I imagine this has been posted before but... if there is no supreme, omniscient, omnipotent being, how can there really be a right and wrong? I understand a majority in society can determine what is CONSIDERED to be right and wrong, but on an individual level how can you tell someone what they do is right and wrong.
The way I see it, the only way to say what is absolutely right and wrong is for there to be a being greater than us, and who created everything, because then He has the right to determine what should and should not be. Otherwise, I don't see how any individual, or even a majority of people, can tell another person that something they do is wrong. Sure, society can put an individual in jail or punish them however, but what I'm saying is, can we really consider what they did to be wrong. Maybe a better term would be "not condusive to the well being of society."
Just thinking. Not really looking for a religous argument. Just your thoughts on this theory. Thanks.
2007-08-23 06:46:47 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
You are quite correct.
The problem is the great "says who" question. While a God rejector might say that some behavior is wrong, what they mean is that they get some feeling about it. So their foundation for right and wrong is that their feelings is the "says who". And what moral authority does my feelings have? Zero.
As Scrooge said to Marley's ghost (really his own conscience), "“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato." How easily we can slip away from our conscience when our conscience has no authority.
2007-08-24 00:33:25 · answer #1 · answered by Matthew T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well then the problem arises that people refrain from murder or rape or theft not because they truly think that those are bad things to do, but because they have been told to refrain. that shows that they truly don't understand that morality is about how your actions affect those around you. and of course your theory then runs into the problem of, how do we tell which god is the right one? being moral doesn't rely on what some imaginary invisible man in the sky says is right and wrong, but it's about not being selfish, or cruel, or violating the rights of others. i'll admit it's a thorny problem, but one way to approach it is to ask yourself, if there is no god, would i actually believe that killing or stealing is okay? most people would answer no.
2007-08-23 07:03:20 · answer #2 · answered by C_Millionaire 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God makes The Rules
2007-08-23 06:50:59 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is no God and there is still right and wrong.
2007-08-23 06:59:39 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