What is the point of morality if you're a theist?

[Esquilax]

You can not dismiss 'moral relativism' for just about every atroceity man has committed against man was based on moral relitivism. Mao, Hitler, Himiler, Stalin, Jackson, and those who followed (The presidents to instituted and maintain manifest destiny, which saw the whole sale slaughter of plains Indians to cash in on our 'God given right' to own and exploit all of the land between the altantic and pacific oceans.) All of these acts were based in a 'morality' apart and seperate from the righteousness God outlined in scripture.

Who's dismissing it? I'm just saying that, in terms of the question originally being posed, accusing atheists of moral relativism is useless precisely because the idea has a proven record of failure.

I do not disagree here, but the greater issue your over looking is the fact that if you base your 'morality' on soceity, then any form of debauchery is possiable. All one needs is the blessing of his peers then people can line up and pay to have their unwanted children killed. The only thing our soceity requires is that you do not call them children, you must use the name fetus. Otherwise your good.

So, you know how the entire purpose of this thread was for me to show that morality is based on practical concerns and not the blessings of society?

Yeah...

Absolutely none unless one is trying to justify his 'goodness' apart from the standard of God.

Maybe just go with the flow? I mean, you know what I'm actually asking, right? Why the need to get so stuck in your own definitions?

Everything God has commanded has placed man on a path to get us to where we are now, and to where we will be by the end of the book of revelation.

Were god's commandments made for the benefit of mankind, in a moral sense? Or just to fulfill this prophecy?

We have been given the command you shall not murder because organized soceity would not be possiable if one could freely kill another when ever there was a conflict.

Thank you, Drich, you got there in the end. That's precisely my point: asking "why are you keeping to morality if you don't believe in god?" is useless, because those morals we do have serve a demonstrable purpose for the good of the group, and hence the individuals within them. The reason we're moral without god is because god commanding it isn't the only reason one should.