Why don't Atheists run amok?

[I Ratant]

That's the first I've heard of Russians manning the Normandy beaches.

.
Conscripts in the Wehrmacht.

 

[RandFan]

You can make a case for how often religion is used to take empathy out of the situation. It's a handy way to divide 'us' (deserving of empathy) from 'them' (not). Certainly, the Old Testament has many stories of people we are told not to feel empathy for -- the Egyptian firstborns, people who occupy land that you want, witches, etc.

One of the most heart wrenching stories I know of is a man who was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, I can imagine myself not harming anyone and suddenly a mob wants to kill me. How amazingly cruel. Now, I'm willing to judge these people by the light of their times but many people honestly believe this was in accordance to gods wishes.

¹Numbers 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

People will justify that. If god says kill you kill. And how do we know that it was god's will and not the will of Moses?


²If god wants me to kill he damn well better tell me to my face. That way I can tell him to go **** himself.

1. Since there is zero evidence of the Exodus it is likely that no one was harmed in the making of this cautionary fable.
2. There is probably no god so please don't listen to other people who tell you to kill in his name.

 

[BobTheDonkey]

.
Because morality has nothing to do with religion.

Even better:

Because religion has nothing to do with morality.

 

[Foster Zygote]

I'm just too lazy. I prefer to walk amok.

I prefer to lie on the sofa and let my kids run amok.

 

[Resume]

Is lying in a hammock close enough?

 

[Ron_Tomkins]

If there's no god and there's no rules or consequences to life what does it matter what you do in life?

If good and bad are merely subjective terms why don't Atheists do whatever they want whenever they want?

Do Atheists live by morals and ethics they have inherited from Theists?

In case anyone doesn't already know, I'm an Atheist.

In short, because you don't want to have more than half (or even half) of the earth's population standing against you.

 

[RandFan]

Is lying in a hammock close enough?

It could rhyme, but then you knew that.

 

[Jake Dale]

If there's no god and there's no rules or consequences to life what does it matter what you do in life?

If good and bad are merely subjective terms why don't Atheists do whatever they want whenever they want?

Do Atheists live by morals and ethics they have inherited from Theists?

In case anyone doesn't already know, I'm an Atheist.

"so there was this female speaker on an elevator"
just one of many. lucky for you guys you're all in here.
by the way, thanks for the elevator thread. i won an over/under bet on page 61.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

Even better:

Because religion has nothing to do with morality.

Because religion would more likely have a detrimental effect on morality than the opposite.

 

[catsmate]

No, that's where partially Christian America and her partially Christian allies attacked a German army led by a political administration inspired and largely fanaticised by materialistic social Darwinist ideas such as survival of the fittest, racial superiority/inferiority, idealisation of a master race, application of materialistic purely biological standards for judging the value of the human being..etc.. compared to that, most allies on D-Day were rather wonderfully Church of England types.

You might want to either do some research or overcome your religous prejudices before using nonsensical phrases such as "fanaticised by materialistic social Darwinist ideas" to describe Nazism. Then there was the Soviet Union's input.
Don't forget Hitler was an xian.

 

[Trent Wray]

I drink 5-Hour ENERGY ! ^TM so I don't have that crash you often feel after running amok.

 

[Sawbones79]

Interesting how so many of you 'skeptics' are only too happy to take genocidal dictators at their word... when it suits your own belief system.

By their fruits you shall know them.
(Clue for the truly retarded: rather than believe everything a genocidal dictator says, simply look at their actions to discern their real worldview, motivations and inspiration)

Ok, so if someone's a genocidal dictator, they're atheists by definition?

 

[phildonnia]

Here's Paul on the whether non-believers can be moral:

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them." (Rom 2:14-15, NKJV)

 

[RandFan]

Here's Paul on the whether non-believers can be moral:

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them." (Rom 2:14-15, NKJV)

Thanks Phil. Please reconcile that with the following:

Secular people ARE good without god.
Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe

In fact they are more likely to be more moral.
Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'

Secular societies are more likely to be happier and more content. Therefore they have less need to commit crime.
Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment

What good is religous bsed morality if it is not needed and in fact makes things worse?

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

Here's Paul on the whether non-believers can be moral:

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them." (Rom 2:14-15, NKJV)

Could you put that in more comprehensive English for people who have English as a second language?

I'd appreciate it.

 

[Mudcat]

[sarcasm] Guys, we've gone over this a million times.

1. Hitler sinned.
2. Christians never sin.
C. Hitler wasn't a Christian.

That's logic, pinheads. [/sarcasm]

Here, forgot your Sarcasm tags. Glad I could help.

 

[ynot]

Thanks Phil. Please reconcile that with the following:

Secular people ARE good without god.
Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe

In fact they are more likely to be more moral.
Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'

Secular societies are more likely to be happier and more content. Therefore they have less need to commit crime.
Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment

What good is religous bsed morality if it is not needed and in fact makes things worse?

This is the very message I intended this thread to highlight. The “moral high ground” claimed by Theists is as much a myth as their god.

 

[dafydd]

I'm just too lazy. I prefer to walk amok.

Laziness walks in my family.

 

[dafydd]

Here's Paul on the whether non-believers can be moral:

"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them." (Rom 2:14-15, NKJV)

Is there an English version of that? Sounds like Paul hadn't recovered from his seizure when he penned it.

 

[Bram Kaandorp]

Is there an English version of that? Sounds like Paul hadn't recovered from his seizure when he penned it.

I already asked for it.

Maybe it's late in the night where he lives, and he's already in bed.

I wouldn't mind waiting a little.

I'll give it 12 hours.

Edit: Scratch that, his profile says California.