The children do not see a template of moral fiber in the structure of the family, are certainly not learning it at school, and therefore have no basis for any type of ethic or morals other than the secular humanist -- "it depends" and "if you don't hurt anyone" viewpoint. The secular humanist, though, espouses that there are moral values that can be ascribed without God:
. . . The moral consequences of believing the universe not to be guided by a personal god to whom petitionary prayer can be addressed are huge. That is why it is so inadequate to call oneself solely an atheist; one needs some sort of description for what motivates one's behavior afterwards (Cooke in Kurtz, 2010).
And, reading this, one might forgive Al and Peg if they at least had a moral view; but that is the issue, they do not, which causes the family to simply react to situations rather than have a foundation of love, peace, sense, and oneness with God (Strobel, 2000, 22-43).
Meaning of Life -- Most humans would like to have an idea of a path than can be followed throughout one's their lives. They want to understand the process of life, as well as the way humans interact with each other throughout the world, as well as through...
For Christians, the idea that God believes in mankind, and values humanity's approach to the universe (Cooke, 169). For the Bundy's there is really no meaning of life because there is no foundational viewpoint upon which to base morality, ethical behavior, and even thoughts about life, living, and one's contributions to the good of the world. Al works in drudgery to simply make money to perpetuate his life; monetary gain is seen as a vying for materialism, and the children lack a sense of direction. One wonders how many families globally this view fits?
REFERENCES
Clark, T. (2008). "Center for Naturalism." The Center for Naturalism.
Cited in: http://www.centerfornaturalism.org/index.htm
Kurtz, P. (2010). "Beyond Atheism -- Beyond Agnosticism -- Secular Humanism."
Council for Secular Humanism. Cited in:
www.secularhumanism.org/index.php
Cosgrove, M. (2006). Foundations of Christian Through. Kregel.
"Married With Children -- Official Site." (2010). Sony Pictures. Cited in:
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/marriedwithchildren/
Strobel, L. (2000). The Case for Faith." Zondervan.
