, and kind acts that are committed by atheists. How are such non-believers able to engage in such acts without a belief in any supernatural deity?
From the Catholic point of view, this argument attacks a straw man. Catholics don't deny that atheists can commit good acts. Consider the following magisterial, scriptural, and theological quotations:
Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie. ... The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties. ... The natural law is a participation in God's wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his Creator. It expresses the dignity of the human person and forms the basis of his fundamental rights and duties.(CCC#1954,1956, 1978)
St. John Paul II wrote similarly:
The conscience is "the voice of God," even when man recognizes in it nothing more than the principle of the moral order which it is not humanly possible to doubt, even without any direct reference to the Creator. (Dominum et Vivificantem, 43a, 1986)
[T]he moral order, as established by the natural law, is in principle accessible to human reason. (John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, 74b, 1993)  
Paul, writing of the Gentiles before they heard the gospel, teaches similarly:
When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts. (Rom. 2:14-15)
In Genesis, Cain is held accountable for murder by God despite the murder occurring prior to the issuance of the Ten Commandments.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen expounds on this very matter in regards to natural virtue in all persons:
As for natural truths, there may be considerable resemblance (between Christians and pagans), because natural truths may be known to anyone endowed with reason. God has illumined every man coming into the world. The first principle of the practical reason and the first principle of the speculative reason are the foundation upon which every man may build the rational edifice of art and science, morality and philosophy. Human minds, whether pagan or Christian, unlettered or learned, have a natural curiosity that inquires into the why and the wherefore of existence, as well as the origin and purpose of all their inspirations and yearnings. The uniformity of elementary doctrines, general liturgical themes, and rudimentary practices reveal the fundamental identity of human nature in all places and at all times 
Pagans have natural virtues, for they have, as St. Paul tells us, the law of God graven on their hearts. Man can, without faith or grace, know the difference between good and evil, immortality, supreme happiness, and at least in a vague way, sanction and retribution, all of which are elements of religion as such, and hence common to all humanity. 
(Fulton J. Sheen, Philosophy of Religion, p. 215-216, 1948) 
A Catholic should have no problem recognizing anyone's capacity to identify a natural good because he is created in the image of God. So, when Saad asks what he thinks is a strike against religion with the rhetorical comment: "Would we all engage in nihilistic crime sprees of unimaginable depravity lest we were guided by religion?" I might answer: No, just look at multiple millennia of Church teaching.

If a person who lacks formal belief in God commits a moral act, this hardly suggests there is no God. I would even submit that atheists calling for morality is evidence of morality inscribed in man's heart by an Inscriptor. Modern atheists claim morals are derived from science or evolution, but we will see later how this claim collapses under scrutiny.

The matter of moral obligations
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) posits:
The recognition of morality is the real substance of human dignity; but one cannot recognize this without simultaneously experiencing it as an obligation of freedom. Morality is not man's prison but rather the divine element in him... [T]here are not only natural laws in the sense of physical functions: the specific natural law itself is a moral law. Creation itself teaches us how we can be human in the right way. (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, A Turning Point for Europe, 1994)3
Both the Church and the atheist might agree, in a basic sense, that natural truths, such as morality, are discernible through natural reason. One studying such things may seek to determine whether the Church's or atheist's or anyone else's claims are consistent with sound reason. Let the following two assertions suffice for the purpose of this section: one, as we see in the above quotes, the Catholic understanding of man and morality is consistent with atheists committing naturally good acts; and, two, neither science nor atheism can reveal moral truth.

What many modern atheists call morality, as we will especially see in the next section, is not a moral code but a tool for evolutionary advantage. One of the attributes that disqualifies atheistic "morality" as authentic morality is its lack of moral obligation.

Catholic apologist Karlo Broussard describes atheism and moral obligation thusly:
There are many atheists and agnostics whom we theists could look to and lock arms with in the pursuit of a just and peaceful society. However, only the theist would be consistent in saying that just and peaceful behaviors are morally obligatoryOne can get away with personal moral codes without God, but not moral obligation. (Broussard, Can Atheists Be Good Without Belief in God?, 2015)
Moral theologian Dietrich von Hildebrand identifies a problem among religions that lack conception of a personal God. His statement would also apply to the moralizing atheist. Von Hildebrand writes:
[W]herever no conception of a personal God is to be found, the notion of an authentic moral obligation, of moral responsibility as well as a call directed to our conscience, seems missing. The formal character of morality is hardly grasped. That does not mean that no concrete moral prescriptions are known. Far from it, for many prescriptions which are, objectively, moral commandments (not to lie or not to kill) are honored, but without a real understanding of their specific moral character. (Dietrich von Hildebrand, Graven Images: Substitutes for True Morality, p 179, 1957)
This is similar to the atheist's dilemma. In a hypothetical atheistic universe, what does it matter if one fails to act in a way the atheist calls moral? What obligation is there to act morally? So what if society isn't "nice?" So what if man obliterates himself? What does it matter if mankind persists in existence at all? At best the atheist call to morality is to achieve some temporal desire. But there is no atheistic basis upon which the atheist can even call a human desire morally "good." Certainly "moral goodness" is not observable scientifically under a microscope.

