(June 15, 2015 at 8:25 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote:(June 15, 2015 at 7:41 pm)Nope Wrote: This is the sort of question that used to bother me a lot when I was a Christian.
There are logical reasons why murder is considered immoral. Instability would not be good for a social species and killing each other would definitely hurt our ability to live with one another. It makes sense that our society has evolved to the point that we disapprove of murdering innocent people.
Our view on murder has changed from biblical times. For example, we no longer put people to death for cursing their parents, having an affair or being raped while in the city. Those would be considered innocent people today. They weren't considered innocent in the Old Testament world. Our views change on these issues.
There are no easy answers. Once I became an atheist I had to rethink about what I considered moral. I couldn't just accept what the bible said was good anymore. I had to ask myself why certain actions were bad or good. In the long run, I feel that this has made me a better person but when I first lost faith this questioning really frightened me.
Thanks for the answer!
I'd actually argue that it was always immoral to kill people for the reasons you stated above. I don't think morals change. I guess in the OT times people thought it was ok, so it was considered ok by society, but I believe objectively it was always immoral.
I do think it is important to ask ourselves why we believe what we believe about morality and not just blindly follow a certain path just because our religion tells us to. It is important to understand *why* it does.
(June 15, 2015 at 7:41 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: It's quite simple really, you use empathy combined with reason to determine options cause and promote suffering and which options cause and promote pleasure.
Thank you for the response!
I believe there are 2 flaws with this thinking.
1. Empathy can be subjective, while the morality of certain things are not. For example, a vegetarian can feel empathy for farm animals and claim that it is immoral to eat meat. Meanwhile, a meat eater can say they do not feel empathy for such animals and so eating meat is not immoral.
2. Why is it immoral to promote suffering? Where does this law come from?
1. That's where reason comes in. And in this example I would say yes that continuing the farming of animals is moral because of the implications of forcing everyone on to a vegetarian diet. The thing that makes this approach far superior to yours is that it has room for discussion and debate thus giving it flexibility. For example, I am often told your bible says abortion is evil, in all circumstances. So does that mean a raped woman must carry the baby to term?
2. Why does it have to be rooted in law of some kind. Why must our morality be rooted in authoritarian thinking? Morality can not be authoritarian because it is not universal. And to say that God morality is just a law god makes no sense as you basically be admitting that if God did a 180 tm you would be okay with whatever that implies.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
