Can anyone who doesn't believe in the Bible really have morals?

Question

For example - an atheist. If he doesn't believe in God or the Bible, then he shouldn't have any morals. Do they feel bad when they lie, cheat, steal or kill? If so, why do they feel bad? It's not like they believe anyone thats told them it's wrong.

Answer 1

A two part response

Paul writes

"All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law,

*do by nature things required by the law,

they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that

*the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
*their consciences

also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defeding them."

~ Romans 2:12-15 ( Wicked sweet spacing and * added)

So, Paul himself writes that those who do not believe in the Bible, Gentiles, have a nature in them. Despite not having heard the bible or the X Commandments, one can still follow them, or be moved by the "requirements of the Law written on their hearts", their conscience, to do so.

Secondly, anyone can have morals, that just requires having some belief structure which ventures into the ethical realm.

Machiavellianism, for example does not have a moral system, while Kantiansim does have a moral system (it is a moral system). So, anyone who believes in Kantianism can (and probably does) have morals.

I think what you mean by the question is, can Gentiles have good ,or correct, morals.

Now that is a question.

Answer 2

It would seems rather arrogant to assume that religion holds complete sway on morality. You don't need rewards in the after life for people to be obligated to be moral people. There are plenty of rewards here in the emperical world, like say good relationships with the people you care about or a clean environment for your children to be raised in.

People can act in a humanistic way with out the threat of eternal damnation. It would be a drag of place to think that everyone has to be coerced into being good to eachother. It's the right thing to do regardless.

None of these issues are the exlusive privy of religion and you don't need a god to treat someone with respect. Someone has mis-informed you because there are social norms that are independent of religion. Does god tell you that you have to stop at a redlight? The redlight doesn't in itself and neither does the the threat of eternal damnation, it the respect of the community around that stops you; social conventions. You dont want to hurt anyone and you don't want to be hurt not because a book tells you but rather because it's part of our being.

We are social animals that have had millenia to create these subtle and not so subtle queues that make it so we can live together.

Religion is a tool of power that is used to control people. Spirituality is the victim of that tool.

One last question why the bible and not other relgious text? Hell the old testment, the koran and the torah are all based on the same texts. Islam, Juddiahism and Christians all pray to the same god (no wonder we're at eachothers throats, it's a family fight), why not the Bhagvad Geeta, or The Diamond Sutra.

Take a look a this site in regards to religious text. It goes way back to some really ancient stuff that was the foundationfor the stuff that we call the bible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scripture
or this that shows quotes and their lineage:
http://www.nderf.org/religious_quotes.htm

interesting stuff...

Hope I don't sound like some sort of ****** and I don't mean to offend it's just offensive to me to assume that religion has this monopoly.

Answer 3

"Christina," -
That's simply not true. If we all did exactly what was said in the Bible and nothing else, then women (for example) would have no real freedom - for goodness' sake have you read the part which says that women should be considered spiritually unclean after menstruating, and worse, after having given birth? Procreation is meant to be the only reason sanctioned for having intercourse, yet the hoped-for fruit of this is considered to cause spiritual uncleanliness?

I do not believe the Bible, yet I do believe in a creative force- The Creator if you will. I believe in Life, and as such, I believe that the living deserve respect. So I do not lie, cheat, steal or kill - because it is wrong. It is an offence against others, and just because I do not believe unquestioningly everything the Bible says, it does not mean that I have no morals or human decency.

I also believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs - which, it appears, you don't.

Answer 4

Christianity is amoral. Atheism permits true morality.

To make moral judgments means to make 'distinctions between right and wrong behaviour according to conscience'. Christians, however (and other believers), readily admit that the behaviour which they advocate for themselves and others is a matter of simply following their god's orders. This is not morality, by any definition, and the more closely someone follows what they perceive to be the orders of their deity, the more amoral they are. Fundamentalists - biblical literalists, whatever the appropriate name is - are the least moral people of all, since by their own admission they seek to follow rigidly the orders as they see them, and eliminate any input from their conscience at all.

Furthermore, anyone imagining that they can make moral pronouncements from a religious basis is faced with an insurmountable problem: In tying their pronouncements to religious claims, their pronouncements are invalid until they can provide logically satisfactory evidence that the claims are true (which, of course, will never happen).

Answer 5

This is very good question. The fact is, I'm not a Christian (anymore) but I have very strong moral values. I don't need the Bible to help me figure out that lying, cheating, stealing, killing, etc. are bad.

Answer 6

I'm an atheist and I have morals. My family taught me right from wrong. And just because someone believes in the bible, doesn't mean that they are a good person--some of the worst attrocities of mankind were done in the name of god.
To say that if one doesn't believe in god, then they have no morals is prejudiced.

Answer 7

I am not a christian, I'm Wiccan. I was raised by my parents who taught me morals, manners, and right from wrong. As a parent myself, (I have 3 children) I have passed down to my children the values and morals that have been instilled in me. I also still get to see my step-son, who is an atheist, and he is one of the best teenagers I know! Being religious doesn't make you more acceptable to being moral, being a decent human being does!

Answer 8

Yes, atheists have morals. In fact, something is very seriously wrong with anyone who does not have morals. God CREATED us to have morals. Just because someone doesn't believe in God, doesn't mean they still aren't created in His image. C.S. Lewis does a great job of expanding upon this in "Mere Christianity." If you haven't read it, you should.

Answer 9

As a strong believer in morals and values and do unto others...etc A strong sense of compassion helps me to believe that those who choose to disbelieve are truely lost. They may have some sense of life value, or even a better sense then some highly religious patrons. But to love and care and do right unto one's self and others, you need to have a vast open mind and remove all judgement. My sister is struggling with her beliefs and the direction she wants them to head. I've just told her that she needs to stay strong in her ethics and stand her ground for what she believes in. Never discount the fact that anything/anyone is possible in this huge Aura of life. ie:God, Buddah, Santa Clause, Ghosts. May I also add that I am not a "Religious" person, but do believe that all beings are possible.

Answer 10

who said having morals had anything to do with believing in god or the bible? i know christians who do not have any morals at all. if you look up the definition of moral ther is no reference to god or the bible.