There is no atheistic basis that answers why joy or prosperity is "good." In order to declare these things, the atheist must first attribute a dignified value to human life that makes him a moral creature: both in acting toward others and to be acted toward. Such value in human beings is not shown by science and is arbitrarily assumed by modern atheists. They are not wrong to recognize human dignity and morality, but they would be wrong to think these things are revealed by something like science.

Many atheists are also materialists. To claim that humans have special moral character in a materialist universe is likewise arbitrary. It is to say the cluster of atoms that comprise humans have moral character whereas a cluster of atoms that comprise, say, deep sea marine algae or a tumbleweed in the wind have no moral character. But a microscope doesn't reveal why one cluster should have moral character versus another. As we also saw in a prior blog post about science and morality, the moralizing atheist merely presupposes morality in mankind. And, ironically, the atheist presupposition that morality in man even exists supports the Church's notion that God's law is written on man's heart.

The atheist appeal to morality to achieve some end, such as people behaving "nice," makes morality a tool that could be set aside if not needed to achieve the same desire. (We saw this suggested by atheist Sam Harris when he fantasized about some future medicinal "cure for human evil.") In this purview, morality is not obligatory, nor ontological, but a tool of man to achieve a biological or evolutionary goal. And, without obligation, any reasonable definition of morality isn't even met. The obligation to act morally is absent in an atheistic universe.

Dr. Stephen M. Barr, professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Delaware, likewise identifies the meaningless of atheistic "morality" in a First Things article:
It is quite meaningless to ask, for example, whether one “should” build a dam that will cause the snail darter to become extinct. We can only ask whether building it would be conducive to human survival, or to snail darter survival, or to some other arbitrarily chosen end. People may, of course, have feelings of moral obligation; but only the feelings are real, not the obligations(Stephen M. Barr, The Devil's Chaplain, Aug. 2004)
You see Dr. Barr cover here what we have reviewed: that human survival is only arbitrary called "good" without a prior establishment of man's dignity. This dignity is logically absent in the atheist worldview.

As we will see later, the atheist will claim to desire morality to attain a "nice" society where people "reciprocate" niceness. But, again, if we use only an atheistic purview, what does it matter if people are nice or hostile, survive or don't survive? Animals live and die all the time. Molecules assemble and disassemble all the time. So what if a combination of molecular activity that matches what we call "death" or "suffering" occurs? Certainly, atheists feel a sense that survival is "good," but they cannot draw that conclusion using only science or atheistic epistemology.

Peter S. Williams, assistant professor in communication and worldviews at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway, addresses this very point:
The question is not: Must we believe in God in order to live moral lives? There is no reason to think that atheists and theists alike may not live what we normally characterize as good and decent lives. Similarly, the question is not: Can we formulate a system of ethics without reference to God? If the non-theist grants that human beings do have objective value, then there is no reason to think that he cannot work out a system of ethics with which the theist would largely agree. ... [A]lthough the non-theist can do the right thing because they know what the objectively right thing to do is, their worldview can’t cogently provide an adequate ontological account of the objective moral values they know and obey. (Peter S. Williams, Can Moral Objectivism Do Without God? Theofilos, 2012)
In other words, atheists often behave as if man is made in the image of God Who is eternal goodness itself, toward Whom man turns during acts of moral goodness, toward Whom man finds his eschatological end.4 But there is no atheistic praxis that can substitute for God and moral goodness in this way.

As we have said, the atheist can commit a good act. But in failing to have a firm ground upon which morals are built, the atheist's call to morality is brittle and collapses under scrutiny. Let's examine further in the next section.

"SCIENTISTS ... HAVE OFFERED VERY COMPELLING SCIENTIFIC-BASED ARGUMENTS TO EXPLAIN THE EVOLUTION OF MORALITY."

