Atheism has a problem—a big problem, a very big problem. In fact, this is atheism’s biggest problem.

For a while, I’ve planned to engage with a video by Alex O’Connor titled Christianity’s Biggest Problem. Over the weekend, I had some free time and decided it was finally the right moment.

But here’s where it gets interesting: as I started watching, Alex mentions Christianity’s supposed biggest problem early on, then spends most of the video reacting to Dr. William Lane Craig’s engagement with that issue.

That’s fine, but I quickly realized that the beginning of his video was all I needed. I knew what I wanted to say.

I began thinking about how to share my perspective in a way that would help Christians defend their faith, while also showing atheists what the Bible says about this problem.

And then it hit me—one of the reasons I had delayed making this video was because Alex’s original content was from years ago.

What if he had changed his mind? I started looking through his recent videos to see if he still viewed this as Christianity’s biggest problem. 

That’s when I came across another video where he interviewed Sam Harris. Sam Harris is one of the leading figures in the New Atheist movement. They talked about morality, and suddenly, I knew that this was the video I needed to address.

The Conversation: Two Atheists Discuss Objective Morality

In the interview, Alex and Sam Harris engage in a conversation that is quite rare—two atheists discussing objective morality. It’s not something you come across every day, and I found it intriguing.

I decided to focus on atheism’s biggest problem for this post. The video about Christianity’s supposed biggest problem would have to wait.

For Christians, God sets the rules. He determines what is right and wrong.

Atheism, however, faces a significant issue in defining objective morality. I talked about this in my recent video about How God used the Olympics to show just that. 🙂 

Let’s take a closer look at atheism’s biggest problem.

Ethical Emotivism: A Moral Crisis

At one point in the video, Alex O’Connor, speaking as an atheist, says,

“I’m broadly speaking an ethical emotivist.”

Ethical emotivism, in simple terms, means that there is no such thing as objective morality. Saying that something is right or wrong is merely an expression of feelings.

For example, when someone says murder is wrong, they are essentially saying, “Don’t do that,” as if giving a command.

But it carries no truth value—it’s neither objectively true nor false.

This is why the example of murder is so effective.

Most people have strong opinions about taking a life unlawfully.

Alex admits that while he can feel like murder is wrong or express distaste for it, from an atheistic standpoint, it is not objectively wrong.

There is no such thing as objective morality without a higher authority.

The Logical Conclusion of Atheism

One of the reasons I appreciate Alex O’Connor is because he doesn’t shy away from the logical conclusions of his atheistic worldview.

He openly admits that, from his perspective, objective morality doesn’t exist.

But where you’d expect a religious pushback, we instead see Sam Harris, another atheist, grappling with Alex’s conclusions. Harris, despite being an atheist, seems to struggle with the implications of Alex’s ethical emotivism.

Alex clearly states that right and wrong are merely feelings, but Harris tries to argue that he can still make use of Alex’s views in his own ethical framework.

What follows is a fascinating exchange as they attempt to flesh out these ideas.

The Pill Example: Challenging Atheistic Morality

At one point, Alex gives an example that highlights the problem with grounding morality in atheism.

He describes a hypothetical situation in which he could take a pill that would allow him to enjoy music—a pleasure it seems, he currently doesn’t care for.

He says he would take the pill simply because he would prefer to have that new preference. However, he notes,

“There’s still no space here into which has entered a concept of moral prescription.”

Alex’s example underscores the problem: without objective morality, pursuing what is “good” is meaningless.

“Good” is just a feeling or idea, not an objective truth.

Atheists like Harris are forced into what Christian apologist Dr. Frank Turek calls “stealing from God”—borrowing from the concept of objective good, without acknowledging a divine lawgiver.

The Castle Analogy: The Illusion of Morality in Atheism

Let’s consider this in another way. Imagine you’re driving and see a large castle in the mountains with a sign that says,

“Everyone is welcome.”

When you arrive, you see the owner letting everyone in. This is an objective truth—he owns the castle, and the sign is true.

But if the owner starts letting only some people in, or none at all, the sign would be false. The sign’s claim would be meaningless.

Atheism is similar. It presents a concept of morality, but without objective grounding, it’s like a sign promising something that doesn’t actually exist.

Morality, in this case, is a feeling rather than an objective truth.

The Emperor Has No Clothes: The Futility of Atheistic Morality

In the video, Sam Harris continues to push his idea that moral judgments exist even without objective morality.

But Alex stands firm. He won’t allow Harris to escape the logical conclusion of atheism.

As they discuss various hypothetical situations, it becomes clear that, in an atheistic worldview, moral statements are just opinions—there’s no solid foundation to back them up.

It’s like the famous story of the emperor who has no clothes. Everyone pretends the emperor is dressed in fine clothing, but in reality, he is naked.

Alex, in this conversation, is the person pointing out that the emperor has no clothes—atheism offers no objective morality, no real foundation for ethical claims.

The Problem with Atheistic Morality

At the end of the day, atheism’s biggest problem is its inability to provide an objective basis for morality.

Without a higher authority, moral claims are just expressions of personal preference.

This leads to moral relativism, where nothing is truly right or wrong—it’s all just opinion.

And most people would never openly accept this way of life.

As Christians, we believe that God is the ultimate moral lawgiver. He provides the foundation for what is objectively right and wrong.

Without Him, atheism is left with a moral vacuum.

If you found this post insightful, let me know in the comments.

And if you’d like me to still make the video addressing Christianity’s biggest problem, I’d be happy to do that. God bless.

WATCH THE VIDEO