How do you feel about this statement?

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -- Steven Weinberg

yea i absolutely agree religion is just idols that people make up over generations to bond people to their satisfaction... however im a christian and i worship god and morals is something that God created and if you don't believe in God than how is religious morals different from morals of man, its all based on what you feel is right...so you don't go by feelings you go by the word of God cause he created morals... that statement may sound contradicting if you look at god as a religion... God is not a religion man just put him in that catagory cause not every got that revelation of who he really is.. hes so much bigger than religion, he is more real than you and I

To some degree I can follow it. But the idea that in every situation there is something that is RIGHT or WRONG or GOOD or BAD changes upon perspectives.

I do believe that people assigning morality to god is just as valid as assigning god to why the first people on earth came about.

If you believe in god, and believe in the words from the bible, then of course you believe god made both of them…if you don’t believe in god, then you don’t believe he is responsible for either.

I think it is a very logical step for the ancients to have made…if everything they saw they attributed to god…then everything they felt must also be attributed to god. The same desire or rationale for there being something behind the earth and existence, to me, is the exact same desire for there being something behind humans feeling the way that we do.

I just think that some do feel moral about things, and some don’t.

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I did have one issue with one of Tram Man's statements...but he doesnt allow email, so I will say it here....He said "Jesus taught the people to love unselfishly - first to love God, and then to love their fellow mankind. All that is moral is accomlished in these two."

Bullsh*t...is it moral to allow a killer to go free if you are the only one to see him kill someone, and there is no way to prove that he did it, but you KNOW the truth.

Is it moral to love that man...or is it moral to rectify that situation so that he doesnt get to do it again and again to another family.

IF EVERYONE played by the rules, then yes, that idea of loving everyone and everything works...but unfortunately we live in a little place called reality where things that hurt the society happen all day every day. And that to me is laws and morality...what benefits and what is negative to society.

Very stupid, and probably -- do you doubt it ? -- said by someone who already hated religion, just religion, no discrimation between animism and St Francis.

I think the person who said that is a fool.

I became a Christian BECAUSE it was the only moral thing to do. I saw and could not deny so I had to follow.

My orientation is to truth and what offends me in that quote is there is no reference to truth. It is what you are told in both cases. But why isn't that the definition of a lemming or a spineless person.

That is what the Nazis said at the trials. We were doing what we were told.

Send that person over to me, I'll fix his asss.

It's incomplete. I would edit it this way (if you don't mind):

Morality is doing what is right regardless of what you are told is right.

Religion is doing what you are told is right regardless of what you know is right (see morality).

Technically, morality is based on the standards of the society, which most of them, are derived from laws of a religion. This is where 'conscience' is associated with. Meaning, you are doing what the society should think is right.

INTEGRITY is doing what is right regardless of what you are told.

Religion, contrary to your statement, is your own beliefs about a supreme being. It does not have to conform with known religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism etc. If you are performing their rituals and adhering to their rules (even if it is against your own belief), meaning you are still practicing morality, not religion.

An atheist will say agree

a Christian would make a smart-*** excuse or call it empty

I say it's too simple

Religion is also a institution, a system, and a lot more

Moral is just made by humans and it's relative of the culture, close to religion in that point

Hello Anna,

I'll answer your question by asking you some, if that's OK.

Since all religions teach what is right, and what is wrong, and they all vary in their views; what religion tells the truth? We can all be religious about just about anything (football?)

Jesus was confronted by religion but didn't bend to it. Why?

Jesus taught the people to love unselfishly - first to love God, and then to love their fellow mankind. All that is moral is accomlished in these two.

So, did Jesus bring us a religion or a relationship with God, and mankind?

Now people being people have since made a royal mess of it all (including myself). So, do we follow messed up mankind with all of his religion or do we follow Jesus who conveyed love and forgiveness, and also gave us some commands to follow in order that we should be reunited with our Maker?

Regarding your statements Anna, I feel they cannot be answered the way you possibly want them to be - directly in black and white. Because they are 'blanket statements'.

Anna, how do you feel about this statment?

Religion often deviated in directions away from love.

Morality often times is doing what we are told, depending upon who told us.

Hope this gives you some insight into how I feel.

Regards,

Tram Man

For me not true, because I would never belong to a religion that contradicts what is morally correct or expects blind obedience. But it's your statement, so it must make sense to you.

Awesome

I don't feel anything about it. I am smart enough to know what I believe and do what Is right. I don't believe in religion anyway. I believe in the true word of God and the instructions in it that He gives us unto eternal life.