Saad states:
Countless philosophers and scientists (including no lesser a man than Charles Darwin) have offered very compelling scientific-based arguments to explain the evolution of morality (especially in the context of social species). Hence, to repeatedly utter the banal canard that morality is outside the purview of science is astonishingly false. Innumerable books and scientific articles have been written to explain the evolution of morality, empathy, kindness, cooperation, altruism, parental love, romantic love, love for one's friends, and numerous other emotions that constitute integral elements of our moral fortitude.
Remember, the article's premise is: "Morality is within us independently of God." Does what the article describes as scientific studies about the "evolution of morality" reveal that conclusion? As we are about to examine in detail—no.

Certainly, one could conduct a scientific study of what cultures taught what moral beliefs. Or one could study what "evolutionary" benefit various "moral" beliefs in certain cultures had for that culture's perpetuation. However, this dodges the question. The science doesn't tell us whether or not some act in any of those cultures is "moral." It only can show "this act had this result." Science doesn't reveal that any act or belief was morally "good" or "bad." Moral arguments cannot be "scientific-based" because science never can reveal the prerequisite dignity in man in order for morality to even be considered. Let's examine several scientists and professors asserting some form of the claim that morality is within the purview of science (particularly evolutionary science).

Dawkins
The topic of evolution and morality has been addressed by pop atheist Richard Dawkins, himself an evolutionary biologist. Dawkins begins his book The Selfish Gene with the following caveat:
This brings me to the first point I want to make about what this book is not. I am not advocating a morality based on evolution.* I am saying how things have evolved. I am not saying how we humans morally ought to behave. ... My own feeling is that a human society based simply on the gene's law of universal ruthless selfishness would be a very nasty society in which to live. But unfortunately, however much we may deplore something, it does not stop it being true. This book is mainly intended to be interesting, but if you would extract a moral from it, read it as a warning. Be warned that if you wish, as I do, to build a society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards a common good, you can expect little help from biological nature. (Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, p. 2-3)
Dawkins here admits he does not advocate for morality "based on evolution" and that "biological nature" is no guide either. The reason he says this is because he believes humans are characterized by "universal ruthless selfishness" that results in a "very nasty society." His scientific studies showed him how various cultures behaved in history. From there, it is Dawkins' own beliefs as to what constitutes "nasty" that is added to the scientific observation. This isn't to say there is no basis to call, say, the Aztec sacrifices of slaves to fictional gods an objective evil, but rather that raw science offers no qualitative interpretation other than what can be observed. It is the observer who then identifies "evil" in the action. Without a conscious or subconscious recognition of man's inherent dignity, Dawkins cannot declare biological phenomenon in any form as moral or immoral.

You'll also notice the asterisk in Dawkins' quote. It refers to an endnote which also belies science as a basis of morality. In the endnote, Dawkins expounds:
Others, perhaps because they read the book by title only or never made it past the first two pages, have thought that I was saying that, whether we like it or not, selfishness and other nasty ways are an inescapable part of our nature. This error is easy to fall into if you think, as many people unaccountably seem to, that genetic 'determination' is for keeps—absolute and irreversible. In fact genes 'determine' behavior only in a statistical way... A good analogy is the widely conceded generalization that 'A red sky at night is the shepherd's delight'. It may be a statistical fact that a good, red sunset portends a fine day on the morrow, but we would not bet a large sum on it. (Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, p. 267)
The sunset analogy in this endnote is Dawkins' way of saying genetics determine behavior, but it's not a foolproof barometer. Consider the consequences of that sentiment. It means, even Dawkins does not believe raw biology should govern behavior, even if scientific observation shows those behaviors to arise through the scientific laws of biology. Simply because a society behaves a certain way because of their inherited genes, it doesn't equate to those behaviors being morally good, according to Dawkins. But this is just another evidence of the atheist deriving his principles of morality from somewhere other than science.

That being said, the question continues to loom: on what basis does Dawkins say that any action receives the moral quality of "nasty"? According to his own caveat, the source is neither "based on evolution" nor "biological nature." Remember, Saad said the idea that morality is outside science's purview is "astonishingly false."

