Exactly. As a Christian, I believe they were worshipping false gods—demons, in fact—which is why they were ordered to do those things. If you claim morality is subjective and valid as long as it reflects what a society collectively agrees on, why would you criticize them at all?
I answered above.
Yes. I was actually born with less empathy than normal (I think I explained this in other posts), but during my conversion, God healed this issue. Now I’m almost the opposite—at times, I can form a deep connection with others and feel exactly what they feel. This began during my conversion and has remained ever since.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes. But if I came to believe again (as i did in the past, before my conversion) that we live in a meaningless universe where, whether I live like Himmler or like Oscar Schindler, I end up the same way (that is, devoured by worms or burned by fire, and that’s it), I would absolutely prioritize my own well-being and my family’s well-being at the expense of others—especially if, as in the example I mentioned in the post you quoted, I could do so without legal repercussions.
Why would I do that? Because I would have no reason not to. It would be highly irrational to place the well-being of strangers above that of myself and my family. If we are merely bags of meat destined for oblivion regardless of our choices, then failing to prioritize our own well-being and that of our loved ones—even at the expense of others, if we can get away with it—would be the very definition of irrationality.
This behavior may serve an evolutionary purpose (as society would otherwise collapse into a Hobbesian bellum omnium contra omnes), but as a conscious being, I can choose not to give two flying f**ks about evolutionary purposes—especially when, from an atheist perspective, they amount to nothing more than a cold, senseless, heartless mechanism.
Actually, now that I think about it, I would say that not giving two figs about evolutionary purposes would, in that scenario, more clearly distinguish me from lower animals: namely, the ability to establish my own priorities and even act against the ‘natural order’ when necessary—especially since that natural order would have no inherent value and would not give two figs about me or my loved ones. I would see no inherent value in subjecting myself to such a mechanism. In fact, from a materialist perspective, doing so would bring me closer to lower animals, since they cannot choose not to serve their evolutionary purpose. But I can.
And to be honest, in such a scenario, if I could ensure that my loved ones and I enjoy a great life during the miserably short time that constitutes this brief spark of light between two eternities of utter nothingness—and do so without repercussions—then why the hell not?
Seriously: why the hell not?
1 Corinthians 15:32: “If the dead are not raised, then let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2-8: “ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14: “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.”
Psalm 39:5: “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
James 4:14: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”