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If you hate bullying, then you should love God

No one likes a bully. Even bullies don’t like to be bullied. Generally speaking, bullies are personae non gratae. While there is much disagreement about pretty much everything in modern society, we all seem to agree that bullies are bad, even if we don’t always agree about who are the bullies.  

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Bullying is so bad that there is a government website dedicated to stopping the practice.[1] The United States government defines bullying as repetitive aggressive behavior that reflects an imbalance of power.  Those of us who value the inherent worth of all human beings regardless of gender and sexuality, should be particularly opposed to bullying.

Peter Hitchens, brother of the late atheist Christopher Hitchens, argued in favor of the proposition “God Exists” at the Oxford Union in 2012. During his argument, Hitchens said: 

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“God is the principle opposition in our societies to lawless, ruthless, and power; to the bully, to the autocrat, to the despot, to the criminal, and to the person who treats his neighbor like dirt.”[2]

Hitchens has a point. An atheist (someone who believes that God does not exist) has no ultimate accountability; no divine power or person to whom his actions are accountable. In a world without God, one is accountable only to oneself, one’s peers, one’s relevant society, and the immediate impact of one’s actions. If a person or group of persons is able to amass enough power, then there is nothing above that person or group of persons to which those with less power may appeal. In a world without God, might is right.  Friedrich Nietzsche embraced this godless universe, contending that the will to power is the driving force of human history. 

If the atheist is right, then bullying should not only be tolerated, it should be celebrated. Why not? In the animal kingdom, dominance is natural and amoral. If Darwinism is true, and if humans are merely highly evolved animals, then it follows that some stronger humans will dominate other weaker humans.

In other words, “don’t hate the player, hate the game.”

But basic moral intuition, thankfully, sounds alarms within the soul of the properly functioning human being who knows that bullying is not simply off-putting, it is (in fact) morally wrong. Of course, if bullying is morally wrong, then it is not morally right, given the law of non-contradiction. A world in which there are moral facts (i.e. bullying is wrong) requires a world in which there is an explanation for moral facts. Darwinists can write the check but it won’t cash. Why? Because a universe that is the product of randomness in which survival is the greatest good cannot adequately explain why bullying is wrong.

In order for it to be a moral law that bullying is wrong, moral laws have to exist, and in order for moral laws to exist, a moral lawgiver must exist (i.e. God). Either God exists and bullying is wrong, or God doesn’t exist, and bullying is unfortunate for the weak but advantageous for the strong. 

Therefore, if you hate bullying, then (at the very least) you should want there to be a God. And if you do not want there to be a God, then ask yourself: Why not? Why would you prefer a world where moral facts cannot be properly accounted for, and where there is no ultimate accountability above and beyond humanity? Could it be that you prefer to live in a world where there is no ultimate accountability for your actions? Even if such a world inherently fosters abuse of power, such as bullying, without final recourse?

We are all more likely to accept evidence for propositions we hope to be true. I hate bullying, and so I both hope there is a God, and believe the evidence points strongly in that direction.  A universe with a just and loving God is a universe where it makes sense to oppose bullying.


[1] Stopbullying.gov
[2] https://www.oxford-union.org/node/122

Adam Groza (Ph.D.) is a Vice President and Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Gateway Seminary. His new book is Faith Wins: Overcoming a Crisis of Belief (New Hope Publishers, 2020).

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