During a 2006 talk by Dawkins, an audience member asked the following question:
Question: [Y]ou accuse people, I suppose Christians, of saying that we get our morality from the Scriptures. But clearly this cannot be the case because humanity from every civilization throughout time has a sense of morality, and clearly most of them have had not have not had access to the Bible. So I'm curious then what you think is the origin of this morality. If someone comes in here with a gun and began shooting all of us we would call that bad. Why? Why is that bad? 
You can hear Dawkins' full response in the above link. Keep in mind the two questions asked here: What is the origin of morality? and What makes something bad? You will notice that Dawkins does not answer either question.
Now if you're asking me where we get our morality from I think that's an extremely complicated question and one that I'm very interested in. I've got a whole chapter on it in the book which I didn't have time to read from. I think that a sort of bedrock of it probably comes from our Darwinian heritage as a kind of misfiring byproduct of our Darwinian past, when we lived in small villages or small roving bands, which meant that we were surrounded by close kin and that, as you no doubt know, is one good prerequisite for the evolution of altruism under Darwinian rules. And also in those small villages or roving bands we would have been surrounded by people who we are likely to meet again and again throughout our life which provides the basis for the other main Darwinian reason to be moral or altruistic—that, I think is the Darwinian origin and I suspect that, although we no longer live in small bands, the same rule of thumb, rules of thumb, which were honed in our Darwinian past are playing themselves out under the alien conditions of modern urban society. 
The rule of thumb used to be—be nice to everyone you meet. Because everyone you meet is likely to be either a cousin and/or somebody you're going to meet again and again, and therefore in a position to reciprocate. Darwinism doesn't forecast, doesn't suggest, that we should be all wise and do what is actually going to be best for our selfish genes. Instead it says that it builds into our brains rules of thumb which worked in our ancestral past. That rule of thumb—be nice to everybody—is still in our brains. It is a lust which is rather similar to sexual lust which is still in our brains even though we may use contraception and therefore are not actually using copulation to reproduce. 
Dawkins' answer does not address whether evolutionary science can demonstrate moral origins. Dawkins does say that our brains were conditioned in our ancestry to be nice to others we'll run into later because they might "reciprocate" niceness. That explanation of morality's origin, assuming hypothetically it was true, does nothing to reveal whether any given act is moral or even whether morality exists. All Dawkins is able to assert is that man in history did things to get something he liked in return. The origin of the moral values Dawkins assigns to those behaviors are not given an explanation.

The questioner had also asked, "Why is that bad" if someone came in and shot everyone? Dawkins did not address the why. He instead diverted to ancient tribes being nice to get nice things in return—a non-confrontation of the real question. If Dawkins' is implying a shooter is "wrong" to kill on the basis that he will not be shot in return, his answer still fails to address why any human merits not to be shot in the first place. 

Dawkins seems to know the inadequacy of his answer. Despite his theory about tribes and reciprocal niceness he is still left baffled as to morality's origin. During a later part of the Q and A, Dawkins states:
I think it is actually fairly baffling where our morality comes from and why we're in fact as nice as we are. ... If I ask myself why I don't steal, why I pay my taxes, why I do that all the things that keep society going, I suppose it's a slightly irrational feeling that I wouldn't wish to live in the kind of society where people behaved in the sort of ways that I wouldn't wish them to behave in.
While Saad claims "scientific articles have been written to explain the evolution of morality," Dawkins—an evolutionary biologist atheist—says it's "fairly baffling where our morality comes from." Dawkins proceeds to explain that his own reasons for being moral are "irrational." One could certainly interpret these two atheists as disagreeing on whether morality is explicable by science. This would also be a strike against non-religion as a source of morality on account of their disagreement—at least it would be a strike according to Saad's article.

In another book, Dawkins candidly asserts: "Science has no methods for deciding what is ethical." (Dawkins, The Devil's Chaplain, p 34, 2003) He goes on to argue that science reveals various biological data, but that it's up to "individuals and society" to make ethical determinations, not science. Of course, this leaves Dawkins in the position of his other quote: "I think it is actually fairly baffling where our morality comes from...", perhaps because he does not recognize man's inherent dignity in the image of God.

