Why dont athiests...?

Question

When people say "if your athiest, then what's stopping you from murdering people?" I KNOW they're talking rubbish (Im athiest and I do less wrong then a lot of "Good Christians" I know, but what do you think about it? What reason do people have for not doing wrong?

woops about the spelling btw.

and to the person who says im full of myself: i'm not an amazingly nice person, Im just saying that I know many people who pass themselves off as Christians are actually horrible and it seems like a double standard.

Also "you're no atheist, atheists know how to spell the word"

have you considered I may just be stupid?

Answer 1

Most religious leaders [priest] do not have the intellectual capability to argue against Atheism. The only way they can scare their flock -not to investigate Atheism- is to demonize Atheism, no intelligent argument needed just false arguments.

Answer 2

Well, murdering someone is wrong. I would never go out and just murder someone. That should go without saying rather you are a christian or atheist.
I am an atheist, and I have more morals and compassion then some christians I know.
My reason for not doing wrong is: I am a good person and I wouldn't harm anyone, or break the law, or anything immoral. Just because I am an atheist doesn't mean I don't have morals.

Answer 3

Two reasons:

Firstly, because our societal conventions and laws determine what is right and wrong. Whether your point of reference is a scripture, a codex of laws, or what your mama done told you, as long as it conforms to what society finds acceptable then there isn't a problem.

It is erroneous to believe that if it were not for God we would have no morality as morality is a very human invention and is also fairly mutable. Plus, if you want an example of God's absolutes, you only have to read through Numbers, Judges, Leviticus and others to see how radically different the morals espoused then are from today's. Hell, even the NT's moral code is barbaric by the standards of any modern civilised nation's.

The other reason is that for those atheists who perhaps do not hold to the conventional standards there is always the threat of incarceration. Even the morally reprehensible baulk at the thought of spending twenty years of their prime life in prison when they know it's a one shot deal.

Answer 4

Because I have concern for others.Most of the time if you're smart enough to be an atheist,or really any other non-religious type,then you're civil enough not to do ridiculous things to people.I go by the do unto others saying.I try to encourage an enjoyable existence as much as possible.

Answer 5

The main reason that non Christians don't "do wrong" is simple common sense. If it would hurt/harm you, don't do it to someone else. Do Christians really need a 2000 year old book to figure that out?

Answer 6

I think that they have been spending too much time in closed rooms listening to other people telling them how to think.

The idea that only religious people or only people of a certain religion are capable of morality is just plain crazy.

Proof:

People of every possible belief system act good and bad at varying times. Think of your religious system. Do people in your group rape, kill, speed, use drugs, get drunk, watch porn, swear, cheat, lie, steal and screw around?

If you answered anything but "Yes, Of Course" - then you are nuts.

Answer 7

People have a conscious; or they know that they don't want to treat someone else the way they wouldn't want to be treated. What really worries me, is that people that make the assumption you stated above, feel that directions on how to behave correctly must come from a book.

Answer 8

Simple : our society wouldn't function without everyone abiding by certain rules. We're actually all being selfish by adopting a moral attitude, because we are better served as part of a group than adopting an 'every man for himself ' approach.

Answer 9

I am not athiest nor am i in a cult of specified religion, i just have my own beliefs , people are ignorant when they ask such questions, you have to just look the other way cause they are uneducated, that is from the lack of information they have recieved

Answer 10

empathy.

we know that some day we will die, and we wish to live our lives in peace. and most people know what its like to be hurt.

as a non-believer, i do not rape, cause i do not wish to be raped, i do not murder cause i do not wish to be murdered, i do not steal cause i do not wish to be stolen from. its not the consequence of my action but the ability to feel for someone else.

i would not wish anything hurtful upon another person.

you do not need a god to tell you that making someone else suffer is wrong.

morality changes with society and culture as well.