What do you think about this statement?

Question

If god doesn't exist, neither does good or evil.

*WARNING: MAY OFFEND* I mean WTF is the reasoning behind this. First of all what does god have to do with good or evil. Even if there is a creator, try as I might, I can make no connection between whether we were created by an intelligent designer or a natural process and whether or not we can choose between right or wrong. For me, there is no god. Yet, if someone is being tortured and I know I can stop it, I'm not gonna sit there and watch it because there is no god, even if I know I would not in anyway be punished for not acting. Why? Because that is what obviously what is right to any sensible person. I'm beginning to think good' ol god is some way to restrain the selfish people in society from deciding to walk up to random people and blow them away. What do you think?

Are you sure about that Selar?

WTf? This has nothing to do with proving god is not real (It actually is impossible to disprove a negative anyway) Perhaps you need to sign up for reading comprehension lessons at your community college but until then let me try to put it into a 1st grade level for you.

What-is-the-*connection-between-*existance-of-god-and-right-and-wrong?

I put stars on all the words you may need the dictionary for....good luck.

Grrr....sry, I know it makes it all the more difficult for you. The yahoo answers Goofed up my add on.

What is the connection between the existance of god and right and wrong?

Answer 1

I think you are absolutely right. A breathe of fresh air in here.

Answer 2

It's very telling of a persons moral barometer when they say that without threat of punishment or promise of reward, there is no impetus to do good and no deterrent to do evil.

Let's face it, most religionists aren't very sophisticated when it comes to the philosophy of morals. For them god is the be all end all of everything we say do or think. There's nothing humankind does that is not dictated by either god or satan, so this is why they cling to the idea that good and evil are what they are because that's what the bible tells them.

Nevermind the fact that before the rise of Yahweh or other lawgiver gods, humanity was pretty good at building cities and establishing rules to live by that kept things more or less harmonious for the vast majority of the population.

Next time a christian or religionist gives you that line, ask them how is it that a document such as the bible can be called upon to provide us with a set of codefied behaviour that is seen as "right" or good, but still advocate something that all of modern society sees as morally reprehensible; slavery.

Answer 3

I think the idea is that good and evil can't exist independently. They are relative terms, so they need one another to exist. For example, you can't have something pretty without something ugly or else you'd have no basis on which to judge what is pretty and what is ugly. Apply the same logic to good and evil. You have no basis upon which to judge good without judging evil- right/wrong is the same. This dichotomy is important to most Judeo-Christian religions and philosophies as well as some Asian ones (ever heard of the yin-yang).

OK, now take that a step farther. The belief then goes that without God, you'd have no moral basis from which to distinguish good from evil. Don't think about this from a literal, dogmatic mindset (since you obviously are not religious on that level) and instead consider it philosophically. The idea of "god" could mean an extreme of good or the essence of good itself, which of course could not be human or organic in nature since it is abstract. It could also be the conciousness of self that humans have that helps them distinguish good and evil. Animals, for example, have no understanding of good and evil even though they are both very real abstract concepts and realities to us because animals do not have the conciousness of self to experience them. So for animals, good and evil does not exist. Just like they wouldn't exist for us if we didn't have this conciousness of self that many people call "god".

I'm not religious, by the way, but if you have a little understanding of this philosophical viewpoint and then go and read the first few pages of Genesis metaphorically, you'll find it very rich and full of answers to your question. It is actually an exploration of that question.

Answer 4

Then why do we feel guilt? Or feel anything at all for that matter?
Society? Upbringing? Then how do you explain sociopaths? Or Mother Theresa? Or love? Chemicals? Hormones? And what's holding all of these molecules together? Are we doing it ourselves? I turned from God for a very long time, I never stopped believing in Him, I knew He was there, I just didn't think He was very helpful. I turned back and my life is much better. That's how I know He's real. I'm not trying to convert you, I just want you to know that I've been there, and I like it better here.

But more importantly if you would risk your life for someone else then you are a good person whether or not you believe and that's what matters most.

Answer 5

People cannot bear to accept the fact that humans do not need a god-father figure doling out the rules from on high. They can't accept that people are responsible for their own actions, for their own fates and for all the consequences of the aforementioned actions.

People do not need "god" to set morals and standards. Those come from a deeper sense of connection with your fellow humans. Humans are (or SHOULD be) altruistic, compassionate, emapthetic and kind to each other. Humans, when they go bad, are beholden to their communities, to the people they wronged and their families and to their own families and friends. This is far scarier than an invisible bearded man in the sky who forgives you no matter what you do because you've accepted his only begotten son as your personal lord and savior.

Answer 6

So God doesn't exist because he doesn't prevent bad things from happening.... hmmm.... Actually they suffer so that this dream we live in is much more real. They suffer at the hands of other people, not God. What purpose would we have if nobody ever suffered? How would we feel happiness without ever having felt fear?

Of all the *PROOFS* that there is no God, I feel this one to be the most ridiculous.

We all know you would be a superhero if you were God, but would you know how to run the world with perfect imperfection? Would you create a truly beautiful world?

Answer 7

If your thinking is correct, then this must prove the existence of satan because man is obviously not using restraint. Consider the state of the world. I therefore submit, that with the existence of satan being proven by all the evil in the world, there is Almighty God. You can't have one without the other, as the old song says.Have you noticed that people get randomly "blown away" everyday?

Answer 8

It's only a balance in which I believe God is the final judge.
It's all right not every one believes in God and that is the way it happens. Do you see where you come into the scheme of things?
You claim to be an atheist and at the same time would help a person in need and on the other side there are people who claim to believe in God and they would just leave them sit and blame them for their misfortune.
How?
There are those who care for their fellow man and there are those who do not whether or not they believe in God.
I for one believe in God; it comforts me.

Answer 9

Because according to popular atheistic culture, the law is just a bunch of man-made rules. If this is true than good and evil are relative, but if there is a supreme moral authority there are clear distinctions between good (God's will) and evil (opposing God's will).

Answer 10

What would be the fun or the purpose of "blowing random people away"? It's not in all people's nature to hate or desire to cause harm. That's has nothing to do with religious beliefs. Some things are programmed by nature, some things are formed by beliefs, values and morals. You can have all those things without the guidance of religion.

Answer 11

The very first thing God ever told "man" not to do was to take part in the "tree of knowlege of good and evil". What is this tree? Well, I can tell you it is more than some actual tree with actual fruit. Well, man did partake of this "knowlege" and does everyday. So from that happening (using our ego minds to tell us what is "good") God has nothing to do with good or evil, it is man thinking he knows it all.