Darwin
Earlier, we saw Dawkins attempt on the fly to explain morality in light of "our Darwinian heritage." Saad similarly declares morality has been scientifically claimed by scientists including "no lesser a man than Charles Darwin." Thus, it is worth looking at how Darwin was able to excuse some of the "blackest" behaviors in the animal kingdom because it contributed to the species' survival:
It is often difficult to judge whether animals have any feelings for each other's sufferings. Who can say what cows feel, when they surround and stare intently on a dying or dead companion? That animals sometimes are far from feeling any sympathy is too certain; for they will expel a wounded animal from the herd, or gore or worry it to death. This is almost the blackest fact in natural history, unless indeed the explanation which has been suggested is true, that their instinct or reason leads them to expel an injured companion, lest beasts of prey, including man, should be tempted to follow the troop. In this case, their conduct is not much worse than that of the North American Indians who leave their feeble comrades to perish in the plains or the Feegeans, who, when their parents get old or fall ill, bury them alive. (Darwin, The Descent of Man, p.77, 1871)
Later, Darwin attributes morality in man not as an obligatory attribute but a tool for the perpetuation of a tribe:
It must not be forgotten that although a high standard of morality gives but a slight or no advantage to each individual man and his children over the other men of the same tribe, yet that an advancement in the standard of morality and an increase in the number of well-endowed men will certainly give an immense advantage to one tribe over another. There can be no doubt that [such tribes] ...were always ready to give aid to each other and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection. At all times throughout the world tribes have supplanted other tribes; and as morality is one element in their success, the standard of morality and the number of well-endowed men will thus everywhere tend to rise and increase. (Darwin, The Descent of Man, p. 166, 1871)
In this Darwinian—evolutionary—explanation of "morality," we see no consideration of moral objectivity. Nor is there anything resembling moral obligation. Rather, "morality" is simply "one element" a tribe uses for survival success. Remember, atheists who appeal to these "evolutionary" explanations of morality are imposing onto the scientific observation the notion that man's survival is morally "good." They seem to hallucinate, in a sense, that they have observed "morality" in scientific observation, when they have not. As well, to interpret "morality" as a tool for the fittest group's survival is to strip its worthiness of the word morality. It's a nonsensical use of the term "morality."

Worthy observations are made by Theologian Dr. Scott Hahn and Ethicist Dr. Benjamin Wiker speaking of Darwin's specious use of the term "moral":
Note that neither the evolutionary process nor the results are themselves moral. Natural selection itself is pre-moral and the result (some particular "moral" trait) is not itself moral according to an objective, eternal, or immutable standard any more than a particular shape of a bird's beak is good or evil. A particular shape for a bird's beak is good for this kind of bird, under these conditions, pertaining at this historical time. But a duck's bill, while good for the duck, is not good for the eagle. And even for the duck, if conditions change, that particular shape may actually prove detrimental or not as fit as some modification. The same is true for every kind of trait, including those that we would call "moral." So, when we say "good for" or "bad for" in regard to evolution we must remember that these are not moral terms. For this reason, there cannot be intrinsically evil actions among animals, and human beings are one more kind of animal. (Dr. Scott Hahn and Dr. Benjamin Wiker, Answering the New Atheism, p. 104, 2008)
This point about natural selection being "pre-moral" is important. Atheists pointing to evolution as some kind of barometer of morality commit, perhaps unwittingly, a bait and switch. The listener is primed to see a scientific demonstration of morality, but the content is then switched to evolutionary advantage while still calling it "morality."

By appealing to evolution as a barometer for morality, the atheist also falls into moral conundrums such as the evolutionary advancement of one tribe that obliterates another, enforced euthanization of any weak members of a clan, the enslavement of rivals, etc. In any occasion where such perpetrators consistently avoid detrimental retaliation, their actions can only be considered moral according to the Darwinian principle of defining morality as "one element in their success."

And, once again, all this presupposes the perpetuation of any species, especially humans, is morally "good." The atheist really has no basis to assume natural tendencies in the animal kingdom are necessarily "morally good." This is why it is said natural selection is "pre-moral."

Regardless of the original article's histrionic claim that the existence of morality outside science is "astonishingly false," morality is not revealed by "science." It's an untenable position once scrutinized.

Churchland
Patricia S. Churchland, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California and adjunct faculty member at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, is another atheist who argues for the evolution of neurobiology as the platform of morality. In her article The neurobiological platform for moral values, she sets up her case for "morality" thusly:
Values are not in the world in the way that seasons or the tides are in the world. This has sometimes provoked the idea that moral values come from the supernatural world. A more appealing hypothesis is that moral values are not other-worldly; rather they are social-worldly. They reflect facts about how we feel and think about certain kinds of social behavior. Those processes are drivers of behavior.  
The values of self-survival and self-maintenance are not in the world either. But we are not surprised that they shape the behavior of every animal. No one suggests self-survival values are other-worldly. Instead, it is easy to see how the biological world came to be organized around such values.
Notice from the onset, Churchland admits that "values" are not an empirical phenomenon in contrast to seasons or tides. She then attempts to tie morality back into science by presupposing that moral values are connected to "survival" in the "biological world." Keep in mind, the Catholic can fully agree with the goodness of various cures or ministries. Catholics themselves have contributed much to the sciences, hospitals, and more over the centuries. However, the Catholic sees the human tendency to survive as the inherent recognition of the value of human life because it has dignity in the image of God, the numinous eternal goodness. But, as we just discussed, natural selection is pre-moral. Using a strictly scientific perspective, what animals or man have done throughout the millennia is just neutral data. Using a strictly scientific perspective, that animals or man tended in history to behave certain ways or tend toward survival tells us nothing about the moral value of those behaviors.

