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Theme Changer

 Topic: Readings from the "Holy Book"

 (Read 75840 times)
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  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #330 - January 27, 2009, 08:30 PM

    Sparky, is there some secret to believing in Christianity that none of us (who don't already believe) have yet to discover?

    Or is it that we are all too stupid - or evil - or what?

    Doesn't God care if we do not believe?

    Are we evil and bad?

    Why is it that none of us (that didn't believe before) are not convinced by Christianity and your arguments?

    Does the God of love not care if we suffer eternal damnation?

    If it is our fault - then, please tell us what we need to do before it is too late.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #331 - January 27, 2009, 08:43 PM

    No, I'm more than happy to discuss but it's generally better to take one subject at a time.  Are we done with your morality (which was the point at which you jumped back into the thread)?


    Sparky we are on the same subject, I am not jumping. But to move from one point to another we have to discuss and clarify specific issues as they arise.

    All my questions above are on morality. And to move on we need to take it step by step to ensure we are on the same page.

    You say there can be no morals without god. For me to carry on:

     - I need to know which god.
     - I need to find out what you think about the fact that behavioural patterns around the world are so alike although they don't use morals from any single god
     - I ask if you think it is possible for our intuition to evolve to form codes or rules of behaviour

    If we can sort these out then I can move on with my other points to come to a definite conclusion we can possibly agree on.


    All of these are irrelevant to the question.  All you need to show that there is morality without God is to provide evidence of what it is without making reference to God - any of them.

    Knowing which God wouldn't change this.
    Similarities in behavioural patterns wouldn't change that.
    Any tendancy to form codes or rules of behaviour wouldn't change that (unless you have some evidence to suggest that a particular code is the 'true' one).

    The question is quite simple.  If you believe that behaviour X is right/wrong - how do you know?
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #332 - January 27, 2009, 08:49 PM

    Sparky, is there some secret to believing in Christianity that none of us (who don't already believe) have yet to discover?

    Or is it that we are all too stupid - or evil - or what?

    Doesn't God care if we do not believe?

    Are we evil and bad?

    Why is it that none of us (that didn't believe before) are not convinced by Christianity and your arguments?

    Does the God of love not care if we suffer eternal damnation?

    If it is our fault - then, please tell us what we need to do before it is too late.

    Hassan, it is evident now, as it was when you posted your video and your irrelevant copy/pastes that you have very little interest in a discussion.  You ask a question, I give you an answer, you ignore my answer and say 'I'm not convinced' or 'that's ridiculous' and that's it.

    No, there is no secret.  No, you are not too stupid. Yes God cares.  Yes you are evil and bad - much like me.  I have no idea why you aren't convinced because you seldom bother to explain why you aren't.  And yes, the God of love cares.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #333 - January 27, 2009, 08:57 PM

    You ask a question, I give you an answer, you ignore my answer and say 'I'm not convinced' or 'that's ridiculous' and that's it.


    If I say I am not convinced or I find what you say ridiculous is it because I am too stupid to understand Christianity or that I am bad and don't want to?

    If God loves me and cares, then why has he not made things clear and easy to understand for people of limited intelligence like me.

    Why is it only people of deep understanding like you will get to heaven?
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #334 - January 27, 2009, 09:01 PM

    You ask a question, I give you an answer, you ignore my answer and say 'I'm not convinced' or 'that's ridiculous' and that's it.


    If I say I am not convinced or I find what you say ridiculous is it because I am too stupid to understand Christianity or that I am bad and don't want to?

    I have no idea.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #335 - January 27, 2009, 09:06 PM

    You ask a question, I give you an answer, you ignore my answer and say 'I'm not convinced' or 'that's ridiculous' and that's it.


    If I say I am not convinced or I find what you say ridiculous is it because I am too stupid to understand Christianity or that I am bad and don't want to?

    I have no idea.



    Presumably its one or the other. I mean I must be either too stupid or too evil - right?

    It can't be that I have good reason not to be convinced?
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #336 - January 27, 2009, 10:03 PM

    All of these are irrelevant to the question.  All you need to show that there is morality without God is to provide evidence of what it is without making reference to God - any of them.
    Quote

    I beg to differ. To prove the point we need to compare the morality your god to the moralities of our modern humane secular societies. It will give us a clear picture as to which moral code appears to be superior.

    Quote
    Similarities in behavioural patterns wouldn't change that.


    Yes it does, becuse it shows humans develop and evolve behaviourally in the same way regardless of religion or culture. These behavioural patterns reflect the morality of their society.

    Children demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of others long before they learn to read or are old enough to understand indoctrination from their parents. We as a social animal have evolved with certain traits that determine our morals.

