Atheists: Upon what do you base your morality?

Exactly, Objective morals are those that are based outside of yourself. Subjective morals are those that depend on you, your situation, culture, and your preferences. Subjective morals change, can become contradictory, and might differ from person to person. This is the best that atheism has to offer us as a worldview.

Think about it, in atheism, there is no moral right and wrong. There is no moral "should and shouldn't”. Why? Because when you remove God, you remove the standard by which objective moral truth is established. In atheism morality is up for grabs.

In an atheistic worldview, lying, cheating, and stealing are neither right or wrong. They are phenomena to which, if the atheist so decides, moral values can be assigned. Sure, the atheist might say that we all should want to help society function properly and it does not benefit society as a whole to lie, cheat, and steal. But, this is weak intellectual reasoning.

Let me put some flesh and blood on this and show you why. What if there were a global economic meltdown and social turmoil ensued so that robbing people at gunpoint to get food became common place. Robbery would then be a social norm. Would such a norm be wrong? If it is not wrong, then you affirm situational ethics and can’t complain when the situation suits somebody else’s fancy and you get robbed at gunpoint. Of course, this would lead to anarchy.

If you say such theft is wrong, then why is it wrong? If it is your opinion that it is wrong, that is nice, but opinions don’t make ethical standards. If you said it is wrong because it is wrong, you are just begging the question. Besides, that would mean there was a moral standard outside of yourself to which you must answer and that would imply a Moral Law Giver.

Anyway, some atheists maintain that the best moral system is that which brings the greatest happiness, the least amount of suffering, and the greatest freedom for as many people as possible. That is a nice sentiment, but it doesn’t work. Take a look at slavery, for example. The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people means that a minority of people should suffer in bondage. This way, the greatest amount of freedom for the majority is ensured. But if the atheist says that it is wrong to enslave a minority to benefit the majority, then why is it wrong? Because he said so? If he says it’s wrong because the minority is suffering, so what? Why is suffering wrong? It may be unpleasant. It may not be nice. But, from an atheistic worldview, why is it morally wrong to oppress a minority to benefit the majority? Atheism can’t help us here. It just isn’t up to the task of providing solid answers.

Let me reiterate by saying that atheism offers a subjective moral system that is based on human experience, human conditions, and human reason. By its very nature, such moral evaluation is relativistic, dangerous, can change, can become self contradictory, and can lead to anarchy.

True morality is not merely a collection of concepts agreed upon because it helps stop the guy with the gun from taking your food. There is something more, and the Bible offers us more.

It offers us an objective set of morals: do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, etc. These morals don’t change depending on your opinion, your situation, or your personal preferences. They are based on God’s character and since God doesn’t change, these morals don’t either. Therefore, it is always wrong to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, and to bear false witness, but not so in atheism’s empty moral vacuum because morality is formed in a subjective manner.

So, after an economic meltdown when an armed stranger is approaching you on a dark road and you are taking food home to your hungry family, who would you rather the stranger be: a Christian who believes stealing is wrong and that God is watching, or the atheist who sees a need and points his gun at you as he adapts his ethics to suit the moment?

Morality or "socially acceptable behaviour" was created by mankind when we first began living a communal life. This took place long before we created any of the hundreds of gods mankind has created. Even with in Theistic societies morality differs.

Religions have been found to be the most efficient means of imposing the morality of the few onto the many as demonstrated in the inquisitions and other historical events where the Theist authority persecuted and killed others because they weren't the "right type" of theist.

Your "anything goes" attitude is simply your ignorance in that each society decides what is acceptable social behavior within that group. As mankind became more aware and able we have refined morality. Your attempt to associate pedophilia, pederasty with Atheism is also based in ignorance. Simply look at the history of the catholics and other faiths.

Morality is based in self worth and self esteem, a consciousness of the well being of those around us and the intelligence to be able to live withing the standards (morals) of the society we are born into or choose to live.

Atheists do not require a threat of hell nor the proverbial carrot (heaven) dangled in front of our nose to do what is right in life.

Who is more aware of "Morality" the person who comforms out of fear or in hopes of a reward or one who performs of their own accord, in their own knowledge and because they have pride in themselves and the life that they live?

Think about it!