Churchland continues:
The evolution of the mammalian brain marks the emergence of social values of the kind we associate with morality... The evolution of the mammalian brain saw the emergence of a brand new strategy for having babies: the young grow inside the warm, nourishing womb of the female. When mammalian offspring are born, they depend for survival on the mother. So the mammalian brain has to be organized to do something completely new: take care of others in much the way she take cares of herself.
Churchland then attempts to explain maternal love as a chemical phenomenon:
Why do mammalian mothers typically go to great lengths to feed and care for their babies? After all, such care can be demanding, it interferes with feeding, and it can be dangerous. Two central characters in the neurobiological explanation of mammalian other-care are the simple nonapeptides, oxytocin and vasopressin. The hypothalamus regulates many basic life-functions, including feeding, drinking, and sexual behavior. In mammals, the hypothalamus secretes oxytocin, which triggers a cascade of events with the end result that the mother is powerfully attached to her offspring; she wants to have the offspring close and warm and fed. The hypothalamus also secretes vasopressin, which triggers a different cascade of events so that the mother protects offspring, defending them against predators, for example (Keverne, 2007; Porges & Carter, 2007; Cheng et al., 2010).
In the conclusion to her essay, she goes so far as to say:
The capacity for moral behavior...in mammals depends on nonapeptides oxytocin and vasopressin, as well as on elaborated cortical structures that interface with the more ancient structures mediating motivation, reward, and emotion.
For the moment, let's accept that euphoric rewards associated with biological chemicals are the "central" reasons why mothers care for their young. But it is a disconnected conclusion to observe a body's chemical phenomena and then apply the term "moral." Why should the label "moral" be associated with release of oxytocin but not sweat or adrenaline? Higher levels of oxytocin in meerkats has been observed to increase the meerkats' willingness to share food. Is the meerkat more moral if it let's another cat eat more food? Some studies show oxytocin to magnify a person's current mood, including magnifying bad memories. What should that mean for morality if oxytocin is a platform for morality?

Rather, there is something more to the mother's action toward the child versus the hand wiping the brow. There is something not revealed by neuroscience that even the scientist subconsciously cites when claiming morality in the mother's love versus someone sweating in the sun, an athlete on adrenaline, or a feline's dining habits.

Additionally, to accept the conclusion that man's "capacity for moral behavior" "depends" on "oxycontin" explanation isn't to explain morality but to show cause for why morality doesn't exist. In this scenario, the mother is not acting out of love, unless love is redefined as her enslavement to bodily chemicals developed in the course of human evolution. This is not morality any more than is a sunflower turning its head toward the sun to absorb the rays.

While the Catholic can recognize a properly functioning body as morally helpful to survival in accord with man's dignity in the image of God,5 the strictly scientific atheist observes how biology acts in nature and then adds to the science by declaring that natural phenomenon "morally good."

Churchland later attempts to explain other moral actions "such as telling the truth, respecting the goods of others, and keeping promises". She describes "advantages of cooperation":
Men working together can raise a barn in one day. Women working together feed all the men and the children. Singing in a group with parts makes beautiful music. Pitching a tent is easier with two people, and hiking together provides safety.
In her explanation, Churchland again does not describe morality, but rather the utility of cooperative behaviors. This is no more an explanation for morality than the symbiotic relationship of sea anemones and hermit crabs.  This line of thinking also presupposes the goodness of erecting a barn, feeding a family, making music, or pitching a tent. If the barn is not built and the humans don't have shelter and live shorter lives, what does it matter? Science has nothing to say about this. Evolution has no capacity to place a value on this. Some molecular arrangements are in the universe are "alive" and some are "dead." Science is unable to observe "moral" value in one atomic phenomenon versus another.

