CH thinks that were he a Christian he 'would be highly unsettled by the huge number of concessions that Wilson makes.' But since he is not he simply wants to thank DW for his admission 'that morality has nothing at all to do with the supernatural.'CH argues, as in his book, that religious belief is purely optional and cannot be mandated by anything revealed or anything divine. In other words, it is one among an infinite number of private "faiths," which do not disturb him in the least as long as its adherents agree to leave him alone.
CH asserts that the cause behind the universe should make no difference to morality:Since Wilson does not even attempt to persuade me that Christ died for my sins (and can yet vicariously forgive them) or that I am the object of a divine design or that any of the events described in the two Testaments actually occurred or that extreme penalties will attend any disagreement with his view, I am happy to leave our disagreement exactly where it is: as one of the decreasingly interesting disputes between those who cling so tentatively to man-made "Holy Writ" and those who have no need to consult such texts in pursuit of truth or beauty or an ethical life.
The existence or otherwise of an indifferent cosmos (the overwhelmingly probable state of the case) would no more reduce our mutual human obligations than would the quite weird theory of a celestial dictatorship,whether Aztec or Muslim or (as you seem to insist) Christian.
Except of course CH believes that atheism gives a morality based in our obligations toward others from mutual interest and sympathy rather than through fear of terrifying punishment or selfish reward. No prizes for guessing that CH does therefore think that atheism gives a superior moral framework.
from: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-42.0.html
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