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*sigh* seems like most christians would be morally bankrupt if not for the existance of the Sky Bully.

TB Tabby

No, they are NOT only Christian ideals. Morals don't come from religion in general, or any religion in particular. They come from the natural sense of empathy we all posess...although some posess more than others, obviously. Neither religion in general, nor any religion in particular, is the cause of morality. If the only thing that keeps you honest is the promise of reward or the threat of punishment, you're not really a moral person.

Brain_In_A_Jar

Well, let's start with the most basic and work our way up.

Reason #1: (Sociopathic self-preservation) Act without any moral standards or concern for others and pretty soon you'll either get shot or arrested. Even if you've got no morals whatsoever, you'd be a damn fool not to do this just as a Pavlovian response.

Reason #2: (Empathy) Cooperative societies with members able to empathise with and help each other are stronger than those without; for this reason, evolution has given most of us mental processes such as empathy and compassion, both in inherited genetics and social constructs that are passed on by nurture and education (often buried in some stupid religions, unfortunately). Of course genetics and upbringing cannot always be relied upon, so you might not have this capacity, in which case we move on to number 3:

Reason #3: (Rationalism) Recognise consciously that society is stronger and works better when people keep some basic standards, which happen to strongly resemble those moral teachings of most religions that aren't directly related to their god but get put in the relevant book anyway, because they're sound moral sense. Recognise that a functioning society is more pleasant to live in for everyone, and thus beneficial to yourself. Recognise that in a functioning society you are more able to realise your rights and goals than alone. Recognise that it's just much easier to be happy when everyone else is.

You might even be struck by the notion that a proper, working society might eventually come to be a "super-organism" composed of individuals in much the same way as you are composed of cells, and that by being part of it you become a component of the nearest thing to "god" that actually exists, ie the most advanced and powerful sentient entity that can possibly exist. Atheists, contrary to the popular slur, don't believe themselves to be god. Some of them, however, might hope one day to become a part of one, or have a hand in its creation.

GigaGuess

Most of us care about others because of our own empathy, not because of a giant finger wagging at us from the sky.


Shocking, I know.

Lithp

You SUCK at hypotheticals! BUT...you are good at picking pseudonyms for yourself.

Mr_Vorhias

FAKE.

Blarghonius

This would work better if you weren't a hypothetical straw man atheist.

Elia

I suppose people like this really do need to believe they have some all-powerful Big Daddy in the sky threatening them with eternal punishment 24/7. Otherwise the rest of us would be up to our armpits in corpses and serial rapists.

meh

Very TRue, as an atheist I lie, cheat, steal my neighbors stuff, screw his wife, and of course rape and kill little children and goats.

oh wait ! no I dont, I live in a society and there have to be rules so we all live together in reasonable safety and peace.

strangely prisons are full of christians , how would that be explained ?

Punch

They're "HUMAN" idea's. Not Christian.

Philbert McAdamia

The good part of this is his name.

Justanotheratheist

Because christians have a monopoly on common human decency and morality, right?

Wrong. In fact, the opposite is closer to the truth. Christian morality is an oxymoron at the best of times, and "morality" which is born of fear of divine wrath rather than an inherent sense of what's right or wrong doesn't count as morality anyway.

Swede

They're human ideals; humans made the religions, ya know.

When you live in a society you have to follow common decency rules, or you're going to be shunned from said society.

Alex

Because morality isn't exclusive to religion. I don't need a book to tell me that killing is wrong and it disgusts me that you do.