Even in the animal kingdom there are consequences for every action. Rules that must not be broken, especially in animals like chimps.
Morals and ethics predate religion for the simple fact that society must function normally and non-chaotically for people to advance and even live life at all.
You want to have another man's wife? Okay, go ahead......but when he sees you with his wife he is free to chop off your man parts and rip out your beating heart. And then your brother can take revenge upon him, his brother revenge upon your brother.........and so on and so forth. Do you see where I am going here?
2007-11-24 06:05:11
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Ok - I think that religon has told us many lies
The biggest and most foundational is that we humans are fundementally different from animals
Take Geese for instance - This is an animal that mates for life . The other Geese in the gagle will respect that relationship and either partner will die for the other. There have been many well documented stories of a goose waiting months for the return of it's mate or not flying south with it's gagle because it's mate has been killed or is missing
Take Gorrila's where the males of the group will die defending any males off-spring or one of the other females - Mates are respected here as well although more often than not a male Gorrilla will move off to find a female or having found one will leave it's original group to form it's own group
Does any of this sound familar ?
Animals have been shown to use tools feel emotion and so on But religon teaches us we are not only different but better and once this is accepted it becomes easy to say that race that class that nation is also different and less than "us"
Walk into a forrest there is law and order and respect for space -
Animals hunt for food we hunt for pleasure
We kill torture and jail - we - do all these things Name me an animal that does that other than us
Now lets enter athiesim Most who claim to be an athiest believe there is somthing governing the universe and behaviour they reject the god(s) of the bible
Athiests often reject the concept of one personel god in a relationship with man and the hierachy taught by the mainstream not necesarily "order".
It is to the advantage of those who support a class system that paints those who reject the invisible King as anachist who reject order and are therefore inherently evil - an animal who rejects god and law -
So here I am a person termed an atheist
A - theist - literally translates into against god - hmm - what a set up by the church to love and respect me huh ?Against god what does that imply ? Pro Satan ? Nice
I do not believe in the biblical god - nor do I believe in other gods mentioned by other so called inspired litrature If you actully read the books that people claim are holy it is sick display of ignorance and primitive cruelty
None of this implies that I believe in anarchy or that there is no life out there that could be called spiritual by comparison to my own
Niether religon the athiest science or any other school of thought has come close to asnwering the paradox of existence
I am therefore not an athiest in the sense of being against god - I just do not buy into the version of a class oriented god taught by the church - but because I have nor attempt to sell an alternative to that does not mean I am not open to somthiing else
2007-11-24 06:53:40
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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You think that animals don't get mad at each other? Yet you believe in an unseen ruler, a storybook character? Animals do feel & have unwritten rules and laws they live by. (Please watch Animal planet!) They communicate their feelings very obviously, though not always vocally. Unfortunately, I think the human race evolved into something other than animal, something terrible. (We are the only creatures who create trash! And tell lies!!) Is it just coincidental that animals and humans have eyes, ears, noses, mouths, reproduce, eat, breathe and excrement (amongst other things)? Yet somehow we are not related? Hmmm, lets all think about that for a moment....So were you saying human men don't take other men's mates and homes away from each other? Hmmm. Funny how most fights between men result over a woman....BTW , we atheists are closet anarchists and proud of it! Evolution has been proven, you might want to turn that closet light on and read up on it. Peace.
2007-11-24 06:36:44
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answer #3
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answered by gmoney 3
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These laws are simply extensions of social impulse. As the society evolves these rules come to exist. A basic sense of right and wrong as well as fair play are all operative and are to be found in certain neural pathways in the brain. Heres an excerpt of one such study.
Oliveira-Souza and Moll[5] from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, studied the functional localization of moral judgment in normal adults. Subjects underwent fMRI during the auditory presentation of sentences that they silently judged as "right" or "wrong." Some of the sentences had an explicit moral content ("We break the law if necessary.") and the others lacked moral content ("Stones are made of water."). Moral content was best associated with activation in the frontal poles (Brodmann area 10). This area is located immediately superior to the orbitofrontal cortex, which may be damaged in patients with antisocial behavior such as after traumatic brain injury.
Eventually what will be demonstrated is that some people deemed evil have different neurobiology. The implications of this concrete truth are for society to grapple with.
2007-11-24 20:21:37
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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You're either kidding, trolling, or a complete idiot.
