A bible is a collective of laws, events, judgements, etc. that certain people have complete faith in. Our US Constitution and Declaration of Independence aren't much different. My point is that everyone believes in something higher. You see many politicians, no Uncle Sam. Many ministers...you get the point. Is there a such thing as a nonbeliever?
2007-07-13 20:19:19 · 19 answers · asked by thisguy 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
yes, it's true to say that most people believe in something higher, whether it's religion or politics, but for different reasons. I think everyone should be allowed to make their own choices.
2007-07-13 21:26:20 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Morality and value systems are innate as you suggest - not based on religion as some would falsely insist.
Everyone has a sense of morality (however flawed) and a value system, and in that sense you could certainly say everyone believes in something in this abstract sense.
But this is a long way away from believing in a supreme imaginary being.
Whats worse, the latter sort of belief is well documented as leading to typical in group/out group social behaviour which implies very low moral standards towards the out group. This is most definitely the case with Christianity.
2007-07-14 03:33:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I honestly believe that the founding fathers were intellectuals and had to find a way to incorporate ideas of liberty and individual rights into a society that was already driven by an ideology. Our country is founded on the questioning of authority and separation from a monarch (or theocracy). The founding fathers were ahead of their time in their ideas but had to sell them to conservative thinking mind-sets. At that time, the local society of the colonies was much bigger than they were.
Likewise, the universe lies outside the realm of human imagination. Human beings more often separate themselves from reality and actual existence in order to preserve something that is more familiar to them. Their society, their culture, their ideologies, their beliefs, their relationships, etc. influence their understanding. All around the world, people fight and try to protect that same piece of mind or spiritual phenomenon that we call religion and deem all other manifestations to be different from their own, and wrong.
The founding fathers understood this and for that reason declared that man had "Freedom of Religion". I heard an arrogant preacher on TV complaining that people today want "Freedom from Religion" and not " Of Religion" because he feels that this statement grants him the right to impose these beliefs on society. But "Freedom of Religion" should also grant practitioners of other religions, the freedom FROM religious persecussion, which can be interpreted as harrassment.
Everyone understands that the predominant religion of the US is Protestant Christian and that adhering to this religion is almost an unwritten requirement for any type of political office. But it's supposed to be a secular government with separation of church and state for the sake of protecting human rights. If our founding fathers could percieve this vision almost 300 years ago, why do so many try to oppose this national foundation today? If I have the freedom to practice Buddhism in the United States according to our laws and I also have to freedom of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, then the freedom from ridicule and mistreatment should accompany that.
2007-07-14 03:57:33 · answer #3 · answered by Kai Dao 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The very question is incorrect. There is no such notion as unbeliever. The unbeliever is nothing but self-naming, though in fact every human has his system of orientations and values. The same is about a group etc. Simply a person may not know how to call his system of values.
2007-07-14 03:40:37 · answer #4 · answered by Les H 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The difference is the US Constitution tells us what we, the people, are allowed to do and that the government cannot prevent it. And in fact, if the government tries to go against the Constitution, the people win, not the government. The Bible tells us arbitrary rules about what we CANNOT do (like don't put two different crops in the same field) and then damns us to hell for breaking it.
2007-07-14 03:24:37 · answer #5 · answered by The Bog Nug 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't believe in your God and I'm an Aussie so your constitution has nothing to do with me...
I agree with a previous answer that Politics and Religion should be FAR removed....
You cannot call me or any of my ilk nonbelievers, as we are believers in the OLDEST RELIGION know to mankind...
Christianity has another few hundred thousand years to catch up with us, but it will be ancient history before too long, that is a certainty....
Blessed Be... )O(
2007-07-14 03:56:26 · answer #6 · answered by Bunge 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Unlike a bible, the US Constitution is just a little more up-to-date...and a lot more just.
Also, not too many people I know pray to the flag or to America, nor do either insist on exclusive worship with monstrous penalties.
2007-07-14 03:23:28 · answer #7 · answered by Scott M 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Comparing the Constitution to the bible is like comparing apples and oranges. The only thing they have in common is that man wrote both of them.
2007-07-14 03:29:42 · answer #8 · answered by Maricel S 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well, the Constitution was written by human beings who signed their names on it, it is open to interpretation by an established court and it is open to be ammended with the changing times. Now does that sound anything like the bible?
2007-07-14 03:26:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Your point is a weak one.
Religion and politics dont belong in the same hat.
Our US Constitution testifies to that.
I know who wrote the Constitution (and by the way the DOI is not law)
2007-07-14 03:23:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