Ok, I've gotten several responses to my question, but atheists are evading the issue:?

Question

The question posed is this: Why should I, if I don't believe in an afterlife or a supreme being, not be a mass murderer? If all that exists is here and now, what possible difference does it matter if I go out and commit wholesale slaughter, just for the fun of doing it? If there are no consequences to me outside of this life, and that's what I really want to do, why shouldn't I do it? What is the basis of any question of morality? Isn't morality what I decide is good or bad? Who's to disagree with me, and by what authority? Yes, there are laws, but if I'm willing to live with the legal consequences, why shouldn't I just go out and kill anyone and everyone I see? And what if I just go out and kill people who do things I think are wrong? What if I let you decide who I should kill? Even better, what if I post a forum on the entire world wide web and let people vote, then go kill those everyone wants killed?

Answer 1

"Morality is herd instinct in the individual."
Friedrich Nietzsche
For the betterment of the herd/society, so that your offspring will be born into a safe and happy world. To perpetuate the species, there must be rules/morals to keep as much inter-species conflict at bay as possible. Morality and shunning of murder is the instictual attempt of Natural Selection to keep the species going.

Answer 2

*Sigh*

Another theist who assumes that athests have no morals at all.

Try to pay attention, wise, guy.

"Morality" comes from social and cultural custom more than it does from religion. One does not need religion to not be a mass murderer/rapist/shoplifter. Many of us do believe in responsability and ethics...we just don't believe that either came from a deity. I don't need a religious authority to tell me right from wrong...my society and family already taught me those lessons before the religious holier-than-thous tried to order me around.

A person who commits such crimes does not live very long on the whole...sooner or later he'll be stopped, perhaps violently. I choose to live a reasonably honorable, decent life because I'll live much more comfortably and longer that way.

If your religion is all that is keeping you from being a monster, then stay religious.

As for this question: "And what if I just go out and kill people who do things I think are wrong?"

If you'll study real world history, you'll discover that only until recently has your religion stopped doing exactly that.

Answer 3

One who does not believe in any afterlife or supreme beings do not go out an become mass murderers because one realizes that performing such behavior will likely end with undesirable consequences which can include (but not limited to) incarceration, capital punishment, and shame.

To one who does not believe in any afterlife, these consequences occur in this life (their only life), and therefore are even more painful, hence to be avoided at all costs.

Please note, that noted infamous serial killers like Jeff Dahmer did believe in an afterlife and a supreme being, but that did not stop him from behaving as he did. Perhaps he thought that whatever punishment he will receive for his behavior in this life is trivial, for he already believes in his eternal paradise in the afterlife.

Answer 4

We are all that one small step away from anarchy and psychopathic behaviour, irrespective of religious beliefs (or the lack of).

The "legal consequences" are really nothing more than a formal statement of social taboos (and social punishments when the taboos are broken) that have grown up within human society for thousands of years. This becomes ingrained in our consciences from our earliest childhood days.

What is certain is that the rules and taboos existed long before formalised religions and indeed the same basic behaviour is demonstrated in many animal species. It has even been argued that not killing other members of your social group is programmed within us genetically.

Sometimes these rules are codified in a religious format such as Islamic Law and somethimes they are in a more secular civil law. Either way, these are the "rules to live by" that all societies have. To break these rules places a person outside of that society and invites punishment. In most cases the dual pressure to conform and threat of punishment is sufficient to cause a person to refrain from breaking the rules.

Once someone decides that the rules are meaningless, they become free of any constraint and they can become a sociopath or anarchist. However, religious people have no cause or justification to state that their behaviour is somehow morally "better" than atheists or that they are less likely to commit a crime such as murder. Many murderers claim to believe in god and in some cases have even claimed to have been told to commit murder by god. In fact the belief that "god is on their side" may even make the perpetrator more likely to commit murder - for example Islamic suicide bombers.

Answer 5

Scarily it sounds like your religion is the only thing keeping you from killing. I rely on my innate goodness, sense, reason, empathy and humanity. If I couldn't, and I was a nutter, then secular laws would help curb behaviour or protect others.

Seems from what you state that the reason you DON'T hurt people is for fear of supernatural consequence. Please seek help before you kill.

Lastly you state:

"Even better, what if I post a forum on the entire world wide web and let people vote, then go kill those everyone wants killed?"

Reading this leads one to conclude that you are either a confused/testy teenager or an adult with potentially dangerous psychological issues.

Go seek help. Really.

Answer 6

I understand that you are serious and think that you have a meaningful question. Since you most likely deny the possible validity of evolution and have no interest in science, how could you possibly understand anything other than a simplistic answer. if you do have interest in science, then do some reading. This is not a very complex question, and it is not very difficult to understand the answer. Are you able to comprehend the answer, and can you read. Those are the real questions here.

Answer 7

Atheists are often logical, and do not need some silly authority figure to tell them what is right and wrong. Christians have committed many sins. They can be hypocrites and say they are above the rules in the Bible. I have seen that in my own family many times. Reason is a better guide than some imaginary deity.

Answer 8

im no aethist, but i guess society have evolved certain codes of conduct over the past few years. every sacred text has their contradictions and ppl cherry pick the good parts.the only way you find goodness in good books is because you recognize it. they're based on your own ethical intuitions.

quote Sam Harris :Hopefully, also, you recognize that stoning someone to death for not being a virgin on her wedding night, or beating your child with a rod, as it recommends in Proverbs, and which millions of Christians do in our country, that's not a good thing. You know that based on your own intuitions and the evolving human conversation about what is ethical and most conducive to human happiness.

im not saying religion is not good, because religion has done loads of good to ppl around us. im just asking you to be more open and not so defensive of religion. just look around u, religion is creating wars too.

and the simple reason why ppl dun commit crimes for the fun of it is due to the repercussions when they are still alive, like perhaps death penalty ? aethist may not believe in afterlife but im pretty sure they're still scared of death :)

read widely, think on your own and find your own answers.(if u need those answers, for me, i dun really care)

Answer 9

Well, to put it simply, you have a conscience - we all have, whether we are believers or not.

If you are only 'not killing people' because you believe that you will go to hell for it, then I think that makes you a sociopath (think Hannibal Lector!).

I do not need a rule-book like the bible to tell me how to behave. I know what is right and wrong, just as the majority of people do.

But if you want to do wrong, and put up with the legal consequences, go right ahead - just please stay away from my neighbourhood!

Answer 10

Your question is non-sequitur. Let me put it this way.

If you believe that ultimately, you can just ask for forgiveness, what stops you from being a mass murderer?

Morality is about doing the right thing, regardless of retribution. Therefor, you cannot be a moral person merely because you fear divine retribution.