Many say that without belief in God, that people wouold choose to be immoral. Well, if your only choosing to be moral because your scared of God, well I don't really consider that being moral at all. That's just avoiding punishment. I think that an atheist who chooses to be moral based on their own want to make the world a better place, that is far more admirable then one who chooses to be good only because of fear that they might be punished if they are not moral. I don't for a second think that religion has any coorelation with morality. I think ones morality come from ones own desire to be moral.
2007-08-08 12:13:14 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I do agree that their is a standard for morality, but I don't think that standard comes from God, I think it comes from society as a whole.
2007-08-08 12:20:52 · update #1
RAmen to that!
2007-08-08 12:16:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
God gave morals for our own protection. How would you like to live in a land where there were no laws? If we were a society with no morals we would all self destruct. Just look at the lives of people who live without any morals.
Read the story of the prodigal son in your bible. When he thought he could live any way he wanted, the father ( God ) just let him do as he wished. See what happened next.
He did come back to his sinces though.
Laroy
twobuttes60@yahoo.com
2007-08-08 19:36:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you that the choice to be moral is a personal one, and therefor originates from within one's self. However, so does the concepts of faith, sprituality and the desire to follow any religious path.
Yes, you can be traiend into any of these things. By the same token you can undo that training and choose your own. Yet I believe that a truly spiritual person is following their own unique path...their morals are the street signs and landmarks they use to guide them.
Then there's this: Love is the Law. Love under Will. Eh. Morality is totally Self serving. Notice the capitals. I believe that's as it should be. Also, probably a product of the mythological tale of the forbidden fruit. Having gained the knowledge...now we must deal with the choices.
2007-08-08 19:23:38 · answer #3 · answered by kerriwyn13 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are correct, my friend.
If moral teaching only came from god then you would assume that people who believe in the "wrong" gods would not have morals. You would also assume that people who do believe in the "right" god would have excellent morals (allowing for the occassional mistake). This is clearly not the situation.
Also, what religion does bring to the table is the promise of the ultimate carrot "Heaven" and the ultimate stick "Hell". If this is your motivation for being good then I would suggest that you are more of a self-serving kind of person then an altruist do gooder who does the right thing only because it is the right thing to do.
2007-08-08 19:20:51 · answer #4 · answered by Alan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but I'm not scared of God, he doesn't make me moral or anything, I chose to be moral because I want to live as God want me to live. God won't punish you if you aren't moral, all God wants is for you to want to get to know him. And if you are talking about Hell being the punishment, well God only sends us to hell because we want to be there. When we want nothing to do with him, he gives us what we want and sends us completely out of his presence and into Hell. Hell is only considered a punishment because there is nothing good or happy there only evil and pain, because without God there is no happiness or goodness.
2007-08-08 19:25:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree that morals come from within.
I disagree with your reasoning for this to be the case.
This would require a lenthly discourse, so I expect a lot of thumbs down.
Consciousness determines each mans moral codes!
2007-08-08 19:30:06 · answer #6 · answered by WillRogerswannabe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many horrible things in the Bible, and many severe punishments that we do not adhere to today. I say that the fact we do not cut off the hands of thieves and stone harlots to death is because our morals are NOT Biblical. Otherwise we (or Christians) would still believe that stuff and do it.
atheist
2007-08-08 19:20:57 · answer #7 · answered by AuroraDawn 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Among the signs of being moral is to admit that your Creator and the Creator of the whole world is God. Why are you sane instead of being born insane? That is mercy from God. The one who denies it is committing the biggest act of immorality.
2007-08-08 19:20:24 · answer #8 · answered by rose_ovda_night 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
But if atheists decide their own morals, then they can't ever condemn someone else's morality. If someone else honestly thinks it is okay to kill people, then they should be right, because in some way, they convince themselves they are helping others.
There is a standard for morality. Don't deny it.
2007-08-08 19:19:29 · answer #9 · answered by Mr. A 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
This Christian thinks you are right.
2007-08-08 19:17:56 · answer #10 · answered by Ruth 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