If so, then where do your values come from? The Bible or your heart?
2007-04-19 09:30:46 · 41 answers · asked by scubadog13 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes, I do, and I believe those values come from a testimony in my heart of the divinity of God and His son Jesus Christ. I have a desire to live as Christ-like as possible.
2007-04-19 09:34:02 · answer #1 · answered by Sweet n Sour 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Neither. My moral standards come from the same place much of the Bible's morality comes from: social standards.
Murder was forbidden long before the mythical Moses and the stone tablets. Hammurabi's coes predates the supposed time of Moses. Hammurabi even claimed the God Marduk revealed teh laws he wrote. No god had to tell us we don't want to be murdered. We all agree we don't want to murdered so we make laws and taboos about that kind of stuff.
My morality is not very different from the Bible, even though I'm an atheist. I think most of the morality in the Bible is there because it made some sort of practical sense in context when it was written. Some things I am even more committed to than most Christians because I accept the practical value and do it out of self-interest, not obedience to mythical gods.
I do have a guiding motto. I think it's a good one, and it has certainly enriched my life:
"Don't just stand there. Lend a hand."
Since I don't believe in an intervening god, I accept that if something is to get done, someone has to do it, and generally speaking I take responsibility for being that someone.
2007-04-19 09:44:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm an atheist, and I have very strong moral values. Where do I get them? From my heart, I guess. Many of them happen to be laws of the land: don't kill people, etc., not that I much want to do that. How do I decide what's right, without a bible to guide me? I ask: Will doing this in any way hurt anyone else? Is it honest? Things like that. While I don't believe in a god, I think the "golden rule" makes a lot of sense and is a good way to live one's life. I admire Jesus as a philosopher, if not as a deity.
2007-04-19 09:41:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moral standards by which I live my life come from the Bible.
2007-04-19 09:43:05 · answer #4 · answered by Sifu Shaun 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My understanding of the moral standards I hold are in direct relation to how I view what is true.If the truth is that you are a temple you might believe the Bible and use it as your resource. If your heart is in order your morals as you call them are proof of themselves and do not require further guidance.
2007-04-27 04:34:19 · answer #5 · answered by matte stone 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do have an ethical code by which I try to conduct myself and influence others.
Morals and ethics aren't the same thing and sometimes are in conflict. Morality tends to derive from religious belief and emotion, while ethics is the product of reason and a quest for fairness.
My personal ethical manifesto, if I can call it that, is pretty extensive and fairly complex.But its foundation consists of two real basic concepts: kindness and integrity.
2007-04-25 16:57:01 · answer #6 · answered by retirist 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Jesus' message can be summed up, "Do unto others as you would have done to you." Just do that and you are probably doing okay. Be a contributor to the upward movement of humanity and you are probably doing what you are meant to be doing as a human being on this planet. Means try to make the world a better place for you having been born. Of course, the opposite would be to be a criminal or a mere parasite on society by choice.
2007-04-27 05:16:17 · answer #7 · answered by keitherambassadorfromhell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone, everywhere, if they are not a psychopath, has a moral standard of some sort. There is even 'honor among thieves'. Mine comes from the teachings of Jesus and the direction of the Holy Spirit. Also ideas of my parents and culture.
2007-04-19 09:36:21 · answer #8 · answered by tonks_op 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Human history has taught me that the ethic of reciprocation, known to many as the Golden Rule, is an excellent moral precept. That, combined with the realization that, in a civilized society, it is necessary to balance one's own needs and wants with those of others.
2007-04-19 09:39:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had my own moral standards before I found them written by "someone else", but the combination of the Wiccan Rede and the Law of Return pretty much sums up what I had believed before I found them.
Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do as ye will"
Law of Return: What energy I send out, for good or for ill, returns to me.
2007-04-19 09:35:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Of course I have a moral standard. It comes from knowing that it is wrong to harm anyone, not from a book.
2007-04-19 09:34:30 · answer #11 · answered by Sun: supporting gay rights 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