How can you be moral and ethical without religion to guide you?

[FallingSkywards]

We inherently know the difference between a mother lovingly picking up her child and a stranger raping and harming a child. This is obvious. However, in the wilderness where morals are not found, this we do not see.

[FallingSkywards]

False. Morals exist, this is widely accepted. However, from an atheistic point of view, which naturally tends towards and, in the vast majority of cases, supports the theory of evolution (as do I), morals should not appear. We see, through the success of psychopaths in the business world, and in primitive societies in the past, that they do very well. Morals, then, must have an exterior source. Similarly, morals cannot be considered to be subjective. (cont in next comment)

[q1000101]

"We don't do bad things because bad things ultimately make our lives more difficult." Very well stated; it couldn't be any simpler than that.

[Mostafaqasemdarx]

@q1000101

"We don't do bad things because bad things ultimately make our lives more difficult."

What if I saw a wallet filled with money on the floor and nobody was watching, what would prevent me from stealing it? what......morals? but in this case i'm doing a thing that will make my life more easy..........think about it, that's a dumb statment my friend.

[q1000101]

@Mostafaqasemdarx Sounds like I'll need to keep a close eye on my wallet whenever I'm around you, my friend.

[Mostafaqasemdarx]

@q1000101

No don't worry my friend, my morals don't allow me to steal.....but if you follow that rule, then i'm the one who should be keeping a close eye on my wallet whenever i'm around you......you know waht i'm saying.

[q1000101]

@Mostafaqasemdarx No, I don't know what you're saying. Because I don't believe that finding and keeping someone else's missing money would make my life easier. On the contrary, I would gain more by going out of my way to return that money back to its owner, which is exactly what I'd do. I would get more benefit in the long run by knowing that I was doing the right thing than by whatever short-term gratification that money might be able to buy. And I didn't learn that from religion.

[Mostafaqasemdarx]

@q1000101

How is this possible? Dude it's money, do you know what money is? Stop speaking from your emotions and try to speak from your logic, since you're an atheist you should be speaking from a materialistic point of view. Extra money is more intresting than a compliment; in other words, 1,000,000 is more valuable than just "thank you", don't you think? you don't have any valid reason to why you shouldn't steal that money, don't tell me "because it feels good" that is NOT logic.

[q1000101]

@Mostafaqasemdarx You seem to have a misguided impression of what an atheist is or isn't. Just because I do not believe in a god does not mean that I place materialistic things like money above happiness and serenity and doing the right thing. And it doesn't mean that my entire life is guided by stone-cold logic either. Believe it or not, an atheist can be a loving, caring, and spiritual person as well. You could even call me an illogical atheist, and I'd be perfectly content with that =)

[SecularNumanist]

Morality is objective, it comes from god.

How do i know morality is objective? Because god says so.

[OccamsView]

well, dah...

[puellanivis]

Christianity, and Judaism even explicitly declare just after their creation myth that the original sin was to eat "of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil". And that once they ate of that fruit, that they gained knowledge of good and evil... APART from their god. When their god found them, he was all "dudes, why are you covering yourself?" "God, we're nekkid!" and he responded, "Dude, who told you that shit?" So, obviously we don't need a god to tell us that being naked is wrong.

[petehjr1]

If god is the moral law giver and god can command people to do immoral acts. Then god must be immoral too.

[matthewtaylorbrown]

We get our immorality from religion.

[masterplano]

@matthewtaylorbrown Humans are immoral, moral, ethics and values are God given...and God is not religious, religions are immoral rules created by man.

[matthewtaylorbrown]

@masterplano There are no gods, it is all within us.

[fallbread]

yes true

[stojadinovicp]

thumbs up!

[dangerouslytalented]

... and look at how many religious people behave unethically, even by their own standards.

[UbinTimor]

@dangerouslytalented thing about that is religious people do immoral things because they just think "hey I'm already full of sin anyway so might as well do it because I know all I have to do is pray and then I'm forgiven for everything"

I actually had to sit through a Pentecostal sermon and hear an idiot preach for 45 minutes telling everyone how evil they are and how immoral they are because they're full of sin and they sin everyday and can only be forgiven if they repent

made me sick...

[dangerouslytalented]

@UbinTimor Translation: I don't bother being good, I just keep on helping myself to the younger and more supple people in the choir and spending money that was donated to fix the roof on cocaine. Because he was going to repent for that shit anyway.

[MilitantPeaceist]

8)

Fav'd & OK'd!

[Cujoh]

like the background pick