If you're an atheist, how would you answer this question?

Question

What's to stop an atheist from saying that bestiality is wrong?

You can say it's strange and messed up, but if you're with a pet, and you both show affection with each other, how can you say that it is MORALLY wrong?

Weird? Yes. But not INHERENTLY wrong.

You need God to have absolutes.

This is where morality comes from.

And, if you answer this question, don't DODGE the question. Don't say things like, you're weird, or that's a stupid question.

ACTUALLY answer it.

Answer 1

Why would anyone want to have sex with a dog, horse, sheep or any other animal is beyond me.
Really, there is no honest answer that I can think of other then it's just not right to tamper with nature.

Answer 2

In the land of the Christian Moral Absolutes, slavery is completely OK. It says so, right there in the Bible (Lev 25:44-46), and the Christian Moral Absolutist does not think, he just obeys.

So where does God's morality come from, that He gives two thumbs up to human bondage? And which is worse: f**cking an animal, or sacrificing one? Because the Christian Moral Absolutist has gotta do a lot of animal sacrifice too, it says so right there in the Bible.

Anyone who thinks honestly and deeply about this question will come to realize that all morality is a human construct. God is not necessary for morality any more than a bicycle is necessary for a fish.

Answer 3

"What's to stop an atheist from saying that bestiality is wrong?"

At the very least, practicality. It hurts the animal, and it isn't hygentic at all.

"You can say it's strange and messed up, but if you're with a pet, and you both show affection with each other, how can you say that it is MORALLY wrong? Weird? Yes. But not INHERENTLY wrong."

True, not IHERENTLY wrong by itself. There are, however, a number of things outrageously wrong with the act itself. Hygene, as previously mentioned, the health of the animal, the opinion of one's fellows, and other factors.

"You need God to have absolutes."

Actually, no. You don't. Non-Christian theists have other sets of absolutes...different ones from yours. Nor does anyone need a divine force in their lives to have morals.

"This is where morality comes from."

No, this is where DOGMA comes from. A very, very different thing.

Answer 4

Just because an atheist dose not believe in god doesn't mean that they don't have morals, that would mean to say that all of a religious persons belief's come from their holy scripture what ever it may be which is not the case for example many soldiers are christian but many Christians believe that killing is wrong even though the bible doesn't definitively say it is in other words they two are guided by individual morals even though they follow a faith. by the way i still think bestiality is messed up

Answer 5

... no it's not. The diseases an animal carries but is immune to while it would be highly infectious and contagious, possibly dead, to humans. HIV and AIDS came from monkeys, I believe. Sars from a cat.

Beastiality is wrong because there is no way to gaurantee that what is going on is anything but rape. Sure, you probably could train an animal for it but it would still be rape. There'd be no point to it at all. No children had from the joining.

Not to mention the fact that it is disgusting and that your "You need God to have absolutes" is... absolutely rediculous. I answered your question, now I'll "dodge" it.

Stating that one must have god and know god to be moral is despicable and rude and disgraceful to those of us who do have religion. I don't believe in your god, I suppose that makes me a heathen. I'll even use a lower cased g and call it yours and make sure you understand that I don't believe in your god nor in your ideals because your ideals allow you to pick on those who chose not to follow a god like this. Where's your morality now? Where's your absolute stopping you from being so rude?

Appearantly there isn't one, which really just proves that with or without a god people can be good. And with your god people can still be terrible and think they can get away with it.

Answer 6

I'm sorry sir, but this is not quite true. Though I am not an atheist now, I have walked that path, and I feel that we each innately have within use a sense of right and wrong that is generally the same as anyone else. Note I say generally, as we all have nuances, and we all tend to justify our own behaviors and practices as well. This is true even of those that draw their morality from deity, personified by the selective approach to scripture found in Christianity, for example. This is not a knock at the Christians, just the first example to come to mind.

EDIT- Mullah up there spurred a thought, if it weren't dictated as morally incorrect by your deity, would you sleep with animals? Is this all that keeps you from commiting this act? Probably not.

Answer 7

if morals come from god riddle me this, Why are there so many cases of child molestation by priest and members of the church, are you say "god" morally accepts this when as a community we do not?

Also where were gods morals when the crusades in the name of Christianity occurred, historical reports showed that those in the service of "god" committed heinous acts all in the name of "god", community tells us that it is wrong to commit murder, to rape, to pillage, and to plunder yet "god" let these men do this work in his name?

I feel that you are way off the mark it is community and the culture within that community that sets the rules, regulations and through this we also see morals

Non believers can still have ethics and morals.

Morality is instilled in us by our parents, our peers and those all around us, it is up to us to take notice of that, god has very little to do with that my friend.

Also just to note morality also dictated that there is a freedom of choice and right to live as we please so long as it does not effect to overall community- you agree??

Then why do you choose to preach to us, surely this is an un moral act?

one very final thought- and a dilemma you should ask yourself, what would you rather be in room filled with child molesting priests or a room full of pacifist atheists?

Enjoy your heaven with the molesters, the marauders, the rapist, the born again Christians and all the rest of the thugs that have committed crimes in the name of the lord, Just leave me alone to enjoy my time here on earth.

Answer 8

I don't believe in harming creatures of any kind. We don't know what an animal is thinking. You may have heard of Cocoa the gorilla that has been learning sign language for years and is able to communicate emotion very well. There is also a male gorilla that was found in the jungle when he was very very small and raised with Cocoa and also taught sign language. I think that his name is Micheal. When he was about 4 yrs old his trainers ask him about his mother. He signed that she was murdered and chopped into what he called monkey meat and he cried tears when he relayed this story.

I don't care what two consenting adults do together. Even if it is something that I would every consider doing myself. But leave animals alone. Just because they cannot communicate their feelings to us does not mean that they have none. No being with a mind and feelings should be a slave to anothers desires.

Answer 9

Who says you need a god in order to have moral absolutes? What evidence is there that belief in a god has anything to do with morality? Moral living is the way you live, not the way you believe. If an act has outcomes that increase human suffering that could have otherwise been avoided, that is an immoral act. Is that so hard to understand? P.S.: I did not mention any gods in making that point.

Answer 10

You answered your own question, beastiality is morally wrong and pretty freaking disgusting. Inherently wrong? i don't really believe in that phrase. I follow my morals, same as a christain should, or anybody else should for that matter, a christains morals might say "go to church to recieve gods blessing and have peace at mind body and spirit" mine say "sleep in and get your rest on sunday, spend some time with the family maybe go have some fun"
I don't believe that much in absolutes besides the laws of physics and whatnot, but hey, even they can be proven wrong.
I live by my morals, and i think i have a fairly good set of them, why are you out to get athiests? not all of us are assholes just out to get christains, i do dislike ignorance though.

Answer 11

You are so wrong. Religion does not have a monopoly on morality nor does it have a patent on spirituality. Apparently atheists may be more moral than christians if christians need a god and a threat of eternal damnation just to behave. God is not an absolute. God is an abstract, a principle, an idea a concept. We have laws in this country and if need be the fear of punishment for breaking these laws prevents most people from committing these crimes. God does little to dissuade crime.