I'll try again?

Question

If you read my last question and answered it, I thank you. However, apparently I did not make myself clear as the answers I received are totally opposite from what I thought they would be.

I am not saying that people who do not believe in God are necessarily immoral. The answers that I received have basically been that morality does not need to be based on a God. I am not questioning your belief. I honestly am asking....if not God, then what or perhaps I should say WHO's standard should be used to teach children? If the parents don't do it....and obviously in this instance this man who attacked the 101 year old woman was not taught...then What or Who should determine the "taught" standard for our society?

It is apparent in this instance that simply knowing what is good for society (common sense) is not a deterrent.

Answer 1

I understand your question. You are asking: By what standard are we moral? Who sets the standard of morality?

Religion will tell you that God sets the standard.

Atheists will tell you that Man sets the standard.

If man sets the standard, then there is a limit to which he can appeal. The highest court in the land is the final word. The problem with that is that judges are also human, and their opinions are based on their own standards. There can be no true objectivity. A case in point is the famous "Roe vs Wade" ruling. The existing standard before 1973 was that abortion took the life of an individual person, and met the definition of murder, except if the mother's life was in danger. This also happened to agree (excepting the exception) with the standard of God, according to all known scriptural injunction. However, after 1973, the opinion of the majority of Supreme Court Justices ruled that the laws against abortion violated the constitutional right to privacy, and others. Mr. Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court, Justice Rehnquist dissented, and Justice Stewart concurred. We can see that even the highest court could not come to unanimous agreement. Even to this day, there is not unanimous agreement, and the morality of abortion is still debated. So, what is the standard of morality here? In the case of abortion, some would argue that the standard is the legality. If it is legal, it is also moral. But one judge did not agree with the others, so how can we know if he, and not the others, was right? Others would argue that simple disagreement is sufficient to determine the morality. It may be legal, but it doesn't make it right for me. This is also subjective. There is no objective way to define morality by human standards, since each individual may agree or disagree according to his own perceptions, experiences, and opinions. Even a majority agreement is subjective.

Religions seek the objective opinion of God as the final authority of morality. The premise is to accept the truth of the fallibility of man, and appeal to the discerment of one who is not subject to human faults as a better judge of the proper behavior of humans. In addition, humans discriminate against and for one another, whereas God sees everyone with equal vision, and His judgement is thought to be for the good of everyone, everywhere, not just the majority. Therefore, the standard of morality based on God, who is neither subjected to, nor motivated by, human desires and human limitations, has been strived for throughout recorded history.

Answer 2

Scriptures tell us that every person is born with a measure of faith. A conscience that tells us right from wrong. The reason other countries seem to do better in the crime area is because they have immediate reaction to wrong doing. If you have a chance of losing your hand if you steal then I figure it is a pretty good deterrent. God's Ten commands are perfect. The first four have to do with loving God and the last six are about loving mankind. It is simple and to the point. I have seen a baby take something they knew they should not have and right away she tried to hide what she was doing. How did she know? In a logical sense she was so young that she to our way of thinking should not have known. If it were based on society then she would not have known that she should not have had it. It was the measure of faith she was born with. Have a blessed and happy day everyone...Mmm

Answer 3

society can not be the teacher but only the enforcer of law. Teaching comes from several sources and in the end each person must decide what to keep and what to throw away. In the same sense this is the reason each one is accountable to God or laws for oneself. So the teacher is the ability to connect to others and display remorse.

This is a debate among sociology leaders that has been long fought over

Answer 4

morality is in fact determined by the values of society and as such it is subject to change over time (we no longer burn witches at the stake or stone people to death for their beliefs) and is different in each society and culture. all one need do is look at the various cultures of the world to see this. there are some things that are universal to all cultures, for example, incest is taboo in all known peoples, but morality is basically provisional, that is, things are either right or wrong to most people in most situations most of the time, but not to all (see your example above). so having said that, it is up to us, those who live in the society in which we find ourselves to determine what is right and what is wrong for ourselves and we do this quite well already...it is called the legal system and it is through the study of this that all can know what is considered moral in society.

Answer 5

Society. You're still begging your own question in using the word "who".

Society dictates what is moral and what is not. Morality is relative, not absolute... for example, lying is not always wrong. (Think about it... if politicians stopped lying, the whole system of government would collapse.)

Killing is not always wrong. (We need to eat.)

What society agrees upon in terms of what is moral and what isn't relies upon a few factors... mostly being what causes the most unneeded suffering.

You don't need a god for that.

Answer 6

It should be up to the parents! there is another factor to this question of yours! how come the US has sooo much crime?if you look at other western countries they are only at a fraction of what is going on here! is it about God or is this about what parents should do for their children? my friend there is so much more to this then a religious answer!