Moral Compass
April 2, 2015 at 6:50 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2015 at 6:54 pm by Lakul.)
Skip to the TL;DR if ya want, inc wall of text thingy:
Hello all, first post. Please excuse how chopped up this is written.
I've been awfully silent about my atheism with my religious parents and family, but seeing as I still rent out at home, the subject invariably comes up a lot. Recently I've been voicing myself, and I keep proving myself to not be a strong debater. Not that the odds are against me at all.
It's me, a 21 year old, vs, on average, 46-50 year-olds with more than double the experience than I in their particular religion. I've read the bible through and through plenty of times, but I haven't got a shred of it memorized, and I don't give it much of a passing thought now that I've cast off the veil of superstition.
In any case, my parents hold a bible meeting every Thursday night. I never give it a second thought, as most of the time they speak of rather harmless subjects, but tonight I overhead something that just made me feel sick. I so so so so very want to burst into the living room where the meeting is held and debunk every last stream of words coming out of their mouths. I KNOW what they're saying is wrong and disturbing on so many levels. I want to give them examples as to why this is. But knowing me and my social awkwardness, I'll make a fool of myself in an inevitable, ugly 7+v1 debate.
Anyhow, my parents were talking about the recent Indiana religious freedom law, and how they supported it. That a man chooses to be gay and that a woman chooses to be lesbian, and that they choose to be like this because they have no real moral compass, because they are an atheist or don't believe in the right god. That without objective morality or a god with which morality comes, they claimed we felt free to do anything we wanted.
My dad proudly declared that the bible was his moral compass, and the rest of the attendees murmured in agreement. They agreed that if there were no god, they would feel free do whatever they want, be it murder, stealing, or raping, without fear of divine eternal punishment. And what truly turned my stomach was hearing my dad proudly claim, almost in the same breath, that he WOULD MURDER AND RAPE if commanded by god, because god is just and moral, and thus god would have a just and moral reason for such a command.
THIS is what makes me sick. Their god is anything BUT the god that they so garishly believe in, and the book they tout as holy and moral is disgusting. No less disgusting as the fact that they interpret it any which way they want, and ignore all the bad little bits. And the worst bit, if one of them so much as hears a voice in their head and think it's god, they'll feel justified in committing something horrible because 'god said so.'
TL;DR
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.
I would very much appreciate some sources covering objective/subjective morality and why god-given 'moral compasses' are disturbing and bullnyerk.
Hello all, first post. Please excuse how chopped up this is written.
I've been awfully silent about my atheism with my religious parents and family, but seeing as I still rent out at home, the subject invariably comes up a lot. Recently I've been voicing myself, and I keep proving myself to not be a strong debater. Not that the odds are against me at all.
It's me, a 21 year old, vs, on average, 46-50 year-olds with more than double the experience than I in their particular religion. I've read the bible through and through plenty of times, but I haven't got a shred of it memorized, and I don't give it much of a passing thought now that I've cast off the veil of superstition.
In any case, my parents hold a bible meeting every Thursday night. I never give it a second thought, as most of the time they speak of rather harmless subjects, but tonight I overhead something that just made me feel sick. I so so so so very want to burst into the living room where the meeting is held and debunk every last stream of words coming out of their mouths. I KNOW what they're saying is wrong and disturbing on so many levels. I want to give them examples as to why this is. But knowing me and my social awkwardness, I'll make a fool of myself in an inevitable, ugly 7+v1 debate.
Anyhow, my parents were talking about the recent Indiana religious freedom law, and how they supported it. That a man chooses to be gay and that a woman chooses to be lesbian, and that they choose to be like this because they have no real moral compass, because they are an atheist or don't believe in the right god. That without objective morality or a god with which morality comes, they claimed we felt free to do anything we wanted.
My dad proudly declared that the bible was his moral compass, and the rest of the attendees murmured in agreement. They agreed that if there were no god, they would feel free do whatever they want, be it murder, stealing, or raping, without fear of divine eternal punishment. And what truly turned my stomach was hearing my dad proudly claim, almost in the same breath, that he WOULD MURDER AND RAPE if commanded by god, because god is just and moral, and thus god would have a just and moral reason for such a command.
THIS is what makes me sick. Their god is anything BUT the god that they so garishly believe in, and the book they tout as holy and moral is disgusting. No less disgusting as the fact that they interpret it any which way they want, and ignore all the bad little bits. And the worst bit, if one of them so much as hears a voice in their head and think it's god, they'll feel justified in committing something horrible because 'god said so.'
TL;DR
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.
I would very much appreciate some sources covering objective/subjective morality and why god-given 'moral compasses' are disturbing and bullnyerk.
![[Image: dc52deee8e6b07186c04ff66a45fd204.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss295%2Faaliyahqin%2Fcat%2Fdc52deee8e6b07186c04ff66a45fd204.jpg)
