Do you believe agnostics/atheists can be moral?

[Tigranes]

Actually, the Philharmonic and the Jazz Orchestra are clearly very different things. You are forcing them into one super-broad category of 'mu-ji-shuns' to try and make this look illogical!

 

 

[/troll]

 

[Irrelevant]

People do not like to admit their mistakes; since religion functions as a guide as to how one should live and most religions do not leave room for others, it makes sense for some believers to think wrong of those that do not share their beliefs.

Since most have friends that do not share the same religion, this turns into"well, as long you have a religion..." hence the question.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Irrelevant

[Orogun01]

People do not like to admit their mistakes; since religion functions as a guide as to how one should live and most religions do not leave room for others, it makes sense for some believers to think wrong of those that do not share their beliefs.

Since most have friends that do not share the same religion, this turns into"well, as long you have a religion..." hence the question.

Actually this is a deep psychological issue that pertains of our perception of "The Other". Empathy and introspection processes are in the same place, the most common process we use to empathize with other people is the "theory of Mind" we model ourselves using our experiences to think like the other person. When we can't relate to someone, all those processes are handled somewhere else in the brain.

The separation of us and them is what breeds contempt and all the other causes related to antagonistic thinking towards "The Other"

[Blank]

I think that anyone can be "moral" in the sense of following an ethical code, as some of you have stated already.

 

For me, being a Christian means I recognize that I am immoral, but that my savior was moral for me, and took the punishment for my immorality. In turn, I attempt to follow my savior's morality as a type of gratitude and reciprocation of love to him.

 

As I look at the strange question posed about the "agnostic/atheist", I firmly believe that anyone, regardless of beliefs, can act in moral ways, as well as anyone else can, they just might follow those morals for different reasons than I do.

 

In summary, I attempt to live a moral life to love God in return for his love of me, whereas an "agnostic/atheist" would have other reasons or motivations for living morally.

 

To add to the conversation. I probably join "agnostic/atheist"'s in several reasons they may hold for acting morally at times. I think acting morally is often the wise thing to do for me, or an unspoken internal force in me, or what Kaftan referred to as decent behavior by your own free will, and I do not assume "agnostic/athest"s lack these same things I find to motivate me to acting morally (excepting of course my religious reasons).

 

Finally, I completely agree with Kaftan's comment: "If the only thing keeping you from stealing your friends girlfriend, is a belief that you will be divinely punished if you do, you're a jerk." For me, I don't steal my friends girlfriend because by the cross I have been taught what love is, and how good it feels to both receive it and give it. I want others to experience that same good that I feel I have received. I don't want to inflict pain on my friend that I would not want to feel. These are all basic motivations that I am sure Kaftan would agree with, even if he didn't necessarily feel God himself taught him that "love" and "good". (But correct me if I'm wrong, buddy )

Edited October 7, 2010 by Blank

[Calax]

Wow blank, you're actually upping my opinion of the reverent.... Most of the ones I've talked to around here tend to go "Oh, you're an ATHIEST..." and then find their way to get away from me, probably thinking that if they don't get away I'll rape them/their girlfriends at the first chance I get...

[Trenitay]

Wow blank, you're actually upping my opinion of the reverent.... Most of the ones I've talked to around here tend to go "Oh, you're an ATHIEST..." and then find their way to get away from me, probably thinking that if they don't get away I'll rape them/their girlfriends at the first chance I get...

 

Really? I've never seen this happen, and I know a fair amount of people on both sides. Maybe it's being raised with a catholic family that actually is reasonable that makes me think that would just be odd.

[Calax]

Both places I've lived have been in heavily red areas (well, ok, so my school isn't so red) but it's usually at the point where you have to be one extreme or the other if you ever get into any sort of religious conversations.

 

Doesn't help that half of the phil classes you can take are filled with 1 or 2 vehament atheists and 1 or 2 zealots for (insert religion here) that spend most of the class sniping at each other.

[Blank]

Doesn't help that half of the phil classes you can take are filled with 1 or 2 vehament atheists and 1 or 2 zealots for (insert religion here) that spend most of the class sniping at each other.

Those people always seem to hijack the conversation IMO. I dislike when the ideas and opinions that could have been shared get usurped by unnecessarily polarized viewpoints, at war with one another, that cause people to become upset to the point of shutting themselves down.

 

I don't care what your beliefs are, if there is a truth we can discuss and discover together, I doubt it will be found in conversations like those.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Blank