Is it your religious beliefs, the law, or just your core values.
A co-worker found out I was an athiest and asked me, "what keeps you from just going out and killing everybody, if you don't believe in god"
2006-08-21 05:19:50 · 55 answers · asked by martin 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You can respect life, people's rights, the environment, etc. without believing in God. People are lucky creatures (well, that depends on your viewpoint) as we can think and reason through situations for ourselves. It doesn't take an Einstein to realize that hurting another living creature isn't right. "Right v. Wrong" isn't necessarily a religious argument. Our constitution declares that there shall be a separation b/w church and state, yet our laws clearly define what is wrong - such as murder, and punish people who violate these laws.
Also, I know plenty of people who believe in God who are not good people; and plenty of people think they are doing God's work by killing others.
I think that the bottom line is: regardless of anyone's personal beliefs, he/she should never infringe upon the rights of others. Thank you, Kant.
2006-08-21 05:25:19 · answer #1 · answered by G_Elisabeth 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, I would think you don't have a practical purpose for killing a bunch of people. Also, there is the whole law thing. It is possible for you to have your own set of morals that drive you.
Problem with alot of people of faith is that they require that faith to keep them on the straight and narrow. That is totally OK, but the problem is that they assume everyone must have the same hangups and must follow along the same path to morality to keep from being immoral heathens.
I am not an atheist, but I respect your belief and believe you can discern right from wrong. Whether it be the law, up-bringing, whatever, that's all that matters.
2006-08-21 05:33:21 · answer #2 · answered by EZ 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There was a time when I would have said my conscience prevents me. But that was in the prehistoric era when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Lately, I have come to the realization that the only thing that prevents me from committing evil is the fear of law. There are people in this world I would love to hurt. I still bear considerable hatred for a girl who played with my heart for quite some time. I have often pondered over ways and methods I could get back to her. I am not an atheist; quite a believer and in my saner moments I even challenge my irrational processes.
But I am quite sure that if there were no rules and regulations and no fear of being caught and humiliated, I would succumb to my moments of insanity.
It has been rightfully remarked that man is a social animal. The animal part endows the primeval instincts. Bite back if you are attacked! Draw blood if you smell danger! Its the 'social' part that prevents us from giving in to those urges.
2006-08-21 05:30:44 · answer #3 · answered by Triple_Lutze 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can have a strong moral compass without having a belief in a Higher Power. Morality is not dependent on the existence of God and the threat of punishment for disobedience.
If anything, in some ways atheists could be considered MORE moral than many theists, because when atheists choose not to do bad things, it's because THEY think they're bad and wrong, not because they're afraid that God will punish them if they do them.
2006-08-21 05:29:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe mine comes from core values. I think that "you get what you give". It has nothing to do with law, etc. for me at least. I have been exposed to religious beliefs, and even people with religious beliefs do evil. They gossip when thier belief tells them not to. To many things to list. I was there for 18yrs.
So, again, I believe it is my core values. I want to get what I give, and it keeps it real simple that way.
2006-08-21 05:30:57 · answer #5 · answered by shewolf 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Geez, just because you are an atheist doesn't mean you don't have morals and a conscience. To be honest, it worries me that the only thing stopping religious people from going out and killing everybody is because they want to go heaven, is scary. Does that mean that they don't have morals and/or a conscience without God?
2006-08-21 05:27:48 · answer #6 · answered by Fool in the Rain 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am an athiest as well. Belief in God is not required to have good morals and ethics. She sounds like an ignorant fool to me.
2006-08-21 05:27:00 · answer #7 · answered by Gypsy Girl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fact that bad things happen too you when you do evil? just because you don't believe in god dosent mean that you don't want to enjoy life. And let me tell you something you wont enjoy life if you go on a killing spree you will just have to enjoy not dropping the soap.
2006-08-21 05:26:46 · answer #8 · answered by ryan o 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is my core values...
I chose my religion based on my core values... religion did not give them to me. We all chose what we want to believe or what we agree with. The religion just lends credibility to what we already believe.
My core values are:
Open mindedness
Respect for others
Peace (at home and in politics)
Giving charity when it will help
Education
Equality among the economic classes
Protection of Nature and the Environment
2006-08-21 05:28:55 · answer #9 · answered by rabble rouser 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't do evil because I don't believe in evil. If you want to look past the term "evil" then I don't go out and do "bad" things because I don't want to. Nothing keeps me from going out killing everybody, I simply don't want to. Its not like I'm constantly being tempted to do bad things. Does your coworker honestly believe that without the bible, people would rush out and start killing people?
2006-08-21 05:27:30 · answer #10 · answered by boukenger 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