Atheist, how do you decide?

Question

How do you know right from wrong? If life is meaningless and your belief is there is no God, why are we not in chaos? Are you naive to suggest that religion has NOT impacted your life? Are you aware, as an Atheist, that Governments "roots" stem directly from religious values and ways and that you, yourselves, "follow" them?

How come every single religion, atheist or deity believing, all have the same values of "not killing" each other or "stealing" and the like? Do you think it's a fluke?

Christians are accused of following God. I accuse them, sure, but why is it you follow these laws if God, himself, doesn't exist? Why do you lie to yourself and say "I don't follow" when, everyday, you do - You follow "the man." Why do these laws exist? Simply to protect yourself? Survival? Survival for what? Would you suggest without these laws we'd kill one another? Why didn't we do that before hand more effectively wiping all out?

If life is meaningless, why bother surviving?

You follow men to war. You follow the laws that don't make sense. You follow everyone to work. You follow to keep society rolling. You follow and have kids, retire, and die. You follow and follow, yet, all awhile, have this veil over your own beliefs that you do not follow.

How come denial is such a big part of an Atheist likestyle?

I would never say that "Religion" and "Following God" is the way, either, but really, do you honestly think you follow "nothing," and, if so, what is "nothing?"

I didn't pluralize a word? oh my god, whoever called me on that (I didn't think it was worth even seeing their name as I stopped reading tripe) is an obvious example of an arrogant Atheist. How dumb to focus solely on that idea.

And for those who still have a conscience, I wonder what that really is because so far you've labeled it but done nothing to actually explain what it is.

Silly gooses keep suggesting I believe in God but never once said I do. Your assumptions fit nicely within your belief, keep it up. You're proving yourselves ignorant as the next.

Answer 1

Allow me to correct several misunderstandings you have about atheists:

1) We know right from wrong by the teachings of our parents, teachers and the laws of the society in which we live.

2) Just because atheists do not believe in any gods, this does not equate to their lives being meaningless. I know it is hard for you to step outside yourself to imagine that there are people who do not believe in your god and have plenty of meaning in their lives.

3) We are not in chaos because the societies in which we live provide and enforce laws to punish bad behaving citizens.

4) I have never suggested that religion has NOT impacted my life. Your question is a prime example of how misguided religion intrudes into my life.

5) No, governments and the concept of civil order evolved from secular roots. Look at confucius' effect on chinese civilization. No gods required to form a working society.

6) Religions have adopted the not killing/not stealing policy from non-religious civilizations. People learned to not kill each other and not steal from each other because of the consequences of reprisals. Not from belief in any set of gods.

7) Laws exist. They have nothing to do with gods.

8) I work for the man. I take orders from the man. I get paid to do so by the man. If I choose, I can stop any of the above. How do you interpret any of the above as following the man?

9) Laws exist to protect the members of a society from bad behavior of other people.

10) Yes, laws are there to ensure our survival and well being. Survival is very important to me. I value my life, for it is the only life I have.

11) No, I am not suggesting that we would kill each other without laws. I am only suggesting that these laws act as a deterrent for those who might think of enacting very bad behavior.

12) Historically, humans have indeed tried to wipe each other out. Fortunately, the winner of these skirmishes have established certain human rights and laws to benefit all.

13) Life is not meaningless. See item 2 above.

Answer 2

Wow .. thats gotta be 1 of the most narrow minded things i've every heard.. and the biggest misconception.

for 1 thing.. if you were really serious about getting an accurate answer for what a *conscience* really is.. you wouldn't be asking average people in yahoo answers.. U would be taking the type to look up

1. Religious views of conscience
2. Secular views of conscience
3. Psycho-Analytical views
4. Conscience as society-forming instincts
5. Ethology, Neuroscience and Evolutionary psychology



2) I assure you .. life is not meaningless to most atheists.. where did you get this impression from ?

