
The Question Atheism Struggles to Answer (It’s Not What You Think)
From Truth Unites by Gavin Ortlund
April 22, 2026 · 13 min
About this episode
Gavin Ortlund examines the challenges atheism faces in providing a foundation for moral obligation and human rights.
Gavin Ortlund examines a key question raised in a debate between Douthat and Pinker, arguing that atheism struggles to provide a sufficient foundation for moral obligation and human rights without borrowing from theistic assumptions. Truth Unites (https://truthunites.org) exists to promote gospel assurance through theological depth. Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of Truth Unites, Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at Phoenix Seminary, and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville. SUPPORT: Tax Deductible Support: https://truthunites.org/donate/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truthunites FOLLOW: Website: https://truthunites.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.unites/ X: https://x.com/gavinortlund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthUnitesPage/
People in this episode
Host: Gavin Ortlund
Topics covered
- atheism
- moral obligation
- human rights
- theism
- philosophy
- debate
Keywords
- atheism
- moral obligation
- human rights
- theism
- Douthat
- Pinker
- debate
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Truth Unites, Phoenix Seminary, Immanuel Nashville, Fuller Theological Seminary
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