    This can be scientifically proven to show no scripture is required to force morals onto people. And hence it does exist by shear human intuition.


    Quote
    Any tendancy to form codes or rules of behaviour wouldn't change that (unless you have some evidence to suggest that a particular code is the 'true' one).


    I have always maintained that there is no one true code for all people for all time. Societies decide what is the best morals for themselves for that time.

    Tell me, was the punishment laid down by Yahweh to stone non-virgin brides to death moral? If it was and there is only one true moral then it should still apply today, shouldn't it. What about the moral of a father selling his raped virgin daughter to the rapist? It must have been moral back then because Yahweh laid down that law. Should it still be true now?

    That is why I need to know if you think it is possible for our intuition to evolve to form ever improving codes or rules of behaviour.



    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #337 - January 27, 2009, 11:06 PM

    Quote from: IsLame
    What you seem to be missing here is that morals are also shaped and governed by national and international laws.  Laws are brought about through collective democracy, not by individuals.

    Quote from: Sparky
    So you never disagree with a law on moral grounds then - or vote to change a law on moral grounds?

    Yes of course. What did you miss, or not understand, about the words 'collective democracy'?

    Quote from: IsLame
    Unfortunately it is Christianity & other religions that weaken these laws and empower the individual to make their own choices, based on their own individual interprations of morality through religion. 

    Quote from: Sparky
    Whatever.  Maybe you think think of a few more laws to keep us in line.

     
    Was this pun designed to avoid comment, yet again, so I can stick to your bogus fallacy arguments?

    Quote from: IsLame
    The same reason you chose not to directly answer my question on what you would do if God commanded you to exterminate the Cannaanites.  Sadly it is the same choice that Bin Laden made, Pat Robertson made and Tony Blair made when he  invaded Iraq...

     together with Bush, who also said he was on "a mission from God" when he invaded Iraq.
    Quote from: IsLame
    Interesting you bear analogy with Nazism and those that can choose 'the closest match to their personal views' .  And it is even more noteworthy that Hitler was a positive Christian.  Any correlation between the bible and the requirement to  annihilate certain races?  Hitler thought so, and carried it though...

    Quote from: Sparky
    Which, once again, demonstrates a complete failure to address the point.

     
    So what is the point? Do you define what the point is, and then proceed to comment on what you feel you can answer?  Do you define the direction of conversation, or is it a mutual thing?  Am I entitiled to answer you questions, but you are not?

    The video was about how similar Christianity & Islam were?  I guess its background was partly due to the way you Christians scoff at Islam, yet continue to bang your own drums. 

    My point here shows how true this is - if anything Bin Laden came nowhere near to what Hitler, the positive Christian, did?  And it is extremely relevent to the video that was made.  In the last hundred years, Christians have more blood on their hands than any fundamentalist Muslim.

    Can I suggest you listen to the video again if you are not so sure.

    My Book     news002       
    My Blog  pccoffee
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #338 - January 28, 2009, 06:16 AM

    All of these are irrelevant to the question.  All you need to show that there is morality without God is to provide evidence of what it is without making reference to God - any of them.


    I beg to differ. To prove the point we need to compare the morality your god to the moralities of our modern humane secular societies. It will give us a clear picture as to which moral code appears to be superior.

    Quote
    Similarities in behavioural patterns wouldn't change that.


    Yes it does, becuse it shows humans develop and evolve behaviourally in the same way regardless of religion or culture. These behavioural patterns reflect the morality of their society.

    Children demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of others long before they learn to read or are old enough to understand indoctrination from their parents. We as a social animal have evolved with certain traits that determine our morals.

    This can be scientifically proven to show no scripture is required to force morals onto people. And hence it does exist by shear human intuition.


    Quote
    Any tendancy to form codes or rules of behaviour wouldn't change that (unless you have some evidence to suggest that a particular code is the 'true' one).


    I have always maintained that there is no one true code for all people for all time. Societies decide what is the best morals for themselves for that time.

    Tell me, was the punishment laid down by Yahweh to stone non-virgin brides to death moral? If it was and there is only one true moral then it should still apply today, shouldn't it. What about the moral of a father selling his raped virgin daughter to the rapist? It must have been moral back then because Yahweh laid down that law. Should it still be true now?

    That is why I need to know if you think it is possible for our intuition to evolve to form ever improving codes or rules of behaviour.


    -- Edited to fix quotes

    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #339 - January 28, 2009, 09:30 AM

    What is a Holy Book?

    All you people are only speculating on what is God?

    Not one of you, no human being can understand what God is.

    So where do you come from?

    The nonsense of trying  to impose a belief upon human beings is simply rubbish.

    It's time to let Human Beings believe what they want to believe.

    Here in Australia I've come from a Jewish background.