My Life is filled with MUCH meaning. and I am very grateful for all of it. Now just b/c I AM grateful doesn't mean I has tobe towards a higher being. I take nothing for granted and feel very grateful for my friends family and neighbors.. i'm grateful for having a roof over my head.. and hot meals every night. I'm grateful for pizza and ice cream. I'm grateful for Thanksgivings and other family gatherings.. for spontanious conversations with strangers ..

My life is full.

3) Humans are not born evil.. we are born with values .. we are born good. The only way bad comes from a human is when they are taught to be bad... such as steal.. or kill.. or lie.
or they have a mental disorder. Humans are not naturally with chaos .

4) Morals DONT JUST come from the bible and/or religion. Just b/c it does have some morals written down in it.. doesn't mean its the only place to *get your morals* Its kinda like when you think of an invention .. such as .. (dumb example) dish washing gloves. I'm sure many people thought it would be great to wash dishes and not get your hands wet and chapped from the soap. Then 1 day.. dish washing gloves came out. Just b/c a certain company or person is credited for the idea.. doesn't mean they were the ONLY one for the idea.


I could write a whole book on your silly assumptions alone .. but think i've already wasted enough of my time

Answer 3

I decide by using my mind.

Since suffering sucks, causing suffering is wrong.

My life has meaning to me.

Why should be we be in chaos? There's no reason to think we should.

No, I am not naive. I have lived in a society where most people believe in a Sky Bully, and that has effected my life. Doesn't mean I have to worship the Sky Bully myself.

I don't care whether governments "roots" stem directly from religious values or not. (I don't think this is entirely true, anyway. Goverments have complex origins.)

I don't follow religious teachings. That some things taught by religious teachers happen to overlap things that I know to be true is irrelevant. Even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.

Every religion, and atheists all agree that killing is wrong. That means that religions are right about this. What of it? Fluke? No, obvious, even to the otherwise deluded.

I don't follow religious laws. In general I follow legal laws. Most of them because I have no reason to break them; others because I'd be in trouble if I broke them. Religion has nothing to do with it.

I don't lie to myself; you lie about me, that's different.

I don't follow "the man" I pretty much do what I want.

Laws exist for a lot of reasons, but the proximate cause is that legislative bodies pass them.

No, I don't think that everyone would kill everyone else if there were no laws. No reason to think they would.

I'm alive; why would I not want to survive?

My questions to you: Did you have some sort of point in this? Why did you put all these distinct questions into one question?

Answer 4

Every time I open Yahoo Answers , I come up with this same question . Here goes one more time .
You asked how come every religion has the same values about killing , stealing , etc.
The reason is because they all got the basic morals, and moral values from civilization . Those morals were established thousands of years before any of the present religions were formed .
Morals come , not from churches , but from civilization . Back in the stone age laws were made to protect life and property. Without those laws it would have been every man for himself . The weak would be under the mercy of the strong . Everything would belong to the ones who were strong enough to take it from the weak .
You credit all of civilization and its laws to "god" . Wrong , they're the result of people living together , helping each other , combining efforts in building and hunting . They made laws to protect women and children , the weak and the old , the injured and sick . They hepled those in need .
Give those very early primitive people credit for laying down a code of laws and ethics that became the foundation of the world we have today .
Why do you think that life is meaningless without "god" ?Life to all living things here on earth has exactly the same purpose to be born, grow up , reproduce , grow old , and die .
Why is that meaningless ? It's very easily to understand , it's very believeable , it's nature's way .
In spite of all the promises of the various religions , all the great fairy tales about beautiful heavens , nature wins out in the end. Common sense beats superstition every time .

