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Atheist Forums › Discussion › Off Topic v
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scamper Offline
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#1
Question
November 12, 2022 at 3:39 pm
Why be good?  What is the point?
What is the payoff for following
laws and rules?
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BrianSoddingBoru4 Offline
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#2
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 3:43 pm
(November 12, 2022 at 3:39 pm)scamper Wrote: Why be good?  What is the point?
What is the payoff for following
laws and rules?

Living in your own home is better than living in a 5x8.

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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Fake Messiah Offline
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#3
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 4:02 pm
(November 12, 2022 at 3:39 pm)scamper Wrote: Why be good?  What is the point?
What is the payoff for following
laws and rules?

What do you mean by good? Good like Trump? A lot of people think that he is a good guy.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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scamper Offline
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#4
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 4:04 pm
Okay, yes living in your own house
is better than living in jail.
So let me rephrase my question:
Without breaking any legal laws,
why be decent or good?

I'm serious, what is the point of
simply doing the right thing?
Why can't we be like the animals?
They all live the same way.  How
have we evolved to the point where
there are good people and bad
people that react differently?
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LinuxGal Offline
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#5
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 4:09 pm
(November 12, 2022 at 3:39 pm)scamper Wrote: Why be good?  What is the point?
What is the payoff for following
laws and rules?

The Master says:

I let go of the law,
and people become honest.

I let go of economics,
and people become prosperous.

I let go of religion,
and people become serene.

I let go of all desire for the common good,
and the good becomes common as grass.
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Fake Messiah Offline
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#6
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 4:23 pm
(November 12, 2022 at 4:04 pm)scamper Wrote: I'm serious, what is the point of
simply doing the right thing?

Humans are dependent on each other to survive, they need to cooperate, so that is why people are not simply killing each other.

(November 12, 2022 at 4:04 pm)scamper Wrote: Why can't we be like the animals?

We are like animals. Animals also cooperate, are good parents, sacrifice for each other, etc.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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Reply
BrianSoddingBoru4 Offline
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#7
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 4:30 pm (This post was last modified: November 12, 2022 at 4:31 pm by BrianSoddingBoru4.)
(November 12, 2022 at 4:04 pm)scamper Wrote: Okay, yes living in your own house
is better than living in jail.
So let me rephrase my question:
Without breaking any legal laws,
why be decent or good?

I'm serious, what is the point of
simply doing the right thing?
Why can't we be like the animals?
They all live the same way.  How
have we evolved to the point where
there are good people and bad
people that react differently?

Because being decent and good is far more likely to result in other people treating YOU with decency and goodness than behaving like a dick.

You’re perfectly free to live like an animal. Just be sure your dental records are on file so your next of kin can identify what’s left of you after you’ve been ravaged by wolves.

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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Thumpalumpacus Offline
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#8
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 5:43 pm
In three words: assholes make enemies.

There's also that thing about feeling better about yourself when you help someone else out.

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Angrboda Offline
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#9
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 5:51 pm
Virtue is its own reward. The good life is not a destination, but a road. Step off the path at your regret.
[Image: extraordinarywoo-sig.jpg]
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Ahriman Offline
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#10
RE: Question
November 12, 2022 at 5:52 pm
(November 12, 2022 at 5:43 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: In three words: assholes make enemies.

There's also that thing about feeling better about yourself when you help someone else out.

I've never felt that way and don't understand why anyone ever would.
"Imagination, life is your creation"
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Question

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