Atheist Is Annoyed By Christians Asking Where They Get Their Morals From. Where DO Atheists Get Their Morals From Actually?
Comments(6) It bothers me when Christians wonder where atheists get their morals. Like we somehow approve of everything by default.
I feel a certain amount of behavior is genetic. Besides that though is the fact that we all learn from experience. We can sympathize with others who suffer. We want to help them, because god can not, and also save our selves from suffering.
We make rules to remind us that certain actions will likely lead to our own suffering. If I try to kill someone then their family will target me. If I try to take from someone they will defend what they feel is theirs.
These concepts aren’t hard to piece together even for a very simple minded person. More importantly, none of them require god.
I guess as a Christian your supposed to be preachy and such. Well I think we would all be better off as allies rather than enemies. So stop being so pushy.
Some of your reactions are pretty funny though. I don’t think Hitler is a confirmed atheist either. From what I have read he made positive statements about Christianity. It doesn’t make much sense having him on your banner up there.
I don’t think Atheists ‘approve’ of everything by default. I know of many Atheists who are moral creatures and contribute to society. I just think that people would be better off if they stuck with Judeo-Christian morals.
Where has secular morality got us in the last 100 years? We’re still killing innocent children for goodness sake!
where did religious morality get us in all the time before the last 100 years, whats wrong with the current 100 years?
Although religion is a great way to instill good morals and values in young children, it is NOT the only way to do so. It seems that many people have an ‘all or nothing attitude’ towards religion, meaning a given set of beliefs are either entirely right or entirely wrong. I disagree with this notion. It is perfectly logical in my mind to take certain ideals from each good source and use them to shape your own opinions. Although I DON’T adhere to any particular religion, I have nothing against those that do. I am not deluded enough to think that my own mixed up beliefs are the only ones that are acceptable. I also abhor any religious group who hates on those who choose to believe differently than they do or even not at all. I have nothing bad to say about Christians, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, or anyone else. I mean no disrespect in my comment and I would love to hear some constructive responses. Have a wonderful day.
Fair points Bryanna although i’m afraid i do not agree with some. as an anti theist I do not disagree with peoples beliefs and faith i disagree with the very concept of belief and faith. i am a psychologist and it IS psychologically unhealthy to maintain a faith in a personified deity (in anything is bad but a PD is worst)
other than this religion is severely detrimental to society and has caused more wars, pain and suffering than anything else.
It isn’t healthy for children to display moral because they either are afraid of ‘gods’ retribution or reward.
Mandat
feel free to contact me
mandatmagic@hotmail.com
I would recommend reading over the six stages of moral development. It concerns how people think about moral situations, not what people think. If I recall correctly, ancient history religions (Christianity being one of them) tend to stall at about stage 3, “interpersonal accord and conformity driven”.
The very fact that plenty of atheists live moral lives indicates that being religious or believing in a god is not necessary for being a good person.
We are social animals. We work with each other, we develop interpersonal relationships, we rely on each other, etc. We’ve developed to be this way as a species. It’s no wonder we display empathy for each other. This starts to create the foundation for our laws and personal morals. I don’t want to be stolen from and neither do you. Same for being killed, being abused, etc. As a society we have learned that certain behaviors make us happier and better off as a whole. The golden rule is not limited to religion. We come about it naturally.
If you look at religions, the doctrines on how to act have changed. Christians today are more moral than Christians of a couple hundred years ago and so on. Religion doesn’t give us morals. Rather, it takes its morals from us (and the religion’s leaders), though it tends to lag a bit.
In BCE 450 Socrates descovered that fumes from Lead mines where having a negative effect on miners. In BCE 100 a Roman scholar descovered that placing a (clean) sheeps bladder over the nose and mouth would prevent Lead smelters from getting sick and dying. Then came Christianity. 1500 years later a French Scientist RE-discovered that lead fumes where bad for you.
Just one example of how Christianity has “advanced” the modern world. What about Galileo? Where would we be if his society had supported him?
You say we are still killing. In the name of what? In my EXPERIANCE most of the conflicts today are because one group doesn’t kneel the same way as another. There will be no peace as long as good men spend their time whispering to non-existant gods rather than getting up and doing something.
Recent studies show that humans have a ‘god-spot’ in their brain which makes them inclined to believe in a higher power, and to have euphoric sensations when thinking of a god. This evolved because the people who banded together in the name of a higher power lasted longer than individuals way back before civilization. Basically, religion tried to people from killing eachother. At the same time, all it really did was make large, organized groups of people kill eachother in style.