Authors Douglas Wilson (pro) and Christopher Hitchens (con) debate Christianity. Excerpt:
Hitchens: “the ‘Golden Rule’ is much older than any monotheism, and that no human society would have been possible or even thinkable without elementary solidarity (which also allows for self-interest) between its members.”
Wilson: “The Christian faith cannot credit itself for all that ‘Love your neighbor’ stuff, not to mention the Golden Rule, and the reason for this is that such moral precepts have been self-evident to everybody throughout history who wanted to have a stable society.”
Dear mr. hitchens; there is nothing older than monotheism.
Forgive me if I’m intruding, but I found the reference I was looking for. Arthur Custance (a very uneven writer, that one should take with a grain of salt) has an excellent essay on this general topic.
[PRIMITIVE MONOTHEISM AND THE ORIGIN OF POLYTHEISM] (1968: Doorway Paper No. 34 (From his book; Evolution or Creation?) – available online.