i dont get it atheists?or believers of nothing?

Question

why do people that dont believe in GOD obey his rules anyway..what are the reasons for living if you dont.what would it matter if you got in trouble all the time , went to jail ,or killed people?besides most the rules that we have to obey from the government are from GOD.Whats the big deal if ya go and take a dump in the neighbors yard?and ran.who cares how you spend your time on this planet.what difference does it make?why are you nice to people?where do you think you came from?how can you look outside and not see anything ,but beautiful art in space and earth and people?

well if morality is not function or relegion then where did it come from?

i can see nobody wants to answer .

R E A D C A R E F U L L Y , THEN ANSWER

SO u guys are saying we were mysteriously born with this knowledge of understanding?or we evolved it?

ok if you can call yourself a christian the point would be wait this is a no brainer , who made you ?and where do you think your morals and values , the color of your eyes , skin , nails , animals, trees , planets, and space came from?

why are you guys not going to answer it?how come noone can know?is this a conspiracy?

where did this so called (common sense )come from?

good answer to this riddle holy bagpipes

and no ITs NOT because of the rewards im speaking on behalf of all believers in GOD. its because WE LOVE him and HE lOVES us .

I DONT HATE ANYONE , I LOVE YOU i love everyone that is why i am asking very reasonable questions, and if i didnt have an open mind i would be athiest.but since my mind and my heart are open and i have the presence of the HOLY GHOST i know he is with me. and it hurts me to see that you arnt with him and i cant understand it.

Answer 1

So you must be one of those people who do good things because of fear of punishment and not for goodness sake.

Sad.

Answer 2

Atheists are not 'believers of nothing'. We don't believe in gods, spirits, ghosts, Santa, the tooth fairy and any other supernatural/paranormal phenomena. Unlike believers we know that there is far more in the universe of interest, than simply fantasizing about imaginary friends.

Ethics and morals were devised, discussed and debated long before anyone ever heard of the Hebrew god. The ancient Greeks were the first to analyze social structures and human behavior and relationships.

The Christians, Jews etc, hijacked morality back when the Roman Catholic popes were putting the bible together. As hardly anyone back then could read, the people just had to take their word for it that these morals and laws came from the newly created god.

As for having a reason to live, personally my child and my family are as good a reason as any. I do all I can to ensure that they will have a fulfilling and enjoyable life after I have gone, just as my parents did for me. We have no room or requirement for outside, woo woo assistance.

Answer 3

and another person who thinks morality comes strictly from religion. how sad. let me first say this, many of the laws the government are based off of rules other religions have enforced yes but that is their attempt to make a functioning society when religion was the ruling body. we cant have a fully functioning society with people killing and stealing all the time. laws are meant to protect society as a whole, to protect a humans basic rights. (they dont come from god but from men). now back to your question. its a big deal that i dont take a dump on my neighbors lawn because this is a functioning society so why would i want to ruin that? i came from my parents, i am nice to some people because what i do now will follow me for the rest of my life. if i screw up now then i will throw my precious life away. and finally, i care how i spend my life on this planet. having only one life makes me realize its precious so why would i want to throw it away? and you think this is a reasonable question? my dog could write a more reasonable question and compared to other dogs he's stupid.

if you think thats a reasonable question then this is too. what does it matter if you take a dump in your neighbors yard or kill a person? you can just confess, say a few hail Mary's and you sins are absolved arent they? you are clean of them right? sure you have to be guilty but going to confession should give you a clean slate so what is keeping you from doing these things? just a reasonable question by your standards isnt it?

Answer 4

"..what are the reasons for living"
my son
my husband
my sister
my best friend
the smell of lemons
coffee
ray charles
warm chocolate chip cookies
the sound of rain on the roof
mozart
sex
they might be giants
massage
the grateful dead
toes in the grass on a hot day
and a million other little things

the proscription of killing and theft predate the christian god, and are just common sense.

"besides most the rules that we have to obey from the government are from GOD"
whose? and why do you think that?

"Whats the big deal if ya go and take a dump in the neighbors yard?" because I'd like my own yard to remain dump-free. figuratively and literally.

"who cares how you spend your time on this planet"
I do, and so do those upon whom my behavior impacts.

"why are you nice to people?" because that's the kind of world I want to live in.

I guess these questions are challenging to those who only behave under threats and promises of rewards.

Answer 5

There were rules governing humanity long before Jesus. The Code of Hammurabi is a clear example of this. It was a long list of rules that can be summed up with "an eye for an eye". It is indicative of a growing understanding that people deserved certain rights, and those who infringed on those rights had theirs removed.

The rules did not come from the Bible, because the Bible had not yet been written. Jesus had not yet been born yet. The Sumerians were polytheists. Ethical monotheism was not even a gleam in humanity's eye at that time. And yet they understood that certain crimes demanded retribution in order to ensure a peaceful and prosperous community. It is preposterous to suggest that our morals *must* come from god.

As to me personally, I have never, and would never, take a dump in my neighbor's yard. As an atheist, I *do* believe in something: in the rights of my fellow people. One of those rights includes not waking up in the morning to a human-sized load of dung on their front lawn. Morality is common sense when you understand that our actions cause reactions and consequences *here* in this world. That is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

I believe I came from my parents, and from their parents and so on and so forth. Why? Because it's the truth. The world is beautiful to me, and I am often in awe of it. My appreciation for the world, and the magnificence and mysteries of the universe are made no less beautiful simply because I do not attribute its existence to a god.

