Even if there be a god, it is not OK to disagree with him? In Plato's Euthyphro, Socrates shows that God is not the only source of 'good.' For example, aside from Socrates, I ask, before Moses climbed the mountain, did his tribe of desert nomads not KNOW that killing and stealing were bad? Is something 'good'--back to Socrates now--because God ordains it, or does God ordain it because it is already 'good'?
(I hope fundamentalists do not think I am being rude to you, but my little question really isn't one that you can answer--your usual holier-than-thou babytalk is of no interest to me.)
2007-07-25 04:58:48 · 19 answers · asked by Yank 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There are morals that have always existed, and there are "sins" that were invented by religion. I find the concept of sin totally useless.
2007-07-25 05:02:10 · answer #1 · answered by ? 2 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Long before the time of Moses people knew bad from good. Rules against killing and stealing go back to the very earliest of the stone age. It was the beginning of civilization.
Life and property were protected by the tribe against the individual.
This is a common mis-conception, because the church preaches morals, there would not be morals except for the church.
Even right now, Athiests are more trustworthy, more honest than those who are believers.
2007-07-25 12:12:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have found that the religious types use god as a way to explain good when it is not necessary. Good can happen without believing, having faith, or even KNOWING anything about god.
I believe there is good everywhere, and I do not believe any of it has anything to do with a god. Good and bad, just like religion and gods......... are concepts created by human beings in an attempt to cut themselves free from their animal instincts and try to prove that they are better than any other animal on the planet. Good & evil came.... then rewards for good & consequences for evil..... the supernatural reasoning came in..... God is good, satan is evil..... do good for god you get eternal reward...... if you're not for god you're against him and therefor work for satan and will burn for all eternity.
Good and evil exist because humans created the concepts...... there is no supereme being that is dictating what is good and what is bad. Religion was just a sorry attempt at trying to come up with a standard for people to keep them from misbehaving and it grew into something much more psychotic than some simple form of control.
2007-07-25 12:05:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
This is an incredibly interesting question. For the answer, I think we should look at the nature of man. A person, completely secluded from the world, no knowledge of god or the laws of man, will take on very primitive instincts and allow them to take over. He will only attack in defense of himself or his "territory". He will only kill for food and survival. He will not take more from his surroundings than he needs. If he were to be introduced to society (granted, he would not fit very well into society as we understand it and would probably prefer his life of seclusion) he would still follow these basic principles. He would still not kill unless attacked, he would not take more than he needed, if taught the "proper" methods of aquiring food, he would follow them. I think it's within man to know what "right" and "wrong" are on the fundamental levels. Almost as though it is bred into our genetics. I think that "god" ordains it because it is already good. Even a fundamentalist will tell you that "good" and "bad" existed even before man did "god created light and said it was good...." that sort of thing.
2007-07-25 12:08:42 · answer #4 · answered by lupinesidhe 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Remember, "god" is nothing more than a nonsense word invented by men to explain away the things we can't yet understand. You are trying to apply reason and logic to a fairytale.
You might as well be asking did the Heat Miser KNOW it was not good to not allow it to snow before The Santy Claus had a talk with him and explained how the Snow Miser likes it when it snows and The Santy Claus also likes the snow. Huh? What? EXACTLY!
2007-07-25 12:02:52 · answer #5 · answered by bongernet 3 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Moral values are selected for in social creatures such as humans. Those that were predisposed to agression and violence within the social group were either killed outright or outcast from the group. Remaining within the group upped the chances of survival. Good preceded the notion of God by a long shot.
2007-07-25 12:17:52 · answer #6 · answered by Murazor 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You should always be able to disagree with God. God and I have been having an ongoing "discussion" about the whole "Flood" thing and I think He's wrong for killing all the innocent in the world, never mind all the plants and such who were just sitting there minding their own business and bothering no one.
That's why I like the Norse Gods. One should always be able to argue with your deity.......and get this: Even though I disagree with Him and let Him know I disagree with him, God still Loves me. Good parents are like that.
2007-07-25 12:05:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Good question...I have to "think out loud" a bit here, bear with me.
I don't think it's possible to disagree with Her, because She is all possibilities, though it is certainly possible to disagree with mortal interpretations of Her. And it's ok to disagree with those interpretations, because truth is different for everyone.
But, to answer to second part of your question, I think the Goddess ordains something because it is good, because like any mother She wants Her children to grow up healthy and strong and wise. So good things contribute to that goal, while bad things do not. Again providing quite a lot of room for interpretation, but that's where concepts of personal responsibility, etc., come into the discussion.
2007-07-25 12:17:36 · answer #8 · answered by Jewel 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Of course you can disagree with him.By asking more questions you learn more....
And as for the nomads i am sure they had some kind of rules established already....I'm sure that even prehistoric men had some kind of rules in their societies....
So the bible or moses or anyone else didn't invent theses rules.
2007-07-25 12:04:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Disagreeing with God is no no. That's why I can't attend church becuase I disagree with him a lot! The church going folks really don't like me there!
However, I think man's interperetation of God is way off! I think God would be okay with disagreeing with King James" interperetation, don't you?
2007-07-25 12:03:28 · answer #10 · answered by Bgirl9488 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well if there is a god, maybe he really appreciates critical thinking and the scientific method (he did, after all, create the universe, hypothetically).
Such a god would never punish none-believers. Might kick the "sheep" in the butt for their silly-thought though!
2007-07-25 12:03:37 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