Later, Churchland states:
Truth-telling and promisekeeping are socially desirable in all cultures, and hence exhibit less dramatic variability than customs at weddings. Is there a gene for these behaviors? Though that hypothesis cannot be ruled out, there is so far no evidence for a truth-telling or a promise-keeping gene. More likely, practices for truthtelling and promise-keeping developed in much the same way as practices for boat building. They reflected the local ecology and are a fairly obvious solution to a common social problem.
Here, Churchland admits there is no physical gene generating truth-telling and promise-keeping qualities across "all cultures." Instead, she hypothesizes that these traits are simply utilitarian in the same way cooperating to build a boat would be. Her thesis attempts and fails to elevate evolutionary science as revelatory of morality. Not once is "moral goodness" observed scientifically. Scientific phenomenon is merely interpreted in light of a presupposed dignity in man to arrive at a moral position. The scientific skeptic is not necessarily wrong to hold this presupposition, however, it is wrong to presume that human dignity and associated moral values even exist in a strictly material universe.

Harris
Very briefly, I will mention another pop atheist who claims morality is in the purview of science—neuroscientist Sam Harris, who devoted a TED talk to the claim. I won't repeat all his errors here, but in brief, Harris arbitrarily adds moral values to scientific observation and to a universe he claims is devoid of voluntary action. His arguments are refuted in the prior blog articles Why science cannot answer moral questions and Critiquing Sam Harris on Free Will.

Ruse
I wanted to also briefly include one more atheist I studied in research of this blog post: Michael Ruse, professor of philosophy and zoology at Florida State University. Dawkins and other atheists apparently view Ruse as some sort of detriment to atheism. Ruse opens his article on morality with the words:
God is dead, so why should I be good? The answer is that there are no grounds whatsoever for being good. There is no celestial headmaster who is going to give you six (or six billion, billion, billion) of the best if you are bad. Morality is flimflam. ... 
It is something forged in the struggle for existence and reproduction, something fashioned by natural selection. It is as much a natural human adaptation as our ears or noses or teeth or penises or vaginas. It works and it has no meaning over and above this. ...  
Morality is just a matter of emotions, like liking ice cream and sex and hating toothache and marking student papers. But it is, and has to be, a funny kind of emotion. It has to pretend that it is not that at all! If we thought that morality was no more than liking or not liking spinach, then pretty quickly it would break down. ...  
Now you know that morality is an illusion put in place by your genes to make you a social cooperator, what's to stop you behaving like an ancient Roman? Well, nothing in an objective sense.
Ruse's opening words resemble what we have said about morality existing only in the purview of God. (Ruse's larger argument is that even though morality doesn't exist, man will still be moral because his "psychology will make sure you go on living in a normal, happy manner.") Ruse is an atheist who believes "God is dead," thus "Morality is flimflam."

By the end of his article, Ruse admits that what is called "morality" is just a tool like teeth, "fashioned by natural selection," one of many "emotions," but ultimately "an illusion." His description of morality follows the atheists we have studied above, but he departs with them by admitting they are not actually observing morality in their sciences. Ruse stays true to atheistic epistemology and articulates its logical conclusion that morality is an "illusion."

CATHOLIC CONSIDERATIONS
We have seen the flaws in the atheist claim that science reveals morality through study of evolution.  Although the greater point of this blog post is to show the fallacy in thinking morality exists in man independent of God, I'll review a brief primer on the soundness of Catholic doctrine on morality.

The Garden of Eden by Erastus Salisbury Field, ca 1860
Acquired from Wikimedia Commons.
As we have seen, the atheist appeals to something like evolutionary survival to determine moral behavior. Granted, as we have seen, the atheist has no scientific nor atheistic basis for declaring this measurement of morality. But, for the purposes of comparison, the atheist claims morality is founded on a result of an act, i.e. survival or something like evolutionary progress.

