Further to my last question. Do we need god to have morals?

Question

I am not a believer of any organised religion.

Do christians or other believers believe that without god, there would be no morals, no right and wrong?

Further to that, if God appeared and said raping is good, killing is ok if done on Sundays, would these two things then become morally right?

What I am saying is that if what God decides moral 'absolutes' then we are damned lucky he is a nice one.

Answer 1

morals are very personal to each person .. how they were raised .. how culture affects them etc
so i don't think that belief in god is needed to have good/bad moral standards ..and this is why i believe that we shouldnt judge others moral standards either
i do think that religion or more importantly spirituality perhaps makes us more conscious of our actions and thoughts so in that respect it can have a more positive effect on our live

Answer 2

You're right in what you imply - Christianity is amoral whereas 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 3

you are not a believer of any religion does that mean you don't have morals? i believe you do have just that for some

For some people will have thinking that having to believe in God will let them get some emotional comfort when things goes wrong or able for divine spirit to get the "blame"

If God really appear to say that raping is good, killing is ok if done on sunday then you know that some devil appear in the image of God

Answer 4

Where do you think morals came from?
Without "God" or Religion setting a standard who's standard will you follow and why?
If God appeared.... First we already said these things are wrong. The fair question is what if someone came to you and said killing your family is good. Would you say that wrongs Who are you to judge him/her? Do not go by the law that is based on morals (Ten Commandments) Now what do you do?

Answer 5

I do not believe in “God” and I have morals. I am actually nicer and an all out better person than most Christians, but I am a little biased towards myself.

If anyone has ever read the bible they would know many of the things that were written in “God’s words” are now illegal in the U.S., let alone the way “he” condoned the treatment of women was appalling.

Answer 6

It depends on the motivation for your morality.

If you "behave" because of the threat of punishment in the afterlife, then yes, you need a God--or some other being to do the punishing that reinforces your morality in this life.

If you "behave" because of the good that's already in you, and the good you see in others, no God is required for you to be moral. Good is its own reward for you.

I think that many Christians, especially fundamentalist Christians, would have poor morals if they didn't fear a punishing God. They're attracted subconsciously to the idea of such a God, which is why they chose to believe in a punishing God to begin with. They need that fear to stay on the "right track" and to keep them from hurting other people.

(You can see this in their zeal to condemn other people who are different than they are.)

If a being identifying itself as "God" appeared and said that raping is good and killing is OK on Sundays, I would recognize that being as not God. Some people would immediately go out and do these things, though, because they would no longer fear afterlife punishment for them.

As with any large group of people, not all Christians are as I described here. Many of them would continue to be moral people even without the threat of afterlife punishment because they have good in them--which is why they're attracted to Christianity's strong moral teachings.

Answer 7

The reason, I feel, that we have morals is because of God.
The morals have been part down from people to people, hundreds, thousands of years from the past.
This why I feel we have morals. If God didn't past the morals from the beginning than we wouldn't have morals now.

Answer 8

Yes, you need a god to have morals. Who is going to squash you like a bug for eternity if you look at the wrong woman the wrong way? You don't need a god to have Ethics, you just need a brain and a willingness to join the Social Contract where you treat people fairly in order to be treated fairly. Chuck the stinking god, it ain't worth it.

Answer 9

Yes, without morality, peace and social structure would be dead. The point you raise concerning raping and killing is moot because God came to give us eternal life, not take it away, so maybe you need another target for your comparative way of thinking.

Answer 10

I do not think a belief in god is needed for morals. I think a person is capable on their own of telling right from wrong.