(April 2, 2015 at 6:50 pm)Lakul Wrote: And so, I VERY much want to have a conversation with my parents to get across this simple point:
Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you're told.
Religion is doing what you're told, regardless of what is right.
Here's a real world example of this concept.
Two sets of parents take their child to nice restaurants. Both children act up and are disturbing to the other restaurant patrons, decreasing the enjoyment of their meals.
One set of parents threaten their child with punishment next time they act up in public.
The other set of parents talk to their child, explaining that all the other people are at the restaurant to enjoy a nice meal, and their behavior ruined the other patron's night out with their family and friends. They then ask their child how they would feel if someone disturbed their enjoyment by being so disruptive.
A week later, both sets of parents take their child to restaurants again. The first set of parent remind their child of the punishment they will receive if they misbehave again. The second set remind their child how bad they would feel if someone ruined their good time by misbehaving around them.
Both children behave themselves.
The question is, which child is more moral?
And if both children are in a similar situation in the future, but their parents are not around, which child is more likely to behave well?
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
