Do I, as a human being, have an obligation to "human law" before "god's laws"?

Question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiNgmtkEPLnHvutg1svYKgTsy6IX?qid=20060613161045AAtNtCt

Do I have an obligation as an atheist to step in to other countries, where horrible autrocities take place, and tell them that they are in violation of human law.

Answer 1

Human law should come first, even if we don't like the laws in other countries gods not going to save us.
We have to deal with the people here and now, not god.

Answer 2

As an antheist you have no obligation to god's laws. As a human being you do not have an obligation to force your will on anyone else. Your obligation is to yourself and to do as you see fit. If you are a member of a community I would understand a feeling obligating you to point out violations in what you would call "human law", however, if you are not a member of the community where horrible autrocities occcur I would say you are not obligated to act.

Excellent question by the way.

Answer 3

In the US the kind of things you are talking about are against the law. The only thing that separates us are laws. If I feel that killing someone over a traffic dispute is ok, the only thing that prevents me is the fact that I might face a life of imprisonment. If not for that law, I may go right ahead and kill. If their were only moral codes to abide by, that man I got into a traffic dispute with is probably dead.

You are asking from a perspective that what people do are against some kind of moral code. Take away the moral code and people are capable of the worst form of atrocities. You can step in, but you are more than likely putting yourself in peril too.

Answer 4

How far do you want to take that? other countries?? your town?? your neighbor?? It seems that when terrible things happen that if we don't get involved, then the thing naturally comes to our front door one day.
The first obligation is always to God, as he is creator. We are also to obey mans law when it doesn't contradict God. can't get out of taxes. You are not obligated to stop atrocities, but when we see someone like the woman in france that the muslim rioters threw gasoline on and she was using crutches. We are obligated by our own sense of right and wrong to help her.
But if you want to stand and watch her burn, put on your monkey dress, cause even the ladies might help.

Answer 5

As a human being you live in the material world. By the material world, I mean the world/universe that is guided by principles of physics.

As such, you are in this world with other humans. You can't break the laws of physics, but you can break laws that humans come up with.

However, you must be willing to pay the consequences for breaking the laws written by humans.

As for God's laws, they are openly speculative.

That being said, do you as a person, or does any nation have some responsibility in preventing human attrocities? Yes. We all have to make that choice.

We can choose to stop attrocities, we can choose to commit attrocities, or we can choose to do nothing.

Most choose to do nothing. A small minority choose to commit attrocities, and in kind another small minority works to prevent such things.

Which category do you fit in? The choice is yours.

Answer 6

I don't think it has anything to do with whether you believe in God or not so it shouldn't matter if you're an atheist. The question is whether you believe these atrocities being perpetrated are right or wrong by your own (human) measure. Are you "obligated" to step in? No. Should you step in? Only if you believe you should.

Answer 7

Rather impossible to answer that as a westerner. Many of the people in those countries do not see a demarcation between human laws and the laws of their religions....and have turned their religious law into something we can't even begin to understand.

Answer 8

an obligation to tell another country? ok just try stepping off the plane in afghanistan and tell them just what theyre doing wrong. I might even get me a window seat just to watch the show!..lol..maybe you should keep your views right here in america stay out of the other countries i have a feeling you wouldnt make it very long

Answer 9

No! Your obligation must be to God's law.I do not care if you are an athiest. In fact human law must be centered around the law of God. For the bible says in the book of
JAMES 4:12,17
12) There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy: who art thou that judges another?
17) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth not, to him is sin.
So no you do not have the right to tell them they are in violation of human law, because the human law has slipped its own, forgetting the ways of God. Same sex marriages for example. Now if you are called of God, then you must tell them they are in the violation of God's law, and to repent.

Answer 10

as a theist I would say that laws that govern relations between man and man are more important than those between man and G-d.

at the least we should strive to be civil and help our fellow man

as for stepping into other countries it needs to be judged if the good out weighs the bad in such action.

Answer 11

The bible says to obey the laws of the land , so long as they don't contradict the bible. As an atheist, I don't think you would care about other countries or human atrocities.