Answer 6

Let's assume you didn't believe in God. Would you go around killing people?

If yes, you've just admitted that the only reason you don't is because it's commanded by God, not because you think it's intrinsically wrong. Therefore you have no standard of morals, but blindly follow the commands of a supernatural being. You are not a moral person. You are amoral.

If no, why do you assume other atheists will?

I do some of the things that are in the bible, because they are right actions. For instance, I don't kill. The fact it is in the bible is NOT the reason I do it, so I am not following gods rules. Many religions condemn murder. This doesn't mean you follow all those religions, just that your actions happen to coincide with those religious commands.

Answer 7

Well, I'm a Christian and even I think that discourse is ridiculous. Using irrational reasoning will not accomplish anything but some more jokes. Please tell me you are not a Christian, cause that's embarrassing.

From the replies you're giving, I see you aren't getting it and seem to have a mindset to not hear what people are saying to you so: I'm gonna give it a try, too:

1. why obey God's rules anyway......they are human too, it's not a far stretch that anyone wants order in their lives, and to be treated fairly in life, and get along with others....that's a human need regardless of what the human believes
2. Who wants to go to jail? kill people? take a dump in the neighbors yard? Those are not normal human desires, I hope you know that.
3. who cares how you spend your life on this planet? Well, man kind is self oriented so, yourself for one....probably your loved ones and friends for a start .....that's regardless of what you believe
4. what difference does it make? ....duh....maybe same answer as 3.
5. why are you nice to people......It's the path to least resistance, and believe it or not, atheists have the ability to care about others
6. where do you think you came from?.....that one I'm not sure what atheists believe about that
7. can you see beautiful art in space and earth and people?....I'm sure they do, just like everyone else......doesn't mean they believe God created this beauty.....people convince themselves about all these things..........you can't get to them by ranting irrational reasons to believe.....your duty ends with presenting the Gospel, in a loving manner I might remind you, and the rest is up to the Holy Spirit. The ranting you have exhibited just makes us all look foolish to the unbeliever...because you are really blaming the Holy Spirit for not getting through to them. The power of believe, faith, is a gift of God. He gives each of us a small amount to begin with and we still have the choice to believe or not. When you attack the Atheists for their unbelief, what does that say about God's plan to allow them to choose or reject Him? Please for their sake and for yours, get rid of that anger and learn to really love the unbeliever instead of become his enemy. He has the right to believe what he wants. Leave it there and pray for him and bless him.

Answer 8

Personally, I think that the rules found in religion were invented to help give credibility to the moral values that were more or less natural to mankind. It is all about treating others the way you want to be treated, a concept that is found in all major religions.

What I find somewhat disturbing is that people believe they require the threat of eternal damnation in order to be moral.

Since I left religion, I actually feel more compelled to live a good life, because as far as I know (I consider myself agnostic rather than atheist) this is all I have. Making a difference in life is how I can continue to live beyond my earthly life.

Answer 9

Morality is not a function of religion.

Your example: If I were to take a dump, as you so eloquently put it, in my neighbor's yard, wouldn't he still be my neighbor? Wouldn't I still have to live near him?

Please tell me that God is not the only thing keeping you from defecating regularly on your neighbor's property.

EDIT: From the interactions of a complex and social species. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. You hurt me, I'll remember, and bide my time to get my revenge. Remember that the NT has rules for the proper care and upkeep of slaves. Jesus said that there's a right way and a wrong way to keep slaves. If morality is a function of religion, wouldn't Christians all have a slave or two hanging around doing yard work (apparently cleaning up crap from neighbors), since the Bible says it's OK?

Answer 10

Morality did not come from religion. Morality and ethics come from culture. That is why Christians from different cultures have different preferences of denomination, and thus different moralities and ethics. Simply look at the Anglicans in England, who are liberals (they ordain gay and women priests, ect.), and the Roman Catholics in my country, who are staunch conservatives. Same goes to all religions. Some Jews think that blood transfusion is a sin (the orthodox). Others do not (the reformed). Religion presents in itself a brand of culture, example, a culture of hating homosexuals, of wearing only the most conservative dresses in going to church. Sometimes, one's secular culture and religious culture clash (example, I am a conservative Catholic in a liberal American neighborhood), then I would have to choose which culture I would prefer, i.e. if I would toe the line of my religion or the line of my "culture".

Think of the fundamentalist, terrorist Muslims. They are theists. They believe in a god. Yet their religious-cultural upbringing have made them good suicide bombers and killers of those who do not believe in what they believe. You cannot imagine an American Muslim, raised in Hollywood, a middle class suburbia and capitalism to become a suicide bomber and America hater. The answer is, culture. The fundamentlist Muslim thinks that his American counterpart is doing a grave immorality by conniving with the enemy (the Americans). How about you? Do you think the American Muslim is immoral? Again, the answer is culture. Culture defines morals, and religion is just a type of culture.

Now, what you are implying with this question is that morality is illogical, that it is irrational, and that one cannot do good things by thinking and deciding on it alone. That is simply dangerous thinking.

Answer 11

Easy. Don't hurt people. Covers pretty much anything. Why did you need a god to tell you that? You really should have been able to figure that one out on your own by age three. Do you like being hurt? No. So don't hurt people.

YOU think you're going onto an eternal life after this - why don't YOU waste this one doing anything you feel like doing? I'm pretty sure this is the only chance I get, so I'm not going to waste it in jail or on drugs.