atheists / agnostics ?

Question

hey brothers

easy question... after you do something that you feel is wrong, stealing, lying, being mean, ripping someone off.. whatever; have you ever had a guilty conscience? where do you think that guilty conscience comes from ?

A) evolution
B) God
C) evolution cant explain it, BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN GOD DID ANYTHING!!!!!!
D) i have no guilt, why would a glorified monkey have remorse for its actions, the guilty conscience is a made up phenomenon

mirage i know what a superego ego and an id is. call it whatever you want its still a conscience.

Answer 1

Clearly Evolution. We evolved as a social species.

Answer 2

What makes you think Atheists or Agnostics don't have moral or ethical values?

I believe in God and Jesus and I never once questioned their ethics or morals, in fact some are more ethical and moral than so called Christians!

The question they pose is what makes your moral and ethical, free will and choice or FEAR or the nasty spirit in the sky.

My God does not DEMAND I kiss his boot!

I would not WORSHIP anyone who demanded that!

Why are you and other Christians simply antagonizing these people.

I want to know the answer to a serious question.

The END OF TIMES actually happens as it says in the Bible and for some strange reason an Atheist or Agnostic stands before Peter at the Pearly Gates and Peter announces that THEIR NAME IS IN THE BOOK OF LIFE and they are entitled to go to heaven and it is that way

These people see others go out another way.

Which WAY do THEY chose to go, the way PETER points, since THEIR NAME is in the BOOK or through the other door because they DON'T BELIVE.

NOw, that is a serious question to ask.

Would an Atheist or Agnostic GIVE UP ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN, if it were offered, and instead go back out into the Earth with the Rivers and Lakes of Fire!?

Now, that is a question to ask an Atheist.

See just how ATHEISTIC they are!

Answer 3

a.) Evolution

Everyone has a guilty conscience no matter their religion, background, geographical location or time in history. This is because all human brains function the same, just like all human lungs, livers and spleens function the same. This is the only way transplant surgery would work. Genetics and evolution propegate good designs. Human cooperative tools provided by their genetics enable better procreation. Guilt is one of these. This was established in 1971 by Robert Trivers. It was further reinforced by cooperative game theory, computer modeling and sociobiology. All life forms cooperate in some way because cooperation helps with reproduction.

Of course, the ability to model the behavior just means the theory is most likely correct, like predicting the path of a storm.

Answer 4

Feeling guilty is intertwined with feeling resentful. Honestly I don't often feel guilty except when I am ambivalent about the action required of me. I may promise something, but I may later think better of it. If I fail to do it, I'm stuck with the two thoughts: a promise broken and a secret wish fulfilled. Guilt can stem from the cognitive dissonance, and it can also stem from questioning rules that were handed down from your childhood.

Adding a deity to this mix actually makes it too complicated. Besides, people can feel guilty about things that are not their fault. Ever known a rape victim who felt guilty for being attacked? Or similar tales from an abused wife? Guilt is an unreliable moral arbiter.

Answer 5

Spiritual growth goes through stages; the lower rungs of the ladder are for people at the stage where they need a deity with a reward/punishment mechanism for behavior and morals. At this stage, people are mired in guilt when doing wrong, etc. It's also inconceivable to people at this stage that anyone could be moral without this deity and the reward/punishment system. As one progresses with one's spiritual growth, there's a realization of one's own suffering, what the causes are, and how everyone experiences suffering and is built the same way. This opens the heart to compassion. One's ego and self-centeredness still come into play and, when a self-centered act results in suffering of others, it's not guilt or fear of punishment that troubles people at this stage; it's a realization of the suffering of another human being. Again, when you're at the lower stages, you can't understand this (it's not a question of intelligence, by the way). I know -- I've been at the lower stages and didn't think the 'higher' stages were real or made any sense.

Answer 6

Actually I'm a 'sister' not a brother but I'll cut you some slack on that.. ;o)

E. Pure Conscience which does not have to be explained by either a deity or evolution. Conscience is something we develop living within society and learning from that what is right and what is wrong.

Answer 7

A. The moral sense is a product of evolution. It's pretty easy to explain through evolution, as a matter of fact.

Sorry - I know you thought this was a clever question, but you're simply not well-informed enough about science to be in a position to "stump" scientists. I suggest you try talking about some subject that you know more about.

Answer 8

I do not steal.
I seldom lie.
I am only mean online.
I NEVER rip people off.. That is what religion is for.

When I have done something that is not ethical my guilty conscience comes from morals taught to me by my family, and by society. It further comes from my understanding that I would not like to be placed in a situation similar to what I have placed other people in.

Answer 9

Not quite atheist or agnostic, but I believe good and evil are relative terms.
A. we evolved a conscience and that gives us a set of morals to follow. And a sense of what we believe we should and shouldn't do.

Answer 10

Whenever I see a question like this, I am appalled to be reminded that there are people out there who are so out of touch with their basic humanity, and reality, that they would not have any idea how to conduct themselves in society, absent the code of an imaginary supernatural being, based on the myths, superstitions, fairy tales and fantastical delusions of an ignorant bunch of Bronze Age fishermen and wandering goat herders.

Cooperation, altruism and love are innate properties of human existence... a more sophisticated version of the social organization that you can see among pods of dolphins or orcas, packs of wolves, lion prides and troops of chimpanzees. Moral consensus, moral conscience and mutual empathy are evolved survival traits. These are social constructs... the social lubrication that allows people to exist together. People come away with the misconception that they don't exist, absent religion. The religious puppet masters try to perpetuate that idea, in order to protect their conduits to wealth and power... but that is a canard. This has to do, entirely, with human nature.

***********************
"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." ~ Steven Weinberg
***********************

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mGLPViVW5ms

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mGLPViVW5ms&mode=related&search=