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Essay / If God does not exist, everything is permitted
“If God does not exist, everything is permitted. ” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a popular expression used by theists, theologians, and conservatives when asked about the connection between faith in God and morality. In other words, it is claimed that without belief in a supreme supernatural figure who maintains law and order throughout the cosmos, a man cannot regulate himself as a socially and morally acceptable individual. This actually presents a major logical error since it is based on a belief in reward and punishment in the afterlife, which does not always imply in the case of the theist, who, according to research in the field from social psychology, has been shown to have the innate human desire for social acceptance and a sense of control, which can only be gained by correlating supreme authority and morality. Morality can therefore be seen as a distinct entity, built on what society considers legal, just and free from religious obligation. As humans, we tend to believe in an authority figure. Someone who is in control and can provide us with laws or simply rules of life. We are so used to having legislators and law enforcement officials that the idea of having none sounds like chaos. The thought of not having one simply depolarizes our compass and causes a feeling of chaos and confusion. Therefore, our brains resort to establishing a connection between authority and feelings of legitimacy. The chain begins with God, the ultimate ruler of the universe, followed by our government and down to law enforcement. This chain of thought is explained by Dr. Shermer in his book “The Believing Brain”. His words: “We form our beliefs for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional and psychological reasons in the middle of the article......N, Genocide, Children, Women, Violence, Holocaust. » UN News Center, April 9, 2014. < http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Oxfordpaper.pdf> Hamdani, Yasser Latif. “Do Ahmadis deserve to live in Pakistan Ahmadiyya Times?” http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/2012/08/religious-intolérance-do-ahmadis.html>Hamdani, Yasser Latif. “Are Ahmadis non-Muslims? » April 9, 2014.< http://pakteahouse.net/2011/12/15/are-ahmadis-non-muslims>Jinnah, Muhammad Ali “Quotes from Jinnah.” – Wikiquote April 9, 2014.< http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/. Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah>"Lahore tense after mosque attacks - Central and South Asia." - Al Jazeera English. May 28, 2009< http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2010/05/2010528923401784.html>"Nuremberg Laws" Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, August 4, 2014. Web. April 9. 2014.