I really liked this article for a couple reasons...thought I would share it for spurring debate.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2019/02/17/where-do-morals-...
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I've got posts that go back 10 years and more that say the exact same thing. (Yahoo Answers before I came here.) Someone will point out that I have not been a member that long.
100% agreement. An those in the clan, tribe, community, that are unable to act morally within the boundary of the culture are banished, incarcerated or killed, and that stops them from breeding. Morality has been bread into the human race as a survival tool. We are group oriented animals. A human being alone in the wild is little more than a slow, helpless, fleshy, walking hamburger.
"walking hamburger." LOL.
I like that several societies evidence morality without knowing the existence of the other, or believe in the same god.
This is the arguement I have made on here without any knowledge from online sources such as Yahoo answers lol.
For me, it simply appears to be the logically accurate path and doesn't require the suspension of the laws or physics and/or nature.
A single person could easily befriend another hunter gatherer and realise success in the gaining of food and resources to a better extent than an individual.
This would have a ripple effect to other, whom would then follow suit in banding in numbers.
It's no different a concept to what we see in nature with animals such as the big cats in Africa... they'll work in groups with a hierarchical structure.
There would be understandings on working together to take down a prey or gather resources, mating rights and so forth... those falling foul are dismissed from the group.
It amazes me that pretty much all animals seem to follow this pattern but yet we are somehow different to the incredulous.
Furthermore, the arguement is made at times that humans are not animals, which is ridiculous beyond the pale.
We are linked via DNA to all animals and descend from a primate ancestor.
"the arguement is made at times that humans are not animals, which is ridiculous beyond the pale."
As you say, it is a risible claim, and I always laugh out loud when people make such an obviously fatuous claim.
Animal
noun
1. a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialised sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
Nothing in that definition precludes humans, so QED, and of course as you point out we are linked so obviously by DNA to all living things that one can only marvel at the level of ignorance and or stupidity of anyone who tries to claim humans are not animals.
Hmmm... In hindsight let's not jump the gun, there may be exceptions lol ;)
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A Venus Fly Trap is an animal! LOL (Feeds on organic material) (Extreme sense of feel) (A nervous system able to respond rapidly to stimuli.)
Many humans like to draw nice thick black lines on everything and make issues black and white binary decisions.
Of course nature does not operate this way, and instead operates in a process of constant transition. Many many failures with the rare occasional success.
If morality came from the Bible, we would have no ability to pick and choose which of god's commands we would follow and which we wouldn't, but this is exactly what Christians do. It's ok to love your neighbor as you love yourself, but wrong to force a raped virgin to marry her rapist. If the Bible is the source of morality, how could we distinguish between the two? The Bible advocates for both.
yup.
Skeptical Kevin,
"If morality came from the Bible, we would have no ability to pick and choose which of god's commands we would follow and which we wouldn't, but this is exactly what Christians do."
The Bible doesn't teach morality. It teaches complete obedience and total loyalty to the Boss.
Remember Genesis 3:22 (ERV) = The Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like us—he knows about good and evil. And now the man might take the fruit from the tree of life. If the man eats that fruit, he will live forever.”
Since man knows as much about good and evil as the God character does what can the God character teach you about morality? You know just as much as he does about it.
The Topic Title reminded me of a quote one of my most favoritest authors said once:
“One of the greatest tragedies in mankind’s entire history may be that morality was hijacked by religion. So now people assume that religion and morality have a necessary connection. But the basis of morality is really very simple and doesn’t require religion at all. Religion is the most malignant of all mind viruses.” — Arthur C. Clarke
rmfr
Arthur C. Clarke...huh. Thanks for that tidbit. I didn't know how else to phrase it.
I am not sure that morality is not one of the oldest genetic traits from deep on our evolutionary tree, as opposed to what the article suggests. All humanity is moral, from civilizations around the world.
If the bible were an objective source of morality there'd be very few Christians left, after they'd taken all their unruly children to the edge of town, and stoned them to death.
Can I just say "a lone human in the wild is nothing more than a fleshy walking hamburger" .... I'm still laughing...kudos.
Gospel Morality - Pro Abortion. Anti-Shrimp. You can not eat birds like BATS. You can't eat rabbits because they CHEW THEIR CUD AND DON'T HAVE CLOVEN FEET. You must kill anyone who tries to convert you from your faith because Jesus did not come to CHANGE THE LAW (OLD TESTAMENT) but to FULFILL IT. You must HATE your family to follow Jesus. You man NOT eat any FOUR LEGGED INSECTS unless they Jump and have joints above their ankles. Grasshoppers, fleas, and crickets are good for you. (*I suppose you have to rip away two of their legs before you eat them though.) You may take your shit head kid to the edge of town and kill him as long as the elders approve. You can own slaves and pass them on to your grand-kids. If your parents do something wrong, you can be killed, your parents can be killed and any children you have can also be killed. Murder is wrong, except when God does it. King David was not gay and homosexuality is a sin. You can kill your own son or daughter if god orders it or if you make a deal with god to kill the first thing that walks out your front door after asking his assistance in a battle. And, God can test you by taking away everything you ever had, money, family, social standing, everything. He will rip everything from you but it is perfectly Okay because if you pass his test he will give it back to you. That's because he is a loving god. Is there a more ignorant assertion a religious person can make than "Morality comes from God?" I think not.
Cognostic,
That is a damn good summary.