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Subject: 
Morality again...(was Re: Mormon bashing again)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Thu, 2 Mar 2000 22:31:51 GMT
Viewed: 
669 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Bill Farkas writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Erik Olson writes:

<major, almost indiscriminate snippage>

who denies everything. But it only means you don't believe in any gods
at all. There is no such thing as an "Atheist code of behavior" and
you can't lump all your enemies together with such a word.

My intent was to paint the picture with a broad brush. There is no "official"
atheist code of behavior, but it IS pretty much do what you want.

That is as distorted and inaccurate a phrase as saying the christian code of
behaviour is "do what the priest says".

Still, religionists believe that there is no way to have morality without a
god. This has to challenged.

That was my previous point and it is valid. If morality does not come from an
objective point beyond ourselves, then it is entirely of our own making and
subject to the tyranny of a majority and/or the might of the powerful. History
has proven that powerful people with little or no morals WILL dominate the
weak. History has also proven that if a well intentioned system is allowed to
decay it will end in nearly the same chaos. The Roman Empire started with high
ideals and ended in total depravity. Even the theocracy of Israel collapsed
many times due to immorality.

If morality is not objective, then it is subjective, and only as manipulable
as we allow it to be.  I would suggest that what you are calling morality in
the above examples is in fact, ethics - a system of rules for conduct and
behavior, commonly agreed upon by a group.

(your phrase, seperation and emphasis mine)
--> Morality must originate outside of ourselves
--> - there can be no other source
--> - otherwise everything is a house of cards easily toppled.

How does this follow?  I don't remotely see the connection.

I'll concede, for the sake of argument, that there is a universal code of
morality that applies to all human beings.  Where is it?  What is it?  How was
it made known?  Does it change over time?  How is it determined that what
person X claims as moral is "true" and what person Y claims as moral is
"false"?

James
http://www.shades-of-night.com/lego/



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Mormon bashing again
 
(...) Creationism is actually very scientific. Many secular scientists have become christians precisely because their findings lead them to the conclusion that everything is too complex to be accidental. I have a few books I could mail to you that (...) (25 years ago, 2-Mar-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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