--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem of good as it faces the…" description: "\"The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this: Nature, which is the nuts-and-bolts reality for the atheist, has no values and thus can offer no g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_the-problem-of-good-as-it-faces-the-athe_1899054.jpg" --- # The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this… ![“The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this: Nature, which is the nuts-and-bolts reality for the atheist, has no values and thus can offer no grounding for good and evil. Values on the atheist view are subjective and contingent.” quote by William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_the-problem-of-good-as-it-faces-the-athe_1899054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_the-problem-of-good-as-it-faces-the-athe_1899054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_the-problem-of-good-as-it-faces-the-athe_1899054.jpg) > “The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this: Nature, which is the nuts-and-bolts reality for the atheist, has no values and thus can offer no grounding for good and evil. Values on the atheist view are subjective and contingent.” [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atheism lacks an objective basis for morality because nature provides no intrinsic values, making moral judgments subjective. **In simple terms:** Atheism offers no objective moral grounding. Key Takeaway Seek ethical frameworks beyond natural facts. Themes morality atheism objectivity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - philosophical debates - ethical education - public policy - personal decision making Key Concepts metaethics value theory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies build shared values without appeal to nature? - What alternatives exist to objective moral grounding? A Different Perspective Critics argue secular ethics can be grounded in human well‑being without supernatural premises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Atheist Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist-nature-2791189/) [Atheist Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist-values-2007712/) [Atheist View](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist-view-725147/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Grounding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grounding/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuts/) [Nuts and bolts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuts-and-bolts/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Values Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values-atheist-2791190/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. 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Dembski > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“Science must not degenerate into applied materialistic philosophy. But this is exactly what it does at the hands of today's alchemists, namely, the materialistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/science-must-not-degenerate-into-applied-materialistic-philosophy-but/) [William A. 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Indeed entire fields of inquiry, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-scientific-picture-of-the-world-championed-since-the/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Precisely because intelligent design does not turn the study of biological origins into a Bible-science controversy, intelligent design is a position around which Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/precisely-because-intelligent-design-does-not-turn-the-study-of/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“ Johnson is a radical skeptic, insisting, in the best Socratic tradition, that everything be put on the table for examination. By contrast, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/johnson-is-a-radical-skeptic-insisting-in-the-best-socratic-tradition/) [William A. 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