How does a Christian define 'good'? How does a Taoist, Nihilist, Atheist, Agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, Buhddhist

Question

How do the major "religions" and "non-religious philosophies" all treat 'good' differently?

Answer 1

It is remarkably the same in most cultures. Anthropological relativists point out the exceptions, and they do exist, in cultures, but there is also a remarkably similar common thread of morality in most societies and cultures.

For me, I am a relativist in some ways...and not in others. We can measure good...or fair...or justice....by weighing who, and what, a decision or action effects.

If politics is the competition for scarce public resources, then by definition almost all acts and decisions are political.

Politics almost always comes down to a "who gains, who loses" perspective.

There are some rules that protect the VAST majority of the society.....don't kill, except under special sanctioned occasions like war and executions....don't steal....don't beat people up....etc. These are fairly common morals, because they protect so many in so many different societies.

As to what is good in this fairly relative outlook, good becomes what is in the interest of the ideology in which your society exists.

In our society women were welcomed into the workplace primarily to drive down labor costs. So is that good? It's good for some, not for others. Is it fair? By the ideologies on which our society is founded...yes...it's fair.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Answer 2

I've been a Christian, Agnostic and Buddhist. And in some ways, I'm still all three. You pose a very thought provoking question. What the religious tend to do is believe in a cosmically or divinely established good. The non-religious don't hold to good and evil but still have a right and wrong. They will think about the desired end, such as world peace, and establish right and wrong ways to establish that end. I am a fallen Catholic and one reason for the fallen part is that the notion of a cosmically set good seems to be very dangerous. When others seem to follow the cosmically set bad, they are shunned, persecuted and even tortured.

Answer 3

There is a parable in Taoism about the butcher and the ox.

Basically this butcher is supposed to be carving an ox for the king and the king is stunned by how well this butcher carves the ox and notices how the ox just falls to pieces.

The king asks why his technique is so good and the butcher replied that he does not have a technique. He has studed the anatomy of the ox and there are spaces between the bones and ligaments and his knife simply slides between them and the ox falls apart.

The butcher then tells the king that a bad butcher can go through a knife in a few months, a good butchers knife may last him a year or so, but he has had his knife for 20 years and it is a sharp as it was the first time he used it.

Bad stumbles on obstacles, good overcomes obstacles, Tao meets no obstacles.

That is the difference between bad, good and Tao.

Answer 4

To the Muslims "good" is defined by first of all their holy book
the "Quran" then comes the narrations from their prophets then muslim scholars and at last self-consciousness.
As a muslim that's what i know. i think same rule goes for the Christians and Jews.
I think the Nihilist,Taoist,Agnostic,Atheist rely on their conscience.
Buhddist follows the "Buddha"
Hindus define it by their religious books.

Answer 5

The hindu would throw himself into the fireplace because his spouse died contained in the progression. The jew would throw himself into the fireplace as an get mutually of fireplace because the interest of religion. The christian would kneel down and pray to God to be kept and not in any respect fed on through the hellish inferno. The muslim would kneel down and pray to Allah to be kept and not in any respect fed on through the hellish inferno. The buddhist would undertake a yoga position and smile serenely, eyes closed, watching for to be reincarnated after demise in the fireplace and with any success growing to be enlightened in his next existence. The atheists, the agnostics and the taoist would call for help and a helicopter would come through to keep them, besides the undeniable fact that the taoist would insist that anybody else get into the helicopter first and finally end up perishing in the blaze besides.

Answer 6

i can only speak for atheist because thats what i am, but an atheist has to live by there own set of morals because we dont believe in any higher power whos going to pass judgement on us. personally i believe in karma what goes around comes around and how you have to keep a balance of negative and positive energy. to get a little deeper i also think that the company you keep can also effect your negative and positive balance, thats why even if you,ve been an angel something bad can still happen to you because the people you are philoticly connected to can also effect your balance, thats were the old saying surround your self with positive people comes from.

Answer 7

How does "Jim Darwin" define good ?

How does "Jim Darwin" treat good differently than christianity, atheism, islam, hindu, buddhism, and all the other religions and philosophy's of the world ?

Answer 8

To me good is doing stuff to improve the life of others even for just one second.I'm a christain but i do not believe that you have to follow everything in the bible to be good. I believe that God put your concience in you for a reason. It tells you right from wrong.

Answer 9

If you are seriously interested....come to my church on Sunday!! Visit the churches of all the other religions, too! You might find your answer rather than getting a lot of dumb ones on Yahoo.

Answer 10

The opposite of bad, which I define bad as doing anything that harms another