What do those Godless Atheists use as a moral basis?

Question

In this thread:
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmJKzsGeO9AxK8hbGjHNNKng5gt.?qid=20060722114027AAI1v05
It is explained what keeps Christians on the straight and narrow:
CJ
"If you don't have a moral guide such as the bible then how would you define that anything would be right or wrong? Murder, child molestation, rape, stealing, etc.. would all be ok."

I can understand what keeps Christians from molesting choir boys, killing "witches", going on Crusades and starting Inquisitions, but shouldn't we worry about Atheists? With no promise of rewards after death there is nothing to entice them into not doing bad. They need something like a bible to keep them from doing evil. Or would a brain and some common sense suffice?

Answer 1

I'm kind of glad I'm just using the brain and common sense route, considering the track record you listed there for the Bible followers.

Answer 2

I have always found and will always find that my brain and some common sense do suffice. There have been christians that have done terrible things even with the bible, and obviously there will be about the same percentage of atheists doing the same things wrong. I have never wanted to kill someone, molest a child, rape a woman, etc. I have stolen things, but I'm sure 99% of people have at some point taken something that doesn't belong to them, and what I've stolen is worth almost nothing. I have been instilled with morals from my parents, both disillusioned Christians (my father used to be Catholic and my mother Episcopalian), I have never been baptized, I have been to a Christian church probably fewer than 10 times in my life. I am also an Eagle Scout, an NHS member, I have good grades, I participate in academic teams and I am dating a Lutheran who has absolutely no qualms about dating me simply because I am an atheist. She, as I hope most people can be, is able to look past the atheist label and see that I am a halfway decent person without the present of the whip-carrot scenario you so eloquently described.

Answer 3

Seriously?

Atheists use reason and common sense to determine morality.

Morality does not come from a book or some old guy with tablets marching down a mountain. It doesn't come from some phantom father in the clouds.

Morality comes from reason.

Take murder. Is it wrong to commit murder?

Yes. Why? Taking a human life deprives a person of his/her life. It's the highest crime a person can commit to another human being.

Also, commiting murder will beget more murder. Someone will want revenge for the killing, and in turn murder the killer. Then someone else will want revenge, and the killing just gets out of hand after a while. (See the Middle East.)

Notice that not once would an atheist need to wonder how any god would feel about murder.

It's reasonable and common sense not to commit murder.

Other moral questions go from there.

Now anyone who is good only because an ancient book tells them how to act is not truly moral because they never reasoned why a course of action is moral or immoral.

Morality is determined by how much harm is caused by a particular action. It's also based on what society will tolerate.

For example, is homosexuality immoral? No harm is caused if two men (or two women) become romantically and physically involved with each other.

But elements of the Bible proclaim it to be a holy sin, and as a result, Christians view homosexuality with disdain and even hatred. (See the "God hates fags!!" sect of the religious right.)

In a Christian perspective, homosexuality is a horrible thing, but in reality, nobody is really harmed by it. So, it's controversial, but it's not immoral.

So, the basis of judement comes down to determining what is harmful to oneself, and harmful to society.

Atheists strive to live with a truth that is gained through reason, common sense, and experience.

Hope that explains how someone can be moral without the fear of eternal damnation to make them so.

Cheers.

Answer 4

So a bible keeps people an the strait and narrow huh? How do you understand what keeps Christians from witch burning and crusades? Christians were responsible for those. How about priests that molest children?

What do you mean by "those" godless atheists? How about "them" Christians that hate others.

I have been around for 30 years. I have seen Christians do bad things like cheat on their spouses to using drugs.

I have never cheated on any of my partners. In fact I have had better morals than some Christians. And I don't need a bible to reason what is good. If an act benefits someone other than me and does not hurt anyone, then I call that good.

BTW your derogatory remarks speak well about your morals. Did I, and Atheist whom you have never met, harm you in some way?

Anyway, your question is really nothing more than a covert ruse to provoke a response from others. Very "Moral" of you.

Answer 5

Morality isn't linked to religion. Nice try.

And you mention molesting choir boys, killing witches, going on crusades and starting inquisitions... ALL of those involve religion, not atheists.

