(November 15, 2009 at 4:03 pm)peace2u Wrote: After certain amount of time, they both just die, say from natural death. Is that it? Now surely the good guy deserves some sort of reward for all his goods deeds while the bad guy deserves to get punished for it. I mean if there was no God, then good guy with his entire good act gets no reward and the bad guy with all his bad actions gets away with it? Surely that can’t be right?I'll answer from my philosophical position, but keep in mind that this is just how I personally feel, and that there is no 'stance' of atheists as a whole.
I agree with you that the good guy "deserves" a reward for being a good member of society, much like the bad guy "dererves" punishment for breaking social code by killing and raping and whatnot.
However, that doesn't make it true. When I help an old lady across the street, one might argue that I deserve a pat on the back and a cupcake, but that has no bearing on the 'absolute truth' of whether or not I will get a pat on the back or a cupcake.
Furthermore, the world and the events that happen in it are not "fair" or "right". In a universal sense, these words are meaningless. Why would a lion kill and eat an infant antelope? Surely that's not fair to the antelope? Surely it's not right?
- Meatball