    I married a Thai lady, and we have a lovely daughter.

    We brought her up in  the Bah'ai religion.

    She was taught about all faiths.  She understands that.

    Samantha understands the principles of Judaism and Buddhism.

    We hope she can pas these on to her husband and family.

    Nothing more, nothing less.


    There will be no white flag above our door
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #340 - January 28, 2009, 09:37 AM

    I'm asking you for evidence for your morality.  Is that so hard?

    Or are you willing to accept, as Peruvianskies has, that it doesn't actually exist?

    Why does it matter? 'Morality' is just subjective rules that people follow. They have every right to call something 'right' or 'wrong' as those words are not tied exclusively to morality. It's just opinion. You're making a big deal out of nothing.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #341 - January 28, 2009, 10:11 AM

    I'm asking you for evidence for your morality.  Is that so hard?

    Or are you willing to accept, as Peruvianskies has, that it doesn't actually exist?


    SO you want evidence for morality?

    Well, from a scientific point of view, you can take two groups of young children, allow the first group to experience life among the other individuals of their society and isolate the second group.

    After a period of time bring them back together and make them do a test that studies their moral behaviors, the first group will behave morally different from the second group thus we can conclude that morals exists.

    The data collection from the test can be used as evidence that supports the existence of morality.

    This is a scientific method that can be used to prove the existence of things that aren't made up of matter such as hope, which also can be tested by this method but not prayer because they have been proven to be as effective as talking to an imaginary friend.

    Now you seem to stick to the fact that morals are evidence that religions are true or god exists as far as I understand.

    So you can not accept the fact that morals are man made? the result of human experience that has been passed on from generation to the nest.

    Today for example, It is morally wrong to drive an 8 selender-engine disel sucking truck because we know that it is harmful for the environment, fighting global warming has not been mentioned in any holy script as far as I can tell so this has to be a man made set of rules or morals.

    This means that morality does not necessarily have to be sent down to us from god and could be a man made thing as well. Smiley
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #342 - January 28, 2009, 10:34 AM

    Quote from: a.ghazali
    Quote from: sparky
    All of these are irrelevant to the question.  All you need to show that there is morality without God is to provide evidence of what it is without making reference to God - any of them.

    I beg to differ. To prove the point we need to compare the morality your god to the moralities of our modern humane secular societies. It will give us a clear picture as to which moral code appears to be superior.


    Rubbish.  Given that we are talking about what good is, it is impossible to judge between 'moral codes' according to a moral criteria (hence 'superior').  The only criteria is rationality - i.e. you 'believe' in it because that is what the evidence supports - just like you would argue for God.  It is either 'true' or it isn't.  If it isn't true, then it is just a set of rules made up by someone and neither better or worse than any other set of rules made up by anyone else.

    If you think a particular moral code is true, bring the evidence.

    In addition, it is clear that there is no such think as 'the morality of a modern humane secular society'.  The closest you could come to that might be the written law but that is probably the one thing that almost no-one believe captures their morality.  Societies consist of many individuals from many backgrounds with many different opinions on what is moral and what is not.  There is no shared moral code at all.  

    If you and I agree that it is wrong to kill someone, we don't share a moral code, we share a moral opinion on one particular behaviour.  You might believe that it is wrong because it doesn't achieve your particular goal for society.  I might believe that it is wrong because God said so.  While there is overlap on this one issue, these differing goals result in vastly different moral judgements in other areas.  Unless you can provide evidence that a particular goal is the 'true' one there are no grounds for claiming that the resulting moral code is true.

    Secondly, there is no modern secular society where the law has not been heavily influenced by people who held theistic belief so it is false to call the resulting law purely 'secular' in the sense that it is uninfluenced by belief in God.  It is only 'secular' in the sense that it might not (although it often does) give preference to a particular set of metaphysical beliefs.

    Quote from: a.ghazali
    Quote from: sparky
    Similarities in behavioural patterns wouldn't change that.

    Yes it does, becuse it shows humans develop and evolve behaviourally in the same way regardless of religion or culture. These behavioural patterns reflect the morality of their society.

    Children demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of others long before they learn to read or are old enough to understand indoctrination from their parents. We as a social animal have evolved with certain traits that determine our morals.

    This can be scientifically proven to show no scripture is required to force morals onto people. And hence it does exist by shear human intuition.

    Which was never my argument.  I argued that without God, morality does not exist.  The point isn't whether you can make people behave a certain way (which would be an argument from consequences anyway) or what might happen if people realise that morality doesn't really exist but whether there is any reason for classifying people's behaviour as either right or wrong.  

