Upon picking up a copy of last Thursday’s Crimson White I couldn’t help but notice the large picture of an Alabama Atheists and Agnostics member chalking the sidewalks of our campus. I wanted to know why this photo was so important, but I found none. I understand that the paper represents all students, but placing a large photo on the front page of our paper with no real story simply doesn’t make any sense. Moreover, I would like to point out a serious flaw in AAA’s worldview; I argue that this group of students is not capable (though some will accept subjective morality) of grounding objective morality in reality. I reject the idea of atheism based on simple reasoning that I ask these students to consider. 1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist. 2. Objective moral values and duties do exist. 3. Therefore, God exists. While one could certainly come up with a self-fabricated system of morality, making the system objectively, universally binding is impossible without God. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Morality, like numinous awe, is a jump; in it, man goes beyond anything that can be ‘given’ in the facts of experience.” With this in mind, we must question the credibility and agenda of groups that seek to separate religious principles from academia, specifically principles regarding morality. Though generalizations are to be made with caution, I ask if it’s only a coincidence that Christian schools are outperforming their secular counterparts in this country and does this reflect the morality imposed by religion?

I believe I’m not alone when I say that Alabama Atheists and Agnostics deserve no place on the front page of The Crimson White, especially when their world view fails to recognize what is universally right and wrong.

Joe Geary is a junior majoring in communication studies and political science.