Answer 5

Interesting slant, but not much when examining both history and nature. All social creatures follow what could be termed a form of "morality" - most fights in a species are non-lethal, i.e. wolves may fight within a pack, but not to the death. Chimps will wage war on other chimps but will kill their opponent tribe and will cannibalize them but will not cannibalize their own tribe at any point. The point here is that nature uses self and species survival as a form of morality (sorry just a few examples, there are many of them out there).
Through out history, man has formed various social rules and/or systems of morality to allow them to function, often these would be expressed in a religious form but just as often they would become purely social. Our own system of law is derived not only from the bible but a great deal from the Greek system and laws - the best example is "innocent before proven guilty" this concept did not come from the bible.

As an atheist I don't follow people to work (unless they are ahead of me in the fast lane), I work as it's the most effective way to provide support for my family.

While I appreciate that some people think that life has to have some higher meaning, I find that just living is meaning enough.

Answer 6

You are quite confused.

"How come every single religion, atheist or deity believing, all have the same values of "not killing" each other or "stealing" and the like?"

These are universal morals, and were not introduced by religion. We are a social animal, and thus society forces us all to behave morally, or else we face rejection. You also do not need to believe in the supernatural to have a conscience.

Is life meaningful? Well, that's completely subjective. It's meaningless in the sense that life's sole unconscious purpose is to survive and reproduce. However, we have levels of consciousness higher than other animals, and create our own purpose, thus putting meaning into our lives.

By the way, atheists don't follow "nothing". We don't follow the manmade irrational assertions you try to force on us.

Answer 7

I don't know - how do we decide

I mean if we didn't decide then we'd be running around murdering and raping and stealing all over the show. But we're not. Which should tell you something

Right from wrong is firstly relative. Secondly it's a combination of nature and nurture ie most people are born with an instinctive empathy towards others - so it hurts us to see others hurt (the golden rule) and then it's how we're brought up by our parents/peers and society in general.

No gods required.

Also - killing, stealing etc were illegal long before the 10 commandments supposedly came about.

Why are so many christians in jail?

Answer 8

Has it ever occurred to you that Atheists do the right thing for the right reason (that being it is the right thing to do)? This to me makes much more sense than doing the right thing out of fear of the consequences or because some all powerful being told you to. The Atheists I know to the right thing because they have free will and chose to do the right thing...it is something they believe in.

As far as "if life is meaningless, why bother surviving"...I don't believe it is meaningless, we have an impact - good or bad. Why bother surviving? I am one of those people who was born a mom...I have nurtured everyone and everything as long as anyone can remember, it is just how I am wired. I survive to try to leave things better than I found them and to try to teach others how to do the same..not because it is what someone said to do but because I believe it is the right thing to do. You are already here...make the best of it, enjoy the ride, do some good.

Answer 9

No. Atheists don't want faith, and do not feel that any are proper or incorrect. That's the whole factor. And fitting an atheist is not particularly a mindful resolution, I do not consider. It's extra of a system of studying, developing, studying, and checking out the waters. It's like some thing else in existence, trial and blunder, after which at some point, you quite simply "get up."

Answer 10

I decide right from wrong based on society. We are not in chaos because chaos would not improve humanity--how would being in chaos benefit me? Religion has not affected my life because I do not let it--I make my own judgements. Also, the government root does NOT stem from the Bible (as many of the founding fathers, after all, were ANTI-Christian). I don't always follow them, either. For example, I have no qualms about drinking despite being underaged.

People don't generally kill others because it causes others agony. Anything that causes agony, pain, or suffering, is generally considered wrong. Also, killing wouldn't benefit me--it wouldn't make me feel better, it wouldn't help me succeed in life, and so on. Stealing? In my opinion, who cares? I have enough money to buy my own stuff, I don't need to do something illegal and potentially risking a few years in jail. People who do steal are generally poor though, and probably need whatever it is more than others.

I protect myself from going to jail, from being ostracized from society, from being unhappy...And why bother surviving? Can you honestly say that you have nothing on this planet that you value, other than your belief in God? I love my family, I love myself, I love debates, I love school, I love work, I love nature and hiking, I love books, music, art, movies--I love life. I feel sorry for you if you can't feel the same way.