Why be good?

[Randy Carson]

Mod hat:


Randy, if you do not plan on participating further in the threads you started and/ or the discussions you have involved yourself in, please do not start new threads, or we will consider it spam.


Thank you.

As you may know (if you're American, that is), we just celebrated a three-day weekend in observance of Memorial Day. I hope you had a great time with friends and/or family.

On normal weekends and long weekends especially, many people have more time for recreational activities such as gardening, boating, cooking on the grill, and even posting in online forums. On Tuesdays, however, it's back to the old grind   which means less time for online discussions. That's how it is for me, anyhoo. I'm so sorry if you've missed me, but there it is.

I do have a question or two, however. At your "encouragement", I've read the rules a couple of times, but I don't recall seeing anything about the maximum number of threads that a forum member may start. Did I miss it? However, I do understand why you might be concerned if someone new threw 8, 10 or 12 threads at you all at once.

I've started four (4) And you locked one before we could even begin the discussion.

Still, I hate to be a burden to anyone....Is that a violation of a rule? If so, please accept my apologies and direct me to the appropriate rule so that I may review it in order to avoid future problems.

Additionally, I have commented occasionally in some other threads, but I did not realize there was a cap on the number of threads that forum members may participate in simultaneously. Again, if you could please direct me to the appropriate rule number, I will review it and comply immediately. WWJD and all that? 

Please accept my assurances that I will do my best to visit the forum often if not daily and to interact regularly with as many of the wonderful new acquaintances I've made since joining. Everyone has been so eager to comment in my threads, I'm having a hard time keeping up! I never expected to be such the center of attention...new kid in town and all that, I suppose.

And this goes for you especially, rex. The amount of time and personal attention you have paid to me is truly amazing. I don't know how I would have found my way so quickly without your constant oversight. Thank you so much for helping me to "find my way" in this community. 

Well, I have so much correspondence to catch up on, I really must run...I do hope you'll understand that some days may not allow me to chat with all of you as much as I may wish to do so.

Toodles. 

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If there is no God, then there is no hell; and if there is no hell, then there are no ultimate, eternal repercussions, good or bad, for how we live out our mortal lives. Of course, atheists insist that people should be "good without God."

But why? If God does not exist, why be good?

Your question is "why be good".

I ask you this "why be bad"?

Because it's in your own self interest?

As an Atheist I don't have Satan influencing me to be bad.

If Satan were influencing you, how would you even know?

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I find it interesting how many Christians believe that moral behavior is dependent on belief in god.   Not all religions, particularly the pagan religions around Judea, tied morality to religion.  Piety and sacrifice in return for supernatural favors, yes, morality not so much.  Early Judaism doesn't appear to be much different in this regard.  Most of the law of Moses is concerned with when and how to make sacrifices to god, how to eat in a way that doesn't offend god and so on.  Morality in the modern sense is addressed much if at all.  Nor were the pagan gods particularly moral themselves (not that Yahweh is a very moral god either). Yet the Greeks were great moral philosophers and the Romans had strong moral codes.  Buddhists also have a strong sense of morality, yet they do not believe in god.

It should be perfectly obvious that morality is a social construct, not necessarily a religious one.   It is a necessity for a working society.  Societies without morality fair badly.  So to do people who behave immorally, society sees to that.  And that just isn't just laws, it's how others will treat you socially if you misbehave.  Not surprisingly since we are social animals most people actually want to behave well most of the time.

Jenny-

If morality is purely a social construct, would you have a problem with a society that requires that widows be burned on their dead husband's funeral pyres like the Hindus required? Would you object to Muslim society in which little girls are subjected to genital mutilation?

These practices were/are agreed to by the majority if not unanimity of these cultures. Who are we to impose our values on them?