The Catholic foundation for morality begins with the object of the act itself, prior to measurement of result. Pope Pius XII explains:
The moral value of human action depends in the first place on its object. If this is immoral the action is also immoral; it is of no use to invoke the motive behind it or the aim pursued. If the object is indifferent to good, one can then question the motives or the end which confer new moral values on the action. But however noble a motive may be, it can never render an evil action good. (Pope Pius XII, Applied Psychology, II.3, 1958)
This is further developed by St. John Paul II in Veritatis Splendor. The key paragraph reads:
The morality of the human act depends primarily and fundamentally on the "object" rationally chosen by the deliberate will, as is borne out by the insightful analysis, still valid today, made by Saint Thomas. In order to be able to grasp the object of an act which specifies that act morally, it is therefore necessary to place oneself in the perspective of the acting person. The object of the act of willing is in fact a freely chosen kind of behavior. To the extent that it is in conformity with the order of reason, it is the cause of the goodness of the will; it perfects us morally, and disposes us to recognize our ultimate end in the perfect good, primordial love. By the object of a given moral act, then, one cannot mean a process or an event of the merely physical order, to be assessed on the basis of its ability to bring about a given state of affairs in the outside world. Rather, that object is the proximate end of a deliberate decision which determines the act of willing on the part of the acting person. Consequently, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "there are certain specific kinds of behavior that are always wrong to choose, because choosing them involves a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil". And Saint Thomas observes that "it often happens that man acts with a good intention, but without spiritual gain, because he lacks a good will. Let us say that someone robs in order to feed the poor: in this case, even though the intention is good, the uprightness of the will is lacking. Consequently, no evil done with a good intention can be excused. 'There are those who say: And why not do evil that good may come? Their condemnation is just' (Rom 3:8)". 
The reason why a good intention is not itself sufficient, but a correct choice of actions is also needed, is that the human act depends on its object, whether that object is capable or not of being ordered to God, to the One who "alone is good", and thus brings about the perfection of the person. An act is therefore good if its object is in conformity with the good of the person with respect for the goods morally relevant for him. Christian ethics, which pays particular attention to the moral object, does not refuse to consider the inner "teleology" of acting, inasmuch as it is directed to promoting the true good of the person; but it recognizes that it is really pursued only when the essential elements of human nature are respected. (John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, #78, 1986)
If these moral qualities indeed are present in the human person in relation to God, it would explain the atheist's presupposition that man's survival is something "good," even if the atheist never confronts or identifies the origin of this presupposition.

Finally, morality must be considered in the scope of man's eternal destiny:
Acting is morally good when the choices of freedom are in conformity with man's true good and thus express the voluntary ordering of the person towards his ultimate end: God himself, the supreme good in whom man finds his full and perfect happiness. The first question in the young man's conversation with Jesus: "What good must I do to have eternal life? " (Mt 19:6) immediately brings out the essential connection between the moral value of an act and man's final end. Jesus, in his reply, confirms the young man's conviction: the performance of good acts, commanded by the One who "alone is good", constitutes the indispensable condition of and path to eternal blessedness: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17). (John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, #72, 1986)
You see that in Catholic teaching the goodness of an act relates to it being proper to the human condition—including in relation to man's final destiny with God. There is a divine pedigree behind all moral acts in that man is made in the image of God, Who is eternal goodness, and thus merits moral treatment and is obligated to treat others morally as well.

You notice also the them of "order" in these Magisterial quotes. This is language of the Natural Law, which is associated with the proper order of the human life. I discussed Natural Law with many Church citations in a prior blog post.

Ultimately, morality can only exist if man has inherent dignity in the image of God, which both obligates him to love his neighbor, and merits him love from neighbor.





1It is worth noting that former atheists, once also having made arguments such as "Which one is true!", have converted as a result of experiences, scrutiny of Church claims, examining apologetic works, reading source material, etc. For instance, see Why Atheists Change Their Mind: 8 Common Factors at Bishop Barron's Word on Fire apostolate.

2I recognize that there is an argument to be made that atheism and other perspectives apart from classical religious traditions can be said to be religious in themselves. The argument would say in order to be "religious," one doesn't necessarily require a formal belief in a traditional concept of God. Many atheists are dogmatic, hold unempirical beliefs (eg. their beliefs that morals exist, that certain things are "good" or "bad," that love exists, etc.), and accept numerous tenets by way of belief. In light of this argument, by choosing atheism, the atheist isn't really choosing non-religion, but merely a different religion. In this argument, the atheist isn't escaping one "conundrum" for another, but rather staying in the same "conundrum" and simply choosing atheism among the claimants of what is moral truth.

3We also see in this Ratzinger quote that morality is an "obligation of freedom." This supports the notion that freedom is a necessary ingredient when considering the morality of an act. This is one reason why it is nonsensical to claim morality exists in the universe of freedomless automatons espoused by atheist Sam Harris. See previous blog post here.

4See, for example, Aquinas' Five Ways for a proof of God's goodness.

5In 4 ways pre-marital sex is harmful, I specifically addressed how the release of oxytocin and vasopressin during sexual activity tends toward monogamy as their addictiveness tends toward attachment (as opposed to attempting detachment by promiscuity). Churchland acknowledges a similar result between mother and baby when she later writes: "[O]xytocin facilitates attachment of mother to baby. And of baby to mother." The Catholic needn't deny "meaning" in the body because a body in proper order is consistent with the whole person in proper order. (St. John Paul II spoke on a related topic about the "nuptial meaning" of the body in Theology of the Body.) The mother's love is in accord with her proper dignity in the image of God. The body's positive chemical response is simply consistent with the divine moral foundation of the act, without which it cannot be called moral.