“The notion that God is watching you even when others are not is probably the most powerful civilizing force in all of human history.” Jonah Goldberg, Suicide of the West
He goes on:
If you think God is watching and speaking to you through conscience—or through what Adam Smith called ‘the impartial spectator’ within us—you’re going to think twice about your actions. Or at least it will give you a strong incentive to think twice.
Believing there is something outside of you, judging you by an external ethical or moral standard, gives you a standard to think about yourself that is outside yourself.
And when you don’t. . . .
HT: Jim Denison
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