Is it possibLe to not beLieve in God and stiLL have moraLs and vaLues?

Question

It doesnt make sense. Where did morals and values come from then?
i ask this question b4 but every1 got off subject; i know that christians are bad, but that's not the question! The question is ~ if a person doesn't beLieve in heaven then why are they being good? And where are they Learning to be good from? Because even the Laws of the Land foLLow the bibLe, so in retrospective aren't they stiLL getting their moraLs from God?

Answer 1

Of course unbelievers can have morals; in fact, they are often under the influence of the Spirit of God whether they like it or not.

We can live an ordered life as taught. Like my dog, it sneaks when it knows it's doing wrong, but reacts happily when it gets its reward. Also, God has instituted governments with their civil laws. Yes, God has not abandoned us.

But to be saved, one must live to God's standard, not just Civil Laws, but His Moral Law. Remember, Jesus said we must render to ceasar what he requires, and to God what He requires.

When one becomes a Christian with the Holy Spirit convicting them of wrongs, they will realize how deficient they are in purity and will be found studying and praying for the righteousness of God.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

That means if we obey Him, then He will bless us abundantly.

He also reveals our duty in a Bible code that identifies Antichrist--you don't want to obey him. See: http://abiblecode.tripod.com

Shalom, peace in Jesus, Ben Yeshua

Answer 2

Maybe we're being because it feels nice to do nice things for people and to treat them with respect. If the only reason YOU do good is because you fear punishment in hell or want a reward in heaven, what does that say about you?

The "laws of the land" are NOT based on the Bible. If they were, then that means that before the Bible was written, there were no laws, no rules, no codes of behavior for humans to follow. I think you see what a silly notion this would be, for then human civilization--which existed for thousands of years prior to biblical times--could never have gotten started. Read up a little on Babylonian law, which predated Christianity by several thousand years.

Answer 3

Society is the answer to all your questions. I dont know how we got to be cognative beings, but we did somehow. After we built a society where people lived together there was a desire to control other people. This is where religion comes in. Religion is used as a tool to teach moral values and correct behavior. Religion doesnt have much to do with it. I wasn't raised in a religious home and I do not believe in the Judeo-Christian form of a god either. What I do beleive is to be a peaceful and spiritual individual trying to make it through this crazy world without negatively affecting those around me as much as I possibly can.

Answer 4

Difficult as it is to fathom...yeah. If you go all the way back..before Moses and the 10 Commandments...there was no monotheistic religion. Paganism was the first faith system on the planet and it consisted of pantheism (Greek/Roman) or polytheism (Egyptian/Babylonian). Most paganistic practices were pretty bad. Even after the Hebrew exodus and the laws of Judaism were established that all went south cuz the religious leaders of that time began to pile them upon the people so that tything, taxing and burnt offerings were almost too much to tolerate. Still as Christianity flourished in the first, second and third centuries with it came the principles of the OT, except for the sacrificial blood atonement laws. Slowly as pagan practices began to subside what was left of them were melded into Christianity and that is where you get the confusion of religious faiths today...the Bible predicts every single detail of it and points to the true source for clarification on things...His Word. So...moral standards and values have the natural law abiders consequences which is to get along better in society, to admired by folks and to avoid some of the pitfalls of man made cultural perimeters but the law won't save you from the consequences of someone else breaking it and it won't save you when Christ finally does away with all lawlessness...not unless you are covered by His redeeming blood that was paid in your place. Because unless you watch the edges and always have, which is impossible....according to Gods standard we all fall short. Thankfully we have Christ as our mediator when the accusor comes calling. Love in Christ, ~J~

Answer 5

Speaking for myself, I do not believe in God or Heaven or Hell, but I still strive to be the best person I can be. I mess it up sometimes, but I try to learn from my mistakes. I don't feel the need to go and beg forgiveness from any God for my mistakes, I just learn, apologize if necessary, and move on.

Morals and values are not the creation of Christianity. In fact, historically, Christianity would do well to keep its mouth shut when it comes to preaching values and morality.

If you need a reason to be a decent person, or the concept of some kind of reward scheme for getting through life without being a complete twit, then you're less civilized than someone who displays good values and morals simply because they choose to.

Just my take on things anyway :)

Peace !!

Answer 6

Morality is an essential condition of socially evolved biological life forms. We even see it in social amoebas (slime molds). When a source of food is exhausted, social amoebas clump together, form a stalk, bulb underside and bulb top. Only the amoebas at the bulb top survive and reproduce. The amoebas that form the stalk and bulb underside altruistically sacrifice their lives so that others can survive. They make this sacrifice without any ability to even think about it (no brains). However, if we knock out either the csa4 or dim4 genes then the amoebas become selfish, only migrating to the top of the bulb. While this has an advantage for a couple of generations, the amoebas in the local group quickly become too selfish so that none form the stalk or the underside of the bulb, thus in the long term they lose out to competing unselfish, altruistic groups. Now humans, who share a common ancestor with social amoebas 1,100,000,000 years ago, still have the csa4 and dim4 genes in their genome. So perhaps our goodness is deeply ingrained from over a billion years of evolutionary history, older even than thought or consciousness.

Answer 7

First of all people probably get off subject from your questions because skip they around entirely to much. But anyway, Yes most laws do originate from biblical principles, as it should be. I have no idea why someone who doesn't believe in heaven would feel the need to be good, I personally do believe in heaven and equally in hell as well, (by the way Christians aren't bad, people who have horrible grammar and typing skills, maybe so) I guess people who do not believe in heaven and hell do good because it's what they are taught to do or possibly they are afraid of the earthly punishment.

Answer 8

we learn morals and values from our society. There is a general consensus that certain acts are antisocial. religion is a guide on 'getting along with each other'

Animals actually get along just as well if not better than humans. They very rarely kill one another (in the same species). they certainly fight, but if they do, it's usually over when one animal defeats the other and shows their strength. They don't dictate to others in their group to go and kill a whole section of a rival animal group as humans do.

Also they only fight to secure their particular relatively small area and they are rarely 'greedy' and try to take over another area.

Morals are about co existing with minimal fussing and fighting. If anything, religion (i.e God) has been detrimental to human existance in that as a species, we seem to have found it neccessary in the past to force all other cultures to believe as we do and to adopt our morals and values.

Answer 9

This question has been asked a hundred times, but let's have another go at it, shall we?

Morals and good behavior have not been monopolized by religion. God is not the creator of right and wrong. I was taught morals by my parents and they were further instilled as I grew up and felt the sting of being hurt by someone else's lack of morals. That lesson came from life, not God.

Answer 10

Yep. Good morals come from the Bible. However, you do not have to be a Christian for follow good moral values.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, for whoever believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

According to the verse above, in order to be a Christian you must believe in Jesus.

HTH

Answer 11

Can't being good just be a person's way? Not everyone has to answer to a God to believe in morals and humanity for others. I don't have to face eternal damnation to be decent - not perfect - but decent. It's called a conscience within. Instictional caring not being scared of the hand of God. Non-believers can even be better than religious folk because we are doing out of nature not fear...