Posted on 11/15/2008 7:00:17 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Many Americans doubt the morality of atheists. According to a 2007 Gallup poll, a majority of Americans say that they would not vote for an otherwise qualified atheist as president, meaning a nonbeliever would have a harder time getting elected than a Muslim, a homosexual, or a Jew. Many would go further and agree with conservative commentator Laura Schlessinger that morality requires a belief in God—otherwise, all we have is our selfish desires. In The Ten Commandments, she approvingly quotes Dostoyevsky: "Where there is no God, all is permitted." The opposing view, held by a small minority of secularists, such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, is that belief in God makes us worse. As Hitchens puts it, "Religion poisons everything".....
....In a review published in Science last month, psychologists Ara Norenzayan and Azim Shariff discuss several experiments that lean pro-Schlessinger. In one of their own studies, they primed half the participants with a spirituality-themed word jumble (including the words divine and God) and gave the other half the same task with nonspiritual words. Then, they gave all the participants $10 each and told them that they could either keep it or share their cash reward with another (anonymous) subject. Ultimately, the spiritual-jumble group parted with more than twice as much money as the control. Norenzayan and Shariff suggest that this lopsided outcome is the result of an evolutionary imperative to care about one's reputation. If you think about God, you believe someone is watching. This argument is bolstered by other research that they review showing that people are more generous and less likely to cheat when others are around. More surprisingly, people also behave better when exposed to posters with eyes on them.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
No such thing as an atheist.
Maybe agnostic... but not atheist.
Why do you suppose you have a built in morality? The Bible tells us that God has written His law on our hearts such that even men who do not believe in Him are inclined to do good.
I have always wanted to ask an atheist about that. Providing there is no God and man is merely an extra-evolved animal why then do we have a conscience? Why are we able to go against our own nature? Animals give no thought to the consequences of their behavior, they do what is instinctual without guilt or pride.
Also, if an animal is hungry, they seek out food without caring that another animal may have to die to provide it. If there is no God and our ultimate end is just decomposition, what difference does it make if we are nice? Why doesn’t society applaud those who will do anything to gain whatever they want? If the answer is that society understands that as a community we must work together and show compassion, they why is that?
That is why we have liquor and drugs.
I once worked with an atheist and it seemed she was always miserable about something. She couldn't discuss her position because she didn't really know why she believed what she did. I think she was basically lazy and figured having no position on a "Creator God" meant less effort on her part.
But.....I've not known many....so this opinion could be skewed.
“Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do.” The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BC
Plato: 4th century philosopher: “May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.”
Socrates: 5th century philosopher: “Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you.
Brahmanism: “This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you”. Mahabharata, 5:1517
Try preaching the Gospel to them. :-)
Hard to say, but I've never seen an Atheist hospital or an Atheist charity anywhere.
Well, as an atheist, I would say I’m pretty happy most days, marginally less happy when my two year old decides to vomit all over me at 6am this morning.
“What’s the origin of the Golden Rule?”
Isn’t it all religions except for one?
I know an atheist who is very nice - and he voted for McCain, despite being very liberal thinking. Marxism and Michelle 0bama were his deciding factors (this from a guy who NEVER talks about anyone badly).”
Christianity is the only religion on Earth that advances positivity as a defense against negativity. Every-other religion has some type of positive for positive and negative for negative angle to it. “Do as ye would be done by” is a true advancement that elevates Christianity above all religions. Christ is the ultimate example of God returning good for humanity’s evil so that we might receive healing and restoration of fellowship. Christ IS the GOLDEN RULE, God’s extension of his grace towards us. No other religion has this rule or has had it uttered so succinctly as Christ uttered it; in word or in total demonstration thru his very life and being!
as a Christian I am well aware there are much ‘nicer’ atheists out there than me. Niceness isn't an issue.
Guess it was just coincidence that athiest regimes (Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, et. al.) managed to murder over 100 million people in the 20th century. I can't think of any Christian countries that did the same.
Excellent! If I may add, Christ also told us to love one another as he loves us. That puts a burden on Christians that is more demanding than the reciprocity of the golden rule. The golden rule is a brick in the foundation, but not the entire foundation.
Agreed.
We live in an age of grace, not to be confused with politeness nor with morality. It is an issue of righteousness and justice, where unrighteousness may be confessed through faith in Christ and relationship with perfect righteousness is justly re-established by his grace providing forgiveness.
People may live very morally and be completely out of fellowship with God when they are thinking and behaving independent of faith in Him.
Amen, FRiend.
It’s going to be hard to be nice in hell... I would imagine.
FYI, your built-in morality is because God has written His laws on men’s hearts. It’s there because He put it there. Maybe someday you’ll give Him the credit He’s due.
As for built-in morality, you need to read up on the true story of what happened with the Waorani Indians and Jim Elliott. Excellent story. Important to really read up and study on the Waoranis and how their murder rate was about 90 percent until Christians came into their midst.
I know very few. The only guy that I knew a little about was the husband of a friend of mine. He was very angry and mean. I felt bad for her.
Glad someone made that point on here.
“Christianity is the only religion on Earth that advances positivity as a defense against negativity.”
What about Buddhism?
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