Atheists, How do you explain transcendent truth?

Question

I.e. Even folks that have never heard of the Bible (like tribe people in deep jungles) knowing that stealing, murder, adultry etc. is wrong.

Answer 1

That's something that a Christian should explain, since many think that morals come directly out of the bible.

Edit: People know not to steal because it's better for the people as a whole that we treat each other with a degree of fairness. If everyone did as they pleased, it would be complete chaos and no one would have anything.

Answer 2

Species instinct, nurture, empathy (from the ability to abstract/existentialize) - our developed brains allow this.

We learn, we adapt.

The Patriarchal Religionists who invaded many lands were often so brutal it defies belief. And yet, they had OPPOSITE beliefs to the so-called 'savages' , they had no concept of shame for slaughtering these non-Christians. That is not innate, that is learned, like most things.

One can project consciousness onto a concept of god or vice versa.

But if your consciousness and morals are from a God, then you have a scientific problem with explaining mentally disabled individuals who are missing those functions of learning and cannot understand cultural or instinctive concepts of right and wrong.

I suppose one could call them demons again?

Are 'demons' a transcendent 'truth', or are we evolving away from that?


The crowning arrogance was the statement that 'People who hadn't read the Bible' were capable of universal human qualities like, er? Like what? People murdered and ate the flesh, and believed it was religiously right to do so. Some didn't. Many believed that property(land) was immoral, and that animals were brothers and sisters. The Bible taught dominion.

Your chronology is busted.

You have it all mixed up poppet, seems like you are trying to fit everything around a fixation on the Bible.

Get back to me on 'demons'.

Answer 3

Yup, I guess that is why the records are flooded with reports of them robbing murdering and even having each other for lunch when first contacts were made.
I guess that is why the Maori ate the Islanders they captured and why the Polynesians cooked Captain Cook.

Check the history of native peoples before making more stupid statements that are plainly false.

Answer 4

the exact same way the modern, educated people do...evolution. by the way, "tribe people deep in the jungle" murder, steal, commit rape, adultery, and incest just like all other societies do and have since the dawn of man...you fundies (or whatever you are) ought to get out more...you really don't know all that much.

Answer 5

Before God issued the Ten Commandments, didn't people know that stealing, murder and adultery were wrong?

Morality has evolved over time from human reasoning and common sense. It has survival value.
.

Answer 6

Because those things being wrong have nothing to do with the Bible. They are actions that threaten the "survival of the clan" and have been so for millions of years.

Those things were declared crimes long before the Bible was around (look up the Hammurabi Code and the old Egyptian scrolls).

A crime is a crime, not because it condemns you to hell, but because it causes harm to someone.

Answer 7

Societies survive better if people don't live in anarchy and kill at random. Stronger societies increase survival of individuals. Increased survival means individuals have more chances to reproduce and the population grows. They understand that they don't want to die, so they work cooperatively to build families, tribes, cheifdoms and nations. Without this cooperation, we'd either all still be hunter gatherers or extinct.

Answer 8

Cave man 1 takes something from cave man 2. Cave man 2 clubs cave man 1. Cave man 1 says taking something from cave man 2 is not a good thing, it is wrong. Can your small mind understand this? Where do you think those men who wrote the bible got that from? Not from an invisible sky fairy.

Answer 9

Not all people believe it is wrong. If you look at history, people have been murderers, pillagers, rapists, adulterers, etc, and it has been accepted. Indigenous cultures know these things are wrong because as time progresses, different generations are instilled with a sense of right/wrong and they pass it on. It disproves religion because it is evolution(albeit on a small scale).

Answer 10

Wow. If anything, I'd say you just demonstrated that the Bible is irrelevant when it comes to human morality.

Morality is a human quality, not a religious quality. In fact, much of morality is mammalian quality. Do a little research and you will find that many other mammals exhibit love and altruism.