Originally Posted by Rotaerk

I understand that within your faith, there are things which are absolutely good and absolutely bad. Similarly, to me there are certain things which I find absolutely right and absolutely wrong. However, neither case implies that right and wrong are absolute. In fact, the difference in our views of right and wrong is a prime example of why it is not absolute.

Even if God himself told me "this is right, and that is wrong", I won't suddenly change my views on right and wrong. God simply has a different opinion, one that happens to be enforceable by a power that is absolute. You say God is the essence of good? Well obviously, if he's defining the standard by which you judge right and wrong... I'm the essence of good by my own standard too.

If God exists, then yes, there is a standard which can be enforced absolutely. This is similar to the law. I may not agree with the law, but it is absolutely enforceable within the country. However, that doesn't make the law the final word on what is right and wrong.

Furthermore, this battle of which you speak is within your mind. The so-called "evil" people you fight do not usually hold the same dichotomy of right and wrong that you do. They don't choose to be evil. They merely live by a different idea of what's right and wrong. They may not even be aware that you're trying to fight them, and then when they do become aware, they consider you evil for attacking them. The Islam extremists who demolished the trade centers were fighting evil in the war that lies within their own minds.

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Oh, and I have read some theist philosophy. I read five proofs of the existence of God, one of which was Aquinas's. I demonstrated that all five were fundamentally flawed. I do not recall which they were, but if you want to present me with one to evaluate, I would be more than happy to do so.