Atheists have to worry about the here and how, how their actions will affect the world as it is... you know, reality and conscience, two things that have nothing to do with religion. We know that we don't get a second chance to make it right. We have to be good to our fellow man and our world. We don't need to be promised eternal life with a supernatural being nor threatened by eternal damnation to keep us on the "straight and narrow," as you put it.

A brain and common sense suffice for us. We don't need all the other baggage that religion offers.

I get really annoyed when Christians feel they have a monopoly on morals, values and ethics. We had those way before Christianity was around and we will continue to have it after Christianity is gone.

Answer 6

1) Use of Godless and Atheists in the same sentance is redundant, as Atheist means without a god.

2) Second, you make the false assumption that only a Bible or Religion can supply a "moral" basis. You are wrong, there are plenty of secular systems of ethics that result in morals. Christianity and religion do not have a monopoly on the morals business.

3) In fact, while our secular society has a lot of so-called Christian Values built into its laws, most if not all of those values can be arrived at without any resort to the bible whatsoever.

4) I laugh at your comment about "what keeps Christians from molesting choir boys, killing witches and going on Crusades." Methinks perhaps you are setting up straw men here...as we all know that Christianity, belief in a god, and "moral bases" have prevented none of those things. In fact, as you are well aware (methinks) the Catholic clergy has been involved in and covering up child abuse for centuries, in the name of god christians have in fact killed witches and of course the 4 or 5 crusades undertaken were in the name of Christians supposedly taking back the holy land.

5) I'm not an atheist, but I don't believe in any organized relgion, as they are the works of men for men and essentially are systems where some men control the behavior of others.....

Answer 7

It is good and right for you to believe as you do and I personally am a Christian myself; however, there are other reasons for living a good life that exist outside of religion. Take a look at some of th writings of the Humanist for example. Some people merely think that living a good life is simply less complicated than living off of what you and I might call the straight and narrow. For instance, lies have a tendency to require telling more lies until it all snowballs. It could have all been avoided by merely having told the truth from the git-go. That is not merely a Christian principal; it is a fact that is relevant in everyone's lives regardless of their personal beliefs. I made my choice to live a spirit filled life and as such would not have even asked the question you asked because it is full of bitterness. Do you not know that that bitterness will bar you from entering the gates of heaven just as it would someone who didn't believe anything at all. Be compassionate in all things. Model your beliefs in such a way that it is an example to all. It will draw people to you rather than making people want to shun or stand in judgment of you.

Answer 8

A brain and common sense is enough, people had laws and morals for a very long time before Christianity came around. Besides isn't there still something wrong when the only thing preventing these crimes is fear of hell if that is the only thing holding someone back it will not continue to do so for very long. And with the salvation of Christ you can do these things ask for forgiveness and still be admitted into heaven. So how do the moral values really effect us at all.

Answer 9

Atheists use reason and intellect and empathy and personal judgement as a moral basis!..at least this one does, I don't know if it's right to speak for others.

Religion doesn't hold the franchise on morality by any means...if you can call religious morality moreality at all...it's more like following injunctions and not really thinking why so I don't call that morality.

Every day this dull questions crops up, why don't you read some of the old questions & replies.

Answer 10

Personally, I don't have much faith in people who do good simply because they are offered the possibility of some eternal reward after they die, or in people who do good simply because they live in fear that they will be eternally damned and punished if they don't commit to doing certain acts and accepting certain beliefs.

Every religion and many schools of philosophy teach people ho wto be ethical and moral human beings. Some say it's for crowd control. I prefer to think about it as providing us with an opportunity to improve ourselves and the world we live in, in the "here and now." IF (big IF) there is something beyond that, that's great.

But I don't think that "something beyond" should be the "cookie" or the "carrot before the horse."

But that's just my gig.

P.S. I am very concerned with moral relativism as much as I am with the idea that any one religion has "all the answers" and that they are all "right."

Answer 11

Well first Paul does say in Romans that People who have no knowledge of the truth have the truth written in their hearts. I think this can help give a moral compass to some. But I think the sin in the world can become like a magnet to that compass and skew the heading.

But I worry the most about growing closer to God myself and bringing more of the Kingdom on this earth in my family and home.