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"Thanks to those who actually gave an honest answer and not just some hateful comment like the ones atheists get when they ask questions here. Funny that they complain when they get responses like that and turn around and respond to me the same way. I guess hyppocrisy isn't limited to the religious"
I'd be a rich person if I had a nickel for every time a Christian posted that kind of inane little whiny comment immediately after posting an ignorant attempt to insult atheists, and you'd have just contributed to the cause.
What in the world makes you think that you can effectively lecture people on how to behave immediately after behaving like a spoiled child yourself? Your little lectures have to be backed by moral authority, and if you ever had any, you just threw it away with this "question".
2007-11-24 06:03:05
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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Interesting perspective...however, as an atheist I'm still keen on order within a society. Anarchy just doesn't work. Ultimately someone will begin to rise to power...it's just natural (you can even see it in groups of apes or even lions, there's always an alpha male..someone to lead and make decisions).
Your perspective does have fault in your statement of, "most atheists who come here say that religion was created by men to control the rest of us" - seeing as how that's an essential statement in your argument, it's lack of validity kind of makes your argument fall apart.
I can't make a blanket statement for all atheists, but those I have encountered tend to share a common background or childhood filled with religious teachings, but as we got older we decided to explore other options. I don't think religion was made by man to control the rest of us...but I do think religion can help people give meaning to their lives, it gives people accountability (at least with the catholic system, you have to be able to account for your sins and confess them to a priest) and it also provides answer. Also, religion is great because when you're lonely or scared, you can just convince yourself that there's this God watching you and trying to protect you. It's a lot easier to say good-bye to a loved one if you're convinced that there is a heaven that your loved one will spend eternity in.
So, revise your statement of how you think atheists think and then rewrite your argument so it has some truth to it.
2007-11-24 06:13:37
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answer #6
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answered by miss_j 6
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If Christians truly believed in and followed the bible, would any of them be divorced? Would any of them commit infidelity? Of course they would and, indeed, do. Therefore, the act of being a Christian does not place one on a moral peddle stool. People sometimes succumb to temptation regardless of their personal standards of morality. Likewise, an Atheist is no more apt to commit infidelity or end their marriage in divorce than any other person. Surely you do not assume Christians have the market cornered on monogamy. Most societies frown upon polygamy, infidelity, and divorce--regardless of how religious or non religious that society is. Why? Because over time, societies have attempted to set acceptable standards of conduct which allow us to live together in relative peace.
I am an Atheist. However, I wouldn't think of cheating on my husband. We have been married for 21 years. Our commitment comes from love and respect of each other. It is our moral and ethical choice to live in a monogamous relationship.
My question to you (with all due respect) is this: Is your religion the only thing which keeps you from betraying a friend, spouse, or neighbor? If so, are you simply obedient to your god, rather than truly a moral person?
2007-11-24 06:31:05
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answer #7
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answered by Yinzer from Sixburgh 7
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Males in the animal kingdom act in a variety of ways. Some mate for life. You can find innumerable patterns in nature. You don't want to pick your pattern of choice, since you don't want to meet a woman who picked the black widow pattern.
One of the major traits found in many primates in complex social order. That is the pattern humans follow, and we've gone one step further by codifying it. The Code of Hammurabi, much older than the Bible, was a secular law. The various religious laws are inflexible and not even followed by their adherents. They are archaic, and what is needed from them (and much that is not needed) has already been extracted.
2007-11-24 06:10:42
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answer #8
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answered by novangelis 7
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Feel free to be as hedonistic as you like. We humans are animals, true, but we have certain measures to assure that we indulge in our basest instincts. If you feel the religion is the only thing holding you back from poo-flinging and running around naked, by all means, do that. Just remember that others may actually hold on to a semblance of civility and instinctual shame, that, although rarer in the animal kingdom, is also as natural to humans as sex or hunger. The human conscience is not dictated by any religion, nor is it obvious in other animals. However, who I am to say who actually has a conscience, or not?
2007-11-24 06:07:11
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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Laws may have started as a religious law from god, or tribal leaders said the laws they wanted came from god. Atheists would believe the latter.
Laws are part of civilization. They were created by man. religious rules should not be laws. If I do not want to abide by the sabbath, then it is up to god, if he exists to punish me. Not man.
If I choose to kill a man, then society has a right to punish me.
I am a Libertarian, so I do not believe in victemless crimes. Laws against drugs, sex for money, gun possession, should be abolished.
Each species is different. man has laws because of man, not because of god.
Mans law evolved over time. It used to be OK for a man to own slaves, rape women during war. We changed these things because we wanted to. Not because god wanted us to.
2007-11-26 05:18:40
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answer #10
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answered by jacbob 3
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