The morality question

[deicide110]

why be moral, because i don't like the guilt of being imoral, what else can it not be that simple.

[Zen Badger]

The amusing bit for me is that when you point out the bad bits of the bible(and there are numerous bits, especially in the OT)

The average xtian will say that you don't take those bits literally.

So how do they know?

If they take their "morality" from the bible how can they judge if a passage in the bible is to taken literally or not?

Afterall there are no warnings in it that state "the following passage is only allegorical"

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

why is it religious people can't get their head round us atheist's having morals?

You mean apart from the fact that the statement is untrue as a general principle? (Atheism infers nothing about moral values.)

In my experience it's only the especially stupid and ignorant who have that attitude about atheists. That does not extend to most believers I know.

As for the dropkicks, I suspect it's [partly] because they don't want to understand. Such an idea threatens their narrow, rigid belief system and world view, which allows them to make facile generalisations. Something no true atheist would ever do.

[tackattack]

Just as a theist comment on this thread. I am truly sorry all you seem to have encountered is such demonizing and horrendously ignorant theists. I personally (nor does any1 in my congregation) believe their morals are derived from the Bible. Yes, we believe God is a moral absolute and we use the bible to better our societal understanding of morality. To say all theists derive their morals from the Bible and that's the only thing not making them homicidal would be fallicious though.

[tavarish]

Just as a theist comment on this thread. I am truly sorry all you seem to have encountered is such demonizing and horrendously ignorant theists. I personally (nor does any1 in my congregation) believe their morals are derived from the Bible. Yes, we believe God is a moral absolute and we use the bible to better our societal understanding of morality. To say all theists derive their morals from the Bible and that's the only thing not making them homicidal would be fallicious though.

Please list God's moral absolutes.

Thanks.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Please list God's moral absolutes.

Thanks.

As Richard Dawkins pointed out only last week (on our Channel 2's ' Q&A' programme) The Torah is full of moral absolutes. They are called 'Mosaic Law', "The Law', 'The Commandments' , or 'The Mitzvot'. Believers claim they were given to Moses by God. There are 613. Christian moral absolutes are based on a somewhat edited list of ten.

The 613 Mitzvot (Hebrew: תרי"ג מצוות‎: Taryag Mitzvot, "613 commandments") are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments (mitzvot) or collectively as the "Law of Moses" (Torat Moshe, תורת משה), "Mosaic Law", or simply "the Law" (though these terms are ambiguous and also applied to the Torah itself).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot

[tavarish]

Please list God's moral absolutes.

Thanks.

As Richard Dawkins pointed out only last week (on our Channel 2's ' Q&A' programme) The Torah is full of moral absolutes. They are called 'Mosaic Law', "The Law', 'The Commandments' , or 'The Mitzvot'. Believers claim they were given to Moses by God. There are 613. Christian moral absolutes are based on a somewhat edited list of ten.

The 613 Mitzvot (Hebrew: תרי"ג מצוות‎: Taryag Mitzvot, "613 commandments") are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses. These principles of Biblical law are sometimes called commandments (mitzvot) or collectively as the "Law of Moses" (Torat Moshe, תורת משה), "Mosaic Law", or simply "the Law" (though these terms are ambiguous and also applied to the Torah itself).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot

I'm alluding to the fact that the ten commandments aren't applicable in all situations.

I'm reading the 613 laws - holy shit, they're pretty wacky.

[tackattack]

Christian morality isn't derived from the Bible, IMO and in my ocngregation. The teachings of Jesus don't abolish the old laws, they teach us not to idolize them and to instead of placing your standards in that of the word of man, to place them in the fruits of the spirit from God.

@Tav- God's moral attributes, God IS. There you are short list.