How do you answer...?

[Zambimaru]

I'm nice to people simply because I want them to be nice to me. "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you".  

[Rick Dawkins]

It's actually a pretty interesting question. You've gotta think of it in terms of religious history here: You're asking if people, prior to the Old Testament, went around murdering and raping each other all over the place. It's just not true and it makes religion and dogma look bad too.

Here's why:

Lots of people mention that religion is so important because it does so much good for the world through it's participants (although that has nothing to do with the reality of religion or mythology). It's true much good is done in this world due to religion as well as good done by people who just want to help. The problem comes up when dogma requires one thing, and decreasing human suffering requires another. For example: Helping a poor village build waterways but preaching that it's a sin to use condoms in areas that suffer from AIDS. While those without religion can improve the well-being of everyone in a village by giving them water and a way to protect themselves from disease (to an extent), the religious give them water but expose them to death.

Evolution and biological "altruism" play a big part too, so I'm glad so many people mentioned that!

heart  

[_C r y s t a l_RB]

Lyoko_Alchemist

Ok i know it's your belifs, but being atheist doesn't mean you don't believe in an afterlife. My friend (Who I talk about alot concering this stuff) who'd explained the atheist belifs to me descibed it in laymens terms as the "religion" or lack there of, that caters to your needs without restriction, except, that you do not believe in a higher force. (A.k.a God) Which would under normal circumstance remove the afterlife from the picture, correct? Unless said person wishes to believe in an afterlife ruled by no one, or seen to their ideals. So it varies from Atheist to Atheist i assume.

Sorry it's a common misconception i see, my need to debunk couldn't hold.

I know you asked this forever ago, but I haven't visited the thread in a while. In case no one answered your question in the past three months here's my answer.

Atheism is the disbelief in a god or higher power. It doesn't necessarily mean a person doesn't believe in the afterlife. I'm suspecting my co-workers don't know this, but they did know my stance on the afterlife from previous discussions. I guess they were just wondering why I'm not a thieving, conniving, menace to society since I feel I'm just going to rot away after death, and will never have to answer to god.

Also some people may believe that you have to answer to God before going to heaven or hell, so they assume that if you don't believe in god, that you don't believe in heaven or hell.

I wonder what they would think of reincarnation. I would pick it as more of a possibility than heaven and hell.  

[Teoka]

The reason I try to do good things is because it's the right thing to do. Is it really more moral not to kill only because you fear eternal punishment, or is it more moral not to kill because murder is wrong?

Read Ethics Without God; it provides for some fascinating arguments. A good one is that the source of ethics does not make it right. Just because a god told you that murdering people with red hair is okay, doesn't make it okay. Likewise, just because Hitler did not abuse animals does not make not abusing animals wrong.  

[Redem]

I respond by saying that I don't lack ethics or morality. I just disagree on what they are, and why we have them.  

[H0wling_Blue]

I would answer that... Though we donot have a 'God' telling us what's right or wrong, we still very clearly are capable of knowing it. That having no religion does not mean a lack of morals or guilt, or that we thing we can do whatever we want. Besides, we DO have laws telling us that what we are doin is ILLEGAL. There are punishments in this life that we face, and just because we don't believe there's an afterlife it doesn't mean our actions go without consequence.

 

[H0wling_Blue]

Teoka

The reason I try to do good things is because it's the right thing to do. Is it really more moral not to kill only because you fear eternal punishment, or is it more moral not to kill because murder is wrong?

Read Ethics Without God; it provides for some fascinating arguments. A good one is that the source of ethics does not make it right. Just because a god told you that murdering people with red hair is okay, doesn't make it okay. Likewise, just because Hitler did not abuse animals does not make not abusing animals wrong.

Goodness gracious I'm glad no gods say it's okay to murder redheads. I'd be dead by now ><"  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I have my morals for many reasons, most of which have already been mentioned so I won't rehash it all. But something I didn't see in this thread yet is empathy. I've got a terribly large sense of empathy and always have, and I easily pick up on other people's emotions. If I encounter someone who's sad it provokes almost a maternal response in me (though strictly speaking I've got no desire ever to become a mother). I don't need a god to understand and feel what others are feeling and I don't need a god to want to make other people as happy as possible. It makes me happy to feel the happiness of others, and that's got absolutely jack s**t to do with religion. razz