for the atheist : about immorality?

Question

(just curious) : Christians knows if things are immorally wrong or right by reading their bible. For the Moslems their source is the Quran. The Buddhist has their own book too. For the atheist, i wonder what are the basis to tell if something is immoral or not, right or wrong?

Do atheist depends on what constitusion says on what is illegal or not illegal? like if it is not illegal then its not wrong right?
(just curious---no offense)

* how does one know if something is right or wrong? what about homosexuality? how about stem cell research?, abortion? euthanasia? etc. .Since the majority of the society believes these are wrong? Are these also considered wrong for the atheist people?

Answer 1

I do not need a Bible to tell me that killing someone to get his wife is immoral (check about King Solomon); I do not need a Quram to know that killing people on a jetliner is a terrible thing to do (as a matter of fact, nowhere in the Quram is this recommended).

I grew up with a family that loves me; I know that the way to see what is right or wrong came from their kindness, and what I know will disappoint them, or me.

It would be summarized by "do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" , and by the way, I would think Jesus said that, nice chap him, although I do not think of him as a God.

Answer 2

Everyone lives life by their own standards no matter if they are atheist, christian or muslim. It does not matter what some book tells them to do. This is why we have some christians who support stem cell and some who do not.

When searching for a definition of "moral" and "immoral," you have to look at yourself. Some will try to push their morals on you while others will just let you believe what you want. There are no 2 people alive today that have the same moral values, which is what makes those words so hard to define.

I have my own set of values that I follow. They do not come from a book or something that someone else has told me. I have a sense of what right and wrong is thanks to my parents. While they may have taught me these things, we do not share the same beliefs.

Answer 3

We base our actions on the patterns in the society. Whatever is right for the community, we respect it and follow it, although we Atheists have different beliefs, we respect you faith. Although morality rises from religions, not all are based on them. Morality is a standard set by the people not by God. We created laws, we judge actions and we oppose what we feel is wrong. There are many things not indicated in the Bible like homosexuality, but some people look at it as something sinful. And the bible is by scientifical basis written by humans not God. The bible didn't just fell from the sky.

Having no God doesn't mean we are evil!

Just imagine, what if there is a religion that allows stealing, killing and adultery and is widely implemented among world societies...

Then killing or stealing is moral to them...

But because we feel it is wrong, we include them on our codes, our philosophies or our laws as morally wrong.

But take note: Not all morally wrong action is illegal.

Answer 4

It's a fair question. The truth is that atheists rely basically on the same things that everyone else does for their moral views. The truth is that most religious people don't rely on their religious texts. If so, you'd see a steady belief in the same morality over time among believers. The truth is that moral views shift quite a bit over time. For instance, slavery was considered moral when the New Testament was written and for centuries thereafter. It's only the in the last 150 years or so that things have shifted so that the vast majority of people consider it immoral. Religious people then read their Bible and assume that the Bible has always said it was. Actually what's happened is that society has changed its mind for a number of reasons. These include secular philosophy, economic interests, changing psychological influences, etc.
So I'd say I draw my moral views from my society, from my upbringing, from my family's views, traditional views of some sub-groups I'm in, my own psychological reactions to things, and from my rational analysis of the affect that actions have on myself and others. Thus many of my moral views are similar to those of people around me, but differ as well. I bet if you take a Christian from Japan and a Christian from New Jersey they'd have a lot more in common in their moral viewpoints with the people around them, even of different faiths, than they would with the foreigner with the same religion.
Most believers have never actually read most of the holy text they attribute their morality to. If they did, they'd have moral trouble with God telling the Israelites to slaughter children. You see, most people consider that wrong and it's morally difficult to justify God's ordering it. It can be done, but it leads to weaker morals because you've just accepted the cold blooded slaughter of babies.
Similarly, most Christians don't really believe some of the basic moral teachings of Christ. Do you in your heart of hearts believe that all sins are equally bad and that thinking about a sin has the same moral weight as doing it? If one person looks at a wallet lying on a desk and thinks "I'm tempted to take that, I could use the money" but doesn't and the next guy actually steals it then most moral systems would say that the actual theft is worse than the thought. The two are very different. Only Christianity that I know of says they are the same. Yet most Christians don't actually apply the Christian view, they agree with the general view that doing the bad act is worse than just thinking about it.
This is a big example of how we all share roughly the same moral views as our society but some think they draw their morality just from their religion.

Answer 5

If someone were to prove to you that (insert your religion here) was a hoax, and that what you have been brought up to believe was false, would you throw your morals out with your religion?

This was proven to me. I was a Christian for half my life. I now know that the religion is false and based on a very shady foundation. However, I still live my life very close to what Christians would consider Christian morality. (Minus the hypocrisy, xenophobia, and prejudice) Part of this comes from the fact that my parents taught me to live a certain way. But most of it comes from the fact that I care about people, and I treat them the way that I would want to be treated.

Answer 6

Um, it's just how you are raised in your family and society. There are many things that are clearly wrong and we know this as well as you. We don't need a fear of eternal punishment (though the thought of prison is enough lol) to be good people, we just act like good people because that is the way we are supposed to be and what is right.

Answer 7

I was brought up to be a Christian, but was free to make my own mind up, once I reached adulthood. My parents taught me what they thought were good, basic, moral standards, and, as such, my actions are dictated by personal morality, life-experience, and the current law. I'm not perfect, and ultimately, my own conscience is the deciding factor.

Answer 8

Instinct plays a part in it but I also abide by the rule of not doing to someone else what I wouldn't want done to me. I do kind things for others, I don't hurt anyone, and I don't judge anyone.

Answer 9

Atheism is not the same as immorality.
Believe it or not, some people learn right from wrong through other methods than what the Christian church teaches.

Answer 10

Instinct, environment, a brain.
After all, people made up the bible.
There's plenty in there that we would consider immoral now.