Buddhists:Is morality possible without belief in an omnipotent Creator?

Answer 1

Absolutely. Its a fact that people who don't believe in a supreme being to dictate the laws of life to them are actually more moral than those who do believe in it.

People who have the moral decency to do the right thing even if no one (God) is watching, have high moral character. People who need someone to watch them all the time in order to do the right thing are actually quite low on moral development.

A person's true character is marked by what they do when no one (GOD) is watching. Christians have very low moral fiber, if you don't watch them every second, they will do something illegal or immoral. They are a group that must be watched or believe that they are being watched. They are a group that is more afraid of punishment than in doing what is best for society as a whole. They just don't want to be punished. If they thought they wouldn't be punished for something they thought was sin, they would do it. What low moral fiber!!!

An athiest has higher moral development as they don't believe anyone is watching them, they are not afraid of punishment and yet they opt to do the thing that will help society the most.

(The young people who are just rebelling against religion are the exception and not the rule. Teens are wanting to shock adults into reason by their irresponsible behavior. They are in no way typical of mature athiests.)

Why is this directed at Buddists? Couldn't it easily be directed at anyone who doesn't believe in any omnipotent/omniscient creator? What's so special about Buddists?

Answer 2

Judging by the behavior of people who believe in an omnipotent creator morality is easier if you don't believe.
Just look at the Middle East where the believers (Jews, Christians and Muslims) who all claim to believe in the same God are knocking seven kinds of s h i t out of each other and using their god as a justification.
How moral is that?

Answer 3

You need to ask yourself if something is good because god says so, or would god tell you to do it if it were already good?

If the first position is true, then god could tell you to rape someone, kill an innocent person, or have an abortion, and it would have to be moral because god said so. (most people object to this by saying that god would never command such things because it is not in his nature. This, however, does not solve the problem, it only shifts it: Is something moral because it is in god's nature, or is it in god's nature to be what is already moral?)

But if you accept the second position, god doesn't seem to do any good since morality and god are now seperated. God may help, but is by no means required, in finding out what is moral. This not only applies to buddhists, but atheists and all other non-theistic beliefs.

So, it seems morality does not require an omnipotent creator.

Answer 4

Humans don't NEED an omnipotent Creator to feel emotions. It's primal, all animals have emotions. When someone does something wrong, they KNOW its wrong, they don't need a book to verify their wrongdoing. Emotions shape moral understanding, not omnipotent Creators. If anything, the lack of creators and the open policies in Buddhism makes them more moral than most of the christians I have met

Answer 5

I think that the concept of an omnipotent creator helps to guide our understanding of morality, but even without an omnipotent creator it still benefits society as a whole when people act peacefully.

Answer 6

>>>when christians say that morality is not possible without a belief in god.. Are they really saying that they themselves would have no problem killing, raping, and stealing if they knew no one was looking?<< Christians don't say that morality is impossible without God. At least not Christians who really know their stuff. Morality is very possible without God. The question is, whether salvation is possible without Him. A totally different issue. As for killing and so on ... history has shown that a person, or a society, is far more likely to do those things when they have removed God from the picture. That's why the most murderous regimes in human history have been Atheist Communist ones. .

Answer 7

i am buddhist and chose not to do some things. I chose to not do these things, whether there is a god or not. A creator, as you suggest, does not rule my actions, nor my emotions. I am human, I make decisions and mistakes, just as anyone else does. I can compare myself to others through biology. If I am like others, how can I differ? We differ on our beliefs, period. My belief is that a supernatural power does not rule nor run this earth. I believe that, ultimately, if we focus our attention on the benefit of man, rather than proving or disproving religious beliefs, we could be a better species.
So, my actions or emotions are directed for the forward benefit of us, not because I am scared of the wrath of any diety.
My tenable statement on 'morality' from a buddhist.

Answer 8

Certainly.
The Bible does not even contain the word "morality". It is a word and concept made by man .....and its definition changes frequently as the years go by. Do you remember what was called "immoral" before the middle of the last century? NOW it is "moral".

God desires "holiness"

Heb 12:14

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
(from New International Version)

Answer 9

YES! Of course! We believe in karma, so every negative action you perform (Deep down in our minds and hearts we know what is right and wrong) will come back on you in a negative way. Every positive action you perform will come back on you in a positive way. And of course this also affects where you go after you die.

If you have lived an angry hateful life you are most likely to die in a hateful frame of mind, this triggers your negative karma to flourish and you will be reborn in hell. (Yes we have heavens and hells too, we believe all religions have different heavens mind). It takes a whole lot of bad karma to go to hell and a whole lot of good karma to go to heaven. If you havent done too much of either you will most likely remain on earth, either as human, animal or ghost.

The buddhist precepts are not to:

Kill or harm (anything, including animals- vegatarianism usually)
Steal
Perform sexual 'misconduct' (rape, affairs, etc)
Lie
Take intoxicants (alcohol and drugs which affect the mind)

If you become a monk there are many many more (over 200 if I remember correctly), such as dealing with gold, silver or money. Posessing only 1 set of ragged clothes, and a bowl which you use to beg for every meal (one a day- before midday). You must also not use perfumes or masturbate.

We are also usually anti-abortion, as we believe straight from conception the egg becomes conscious.

Hope this helps to 'enlighten' you :-P

Peace!

Answer 10

Why not?