Aurelius seals the deal?

[Eilonnwy]

I don't know. Atheists may want to murder, rape, and pillage but don't because they think it's not worth getting in trouble over...who knows. You could provide a list of all the things you do and your motives for doing them, your overall life goal, etc for analysis/critique.

That's an absurd thing to suggest on both counts. Atheists and other non-religious people are capable of being just as moral (if not more so, in some cases) as religious folk. Secondly, I'm not going to have you, someone with a gross misunderstanding of atheists, analyze my life. I will say this much, I don't go around murdering because I'm afraid of getting caught, I don't do it because I know it's wrong and I give to charity on a regular basis. I have, in fact, written an article about subjective vs objective morality, you can read it if you wish.

If you want to believe being devout means being good, fine. Believe what you want, it's you're privilege. But may I remind you that the 9/11 suicide bombers and abortion doctor killers, and the witch hunters, and the fighters of the crusades, the inquisitors from the middle ages...they were all devout believers.

If you believe in unjust gods then being devout doesn't mean being good (which applies to all of your examples I guess).

With the exception of the 9/11 attackers, the other examples had to do with people who believed in the Christian god. So you admit the Christian god is unjust?

How is worshipping the just gods any different from being good - i.e. doing as the just gods will? How could the just gods not care if you showed your devotion by being good? Instead, you showed your lack of devotion (which doesn't bother them apparently) by living for vice instead of virtue? Why would they welcome you anyway? In my opinion Aurelius' statement doesn't make sense.

Because you refuse to accept that worshiping and being a good person are not the same thing. Many people are good people whether they believe in a different god than your god, or no god at all. Your refusal to accept that Christianity does not hold the monopoly on good people, and in fact has promoted many evils in this world, is not our failing but yours.