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To: A.J.Armitage
From your perspective as an atheist, why should I or anyone care about what's good for society? Why is the well-being of the other products of blind evolution who happen to be the same species as me a standard to which I must conform? Why is there any standard to which I must conform?

Not sure if I read that right? I am not an atheist, so I will assume that you intended a semicolon after the word "perspective"...

Whether you believe in God or not, you should care about morality. When the guy who sees your girlfriend and thinks she would look better on his arm decides to club you over the head and drag her off for his own pleasure, I think that "morality" as I have defined it will work in your favor.

Human beings are, by nature, selfish animals. Morality tends to work against us individually, but works for us collectively.

Now I have used the term "collective" a few times but please don't assume I am a commie as well. I believe in individual rights and liberties, but I also believe that there are colors between black and white. We have a right to individual liberty that stops when it begins to infringe upon the individual liberty of another. In some sense, it also stops when it begins to infringe upon the liberty of the collective.

Pornography, while some people can read it and control the impact it has on their psyche, has been demonstrated to be a catalyst for others to lose control of their sexual desires and ultimately rape, murder, and molest.

The percentage is small, but the impact upon society as a whole is large. It is up to society to draw the line and create laws that limit the damages caused by porn, drugs, or whatever. There is a line between totalitarianism and anarchy... we should find it and draw it accordingly.
325 posted on 10/01/2004 1:04:26 PM PDT by Paloma_55
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To: Paloma_55
Not sure if I read that right? I am not an atheist, so I will assume that you intended a semicolon after the word "perspective"...

You read it right.

See what I was replying to:

Now, again... what is morality?
In essence, it is the collective determination of what is good for society.

That is an unambiguously atheist statement.

Whether you believe in God or not, you should care about morality. When the guy who sees your girlfriend and thinks she would look better on his arm decides to club you over the head and drag her off for his own pleasure, I think that "morality" as I have defined it will work in your favor.

Perhaps. Or perhaps the other guy will choose to ignore morality.

A gun will definitely work in my favor.

Now I have used the term "collective" a few times but please don't assume I am a commie as well.

What difference does it make? If you think the origin of morality is merely human you might be a Marxist or a Randian or some other denomination, but your religion is anthropocentrism. You also overthrow all morality, since man is too little to base much of anything on, let alone morality.

I believe in individual rights and liberties

Why?

but I also believe that there are colors between black and white.

Why should I care what "color" something is?

There is a line between totalitarianism and anarchy... we should find it and draw it accordingly.

We should? Why?

492 posted on 10/01/2004 9:55:40 PM PDT by A.J.Armitage (http://calvinist-libertarians.blogspot.com/)
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