Empathy and compassion for my fellow humans. Funny how the religious can't understand that point of view. Pedophilia and pederasty are wrong because they hurt others. Do you realize that the Bible says nothing about either? No commandments, no mention in the Jewish purity laws, nothing.

If you think religious morals are objective you know nothing about the history of your religion. Religious morals have changed right along with society, usually lagging by a few decades.

It is centered on appreciate for my fellow people. If your god writes moral necessities on everyone's coronary heart, why are there people on the planet who don't comply with those standards? Why do some cultures remember it okay to kill females who "dishonor" the household? Why do psychopaths exist - did God overlook about them? Morality makes extra feel as a socially transmitted worth that doesn't take preserve in some individuals with a psycopathological inability to empathize with others. It can be not function. Ethical requisites exchange from one society and one time period to one more. Slavery used to be once accredited as divinely ordered. Youngsters were once idea of as brief adults who might be forced to work for lengthy hours beneath brutal conditions. In Bible occasions, females and children have been reasonable game in conflict. Now the killing of civilians is viewed a horrible human rights violation. Even the Bible's morals trade. Men and women say that incest was now not immoral until the time of Moses. How is that function and everlasting? How is slavery flawed if the Bible regulated it? How is homicide mistaken if the the god of the Bible commanded it over and over? How is marriage a lifetime commitment underneath God if the Hebrews turned their foreign other halves away to raised comply with their own god? How can polygamy be regarded immoral if probably the most righteous, God-loving patriarchs had multiple other halves? Evolution is set survival of populations, and the societies that figured out get alongside and co-operate with each and every different lasted longer than societies that didn't. That "survival of the meanest and strongest" crap most Christians are fed is just not what evolution is set in any respect.

"Who will get to have the authority to say whether or not pedophilia or pederasty is wrong?"

That's an ironic thing to say, since your god told Moses to kill thousands of people while taking the women and children for themselves.

Morality is a part of human nature. It's good to treat other people the way you'd like yourself to be treated. It's the golden rule. It's not because of Allah, Jesus, Thor, Odin or Zues: it's because that's how you fit better in the world. That's how you stay positive. And it doesn't have to be some bullshit that was written thousands of years ago on goddamn animal skins. That doesn't have to be the golden rule because it's old. That's ridiculous.

Morals are about what produces the most well-being for myself and others. We still have objective morality, but that doesn't mean people's biases have never interfered. One can objectively understand that slavery is wrong and always wrong. It was wrong in the past. One can objectively observe that pedophilia is wrong, and those that are pedophiles are too mentally ill to objectively judge their own actions.

The Christian deity, however, appears to be pretty ok with immoral things like slavery and rape, as long as they're handled in a certain way.

I actually believe in an objective morality, which is not the same as an absolute morality.

I believe morality is based on maximising the well-being of conscious creatures and minimising total suffering. This means whether an action is good or evil is dependent on the situation, for example, lying is good if it means saving someone's life.

I have more morals than everyone in that fairy tale you base you religion on. I do not go around giving my daughters to a crowd to protect a male visitor. I do not exterminate entire cities because I did not like their habits. I do not sentence people to suffer burning for eternity. I base my morality on what is best for society and people. As for pedophilia, there is a much higher incident among Catholics than among atheists.

Mutual respect and empathy for my fellow human beings. I base my morality upon what is harmful and what causes pain to beings that have the sensory and nervous capabilities of feeling pain and misery.

Edit- Morality is subjective. But that certainly doesn't mean that anything goes. It means that Humans will draw separate conclusions as to what is moral and what isn't.

Egypt's first born, Amalikites. Flood. She bears sent to murder 42 children.

First off let's be clear, I do not derive my morality from anything that murders babies.

Christians formed a society that included the enslavement of their fellow man...that is what you get when you derive IMMORALITY from a stinking baby killer.

What Authority currently rules over you? It's called MAN's LAWS and man's law made it a crime for adults to have sex with children...something christians and catholics seem to love doing, oh and the Mormons and their multiple child brides too.

Jesus did not abolish slavery...does that still mean it is moral and just to enslave the black man? LOL

What I do not want done to me, I do not want done to others.

Humans are social beings, living in a social group would be hard if we did not have instinctual rules. Killing each other = bad for survival. To a sane human killing = bad.

And you wonder why I question the sanity of theists who believe morality comes only from religion..