Why are so many people ignorant of the fact that there is no TRUE FREEDOM without GOD & being RESPONSIBLE?

Question

President Ronald Reagan said:

Without God there is not virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience... without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure... If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under. (Myth of Separation 249)

Abraham Lincoln also acknowledged the necessity of having laws conform to God’s will:

It is the duty of nations... to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. (Myth 259)

The late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen noted that the Declaration of Independence is actually a declaration of dependence upon God for our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
So, without God given rights we would be subjected to what man gives as rights with all the prejudices and biases.

wyvern1313,

My faith as a Catholic recognizes that human beings are to treat animals with compassion. Don't pervert my faith with what you don't know. It is in our catechism and I don't appreciate you misrepresenting my faith.

Answer 1

Men love darkness. Jesus Christ is the Light. They choose darkness still - go figure.

Answer 2

They are right in a certain sense, IMHO.

Even if there is no such thing as God - the influence of religion on people can not be denied. The carrot and stick of heaven and hell is amazingly effective in controlling some people's behaviours. There are, sadly I think, people in this world who would not following the rules of civilisation and common decency without the threat of a judge in the sky watching their every move.


:)

Answer 3

It is not the Christian god - per your implication - that makes people moral. I refer you to the Wiccan rede: An it HARM NONE, do what ye will. I will translate that using small words, because you seem to need them. Do whatever you'd like, as long as you don't hurt anyone, including yourself.

Christianity does not have the market cornered on morality or decency. Wicca is just one of the many other peacful religions on the planet. In fact, given the recent news about "that Evangelical minister", I would guess that Christianity's inflexibility and intolerance is doing a good deal of harm to its own members in addition to the rest of us.

I have an uncle - married into the family - who thinks it makes more sense to drown kittens than go through the trouble of spaying his cat. He is fond of doing this while his grandchildren are visiting. And a cousin of mine married a man who bragged to me about swerving to hit a kitten because "the stupid thing should have known better than to be in the road". As someone with a deep RELIGIOUS bond to cats, this is like killing a demigod (that's a half-god, and something I'm sure you won't respect either because it's "heathen").

But it's okay for them, because my uncle is a Baptist and my cousin's husband attends church regularly, and after all we're just talking about defenseless animals here. Morality only really applies to human beings. It doesn't apply when dealing with nature or animals. So I will continue to pray that my Goddess will save us from your God.

Answer 4

We are already subjected to prejudice and bias from man. Man has made the laws of the land ever since he rose from his four legged position. Evolution made him realize his mortality and morals were formed to better their lives. Religion didn't come into the picture for thousands of years.
How can laws be made to conform to God's will when Christians claim no one knows God's will. To strech that a bit, how would Lincoln know God's will unless he was a prophet himself?

Answer 5

So, since I'm a polytheist, does that mean I've got EXTRA true freedom? I always suspected as much, but I didn't want anyone else to get their feelings hurt or get jealous, so I didn't say anything before now.

By the way, I think several atheists might argue that there's no true freedom WITH god.

~Morg~

Answer 6

george hw bush said that he doesnt think atheists should have the right to vote because this is one nation under god. its weird because there are only like a few commandments that the judicial system follows

Answer 7

I don't see how a God can make us more responsible, it just makes us evict responsibility since you can pretty much screw up your life and still make it to happen.

and the Church has been guilty of sanctioning slavery too, i dont see how that is true freedom

Answer 8

That is such a sad point of view. You honestly believe freedom requires god? Not really free then, are you?

Answer 9

Prove that this is "fact", and I will follow God.

Answer 10

None of this makes that "fact."

It is not a fact. It is the opinion of some people -- some of them prominent -- but still people who can be wrong.

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