I may be no more ethical or moral than the next guy, but then again I have never claimed to be.
I have made a lot of mistakes, and plan to make more in the future, but I have hard and fast rules about how I interact with others, how I live my life, and what I am willing to do for money.
Simply put I don't lie, I don't cheat, and I don't take what does not belong to me.
And none of that is the result of my fear of eternal punishment, nor my desire for an eternal life.
I conduct myself like a civilized human being because I AM a civilized human being. A civilized human being by the way who has a deep and abiding distrust for those who claim that without their fear of God there would be nothing to hold them back from acting on their baser instincts.
I agree with the author, but up to a point. All those other countries are far older than we are, have a more homogenized population, and are culturally solid. We, on the other hand, have a melting pot culture which is a strength and weakness rolled into one.
ReplyDeleteIf we last as long as those countries, meld our culture into one (sad) and maybe stop the downward spiral into a third world country, we might make it to where people do not need a sky fairy to get up in the morning.
If you are referring to the five countries at the top, the US is older than two of them (Australia and Canada), and both of those countries have very diverse multicultural populations which are officially government sanctioned.
DeleteI can't imagine a country more culturally solid than the USA, whose military, entertainment, and commercial cultures permeate the rest of the world far more than any other country on earth.
@ 5:32
DeleteI couldn't agree more!
Besides, it's rather hard to argue with facts, even though the fundies keep trying to.
Culturally SOLID? Are you for real? You claim Hollywood and our military is our culture. No way are we culturally solid. If we were we would not have the divisions this country is seeing right now. Black vs white vs brown vs red vs yellow. The fact that we have severe economic divisions adds to the disparity in our nation. We have NEVER been more divided and diverse.
DeleteAgree whole-heartedly, Gryph. It nauseates me that people who claim to be moral because they are Christian (or Muslim or any other faith) claim their morality based on doing right to avoid an eternity of hell.
ReplyDeleteHow is that morality? Isn't it morality to do right by your fellow humans because it's the right thing to do? NOT because you're doing it to get brownie points in heaven-land?
I get more looks from people - even those who know me and my religious stance - about this very thought.
DeleteThey are shocked when I tell them I don't really care about any rewards for doing what is right!
When I ask them what they would do if they saw someone drop a bag of money, for the most part they say they would return it without asking for any reward.
I then ask them: "What's the difference?"
It has a tendency to shut them up.
Again,
ReplyDeleteReligion is simply the opiate of the masses (Karl Marx).
Simply the way to control people thru fear and giving them hope as you oppress them.
My kids are raised religion free.
They are nice, loving, smart boys. they know right and wrong from their parents. They volunteer , they contribute around the house, they do their job - school well. I am so interested to see how their unindoctrinated minds turn out!
We have diner together every night (I know religious families who pass like ships in the night the entire school year) and we discuss all sorts of issues.
They have only been in a church for their grandmother's funeral.
My Congresswoman in the 9th AZ Congressional District is an openly bi-sexual non-theist. By being so up front about it she has pulled the fangs of her opponents. Anything they say about her regarding these two subjects is viewed as hate speech. What I really love about her is that when she was sworn in she brought a bound edition of the Constitution to swear her oath on. This is true Separation of Church and State!
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more elected officials swear/affirm the oath on the Constitution.
Delete"I aim to misbehave."
ReplyDeleteCaptain Mal Reynolds
aka "Captain Tightpants"
Ivyfree
I'll never forget one of my son's girlfriends. Her family was so against their dating because my son doesn't check the "God" box. I invited them over, and only the mother came. We realized we had a lot more in common despite my "disability", she kept dropping hints that we come "worship" with them, so we could see for ourselves the awesome power of God. Besides, Everyone's gotta believe in SOMETHING! And how inclusive, loving, non judgemental her church is. I said "Really? Then why didn't your husband join us?" She had no answer.
ReplyDeleteThey're still dating and my son does attend their church from time to time, but I raised him to be his own individual, and can choose his own path. I'm not going to meddle because it'll make things worse.
One can be fully Godless and fully human, what's so difficult to understand?