Death Quote by William Lane Craig
““...if God does not exist and there is no immortality, then all the evil acts of men go unpunished and all the sacrifices of good men go unrewarded. But who can live with such a view? Richard Wurmbrand, who has been tortured for his faith in communist prisons, says, The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe when man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil. There is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil which is in man. The communist torturers often said, 'There is no God, no Hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.' I have heard one torturer even say, 'I thank God, in whom I don't believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.' He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners.””
About This Quote
Source Debate: The Existence of God, 2002
If God and afterlife are absent, moral accountability collapses, yet humans still seek meaning and restraint.
In simple terms: Without belief, morality seems ungrounded.
Key Takeaway
Find purpose beyond belief.
Themes
philosophy
theology
ethics
Mood
thought‑provoking
serious
Type
theological
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal conduct
- legal systems
- social norms
Key Concepts
moral realism
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What grounds ethics without deity?
- Can societies thrive without belief in afterlife?
A Different Perspective
Moral behavior can arise from secular foundations.
![“Richard [Carrier] takes the extremist position that Jesus of Nazareth never even existed, that there was no such person in history. This is a position that is so extreme that to call it marginal would be an understatement; it doesn't even appear on the map of contemporary New Testament scholarship.” quote by William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/79f/william-lane-craig-8716_carrier_richard-carrier-takes-the-extremist-posi_493423.jpg)