    What you have described is a lot of people behaving in lots of different ways and some of them agreeing that some behaviour is 'right' and some 'wrong'.  They, like you, are not exempt from providing evidence for their beliefs.  Until that happens, all you have is lots of people deluding themselves.  A bit like they did for many years about God, right?
    Quote from: a.ghazali
    Quote from: sparky
    Any tendancy to form codes or rules of behaviour wouldn't change that (unless you have some evidence to suggest that a particular code is the 'true' one).

    I have always maintained that there is no one true code for all people for all time. Societies decide what is the best morals for themselves for that time.

    But then we agree.  There is no true morality.  Morality is relative to the society you happen to live in and within that society to you as an individual (for societies are made of individuals are then not?).  Which is another way of saying, that there is no morality, just a bunch of people with preferences for certain types of behaviour, some of whom are strong enough to enforce their preferences on the rest of the people they live with.  Behaviour isn't 'right' or 'wrong' as such, it is just either liked or disliked by yourself and other people.

    Quote from: a.ghazali
    Tell me, was the punishment laid down by Yahweh to stone non-virgin brides to death moral? If it was and there is only one true moral then it should still apply today, shouldn't it. What about the moral of a father selling his raped virgin daughter to the rapist? It must have been moral back then because Yahweh laid down that law. Should it still be true now?

    You are so much more comfortable talking about Christianity, aren't you?  We did this before.  Read the thread.

    Quote from: a.ghazali
    That is why I need to know if you think it is possible for our intuition to evolve to form ever improving codes or rules of behaviour.

    Until we know what the goal is, we have no way of knowing if it is 'improving' or not.  If we had evidence for a particular goal, we would have our morality!  It is a statement of blind faith from you that you think it is 'improving' unless you can provide evidence that it is.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #343 - January 28, 2009, 10:44 AM

    I'm asking you for evidence for your morality.  Is that so hard?

    Or are you willing to accept, as Peruvianskies has, that it doesn't actually exist?

    Why does it matter? 'Morality' is just subjective rules that people follow. They have every right to call something 'right' or 'wrong' as those words are not tied exclusively to morality. It's just opinion. You're making a big deal out of nothing.

    I already posted on some of the implications for your stance.  If you don't think that calling something that it isn't is 'nothing' carry on - I guess that's just your subjective rule.

    Of course, it also means that all communication begins to breakdown.  If I can call certain behaviour 'right' or 'wrong' when these words have ceased to have any meaning then I may as well do that for any other word I might choose to use.

    'Right' and 'wrong' are also tied to claims about truth - they are synonymous with correct and incorrect.  Which again tend to be universal claims.  So when someone says 'mohammed was wrong to claim that he had a revelation from God' it now means more than 'I don't like that mohammed claimed that he had a revelation from God'.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #344 - January 28, 2009, 10:58 AM

    I'm asking you for evidence for your morality.  Is that so hard?

    Or are you willing to accept, as Peruvianskies has, that it doesn't actually exist?

    Why does it matter? 'Morality' is just subjective rules that people follow. They have every right to call something 'right' or 'wrong' as those words are not tied exclusively to morality. It's just opinion. You're making a big deal out of nothing.

    I already posted on some of the implications for your stance.  If you don't think that calling something that it isn't is 'nothing' carry on - I guess that's just your subjective rule.

    Of course, it also means that all communication begins to breakdown.  If I can call certain behaviour 'right' or 'wrong' when these words have ceased to have any meaning then I may as well do that for any other word I might choose to use.

    'Right' and 'wrong' are also tied to claims about truth - they are synonymous with correct and incorrect.  Which again tend to be universal claims.  So when someone says 'mohammed was wrong to claim that he had a revelation from God' it now means more than 'I don't like that mohammed claimed that he had a revelation from God'.

    Fair enough.

    I'm sure most people are aware that 'right' and 'wrong' are also opinions depending on their context. I could understand your attitude if you were taking about calling things 'moral' and 'immoral', they are tied to an objective nature that does not exist, although I seem to have changed the meaning of morality for myself which is why I still use the term (bad idea I think).

    I don't feel communication will break down at all though. Even if we don't use those terms we will still think them and find other ways of expressing them. We all have opinion that we think are right and wrong and it is human nature to judge the rest of the world from our own perspective.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #345 - January 28, 2009, 10:59 AM

    Quote from: Nizar
    Quote from: sparky
    I'm asking you for evidence for your morality.  Is that so hard?

    Or are you willing to accept, as Peruvianskies has, that it doesn't actually exist?

    SO you want evidence for morality?

    Well, from a scientific point of view, you can take two groups of young children, allow the first group to experience life among the other individuals of their society and isolate the second group.

    After a period of time bring them back together and make them do a test that studies their moral behaviors, the first group will behave morally different from the second group thus we can conclude that morals exists.

    The data collection from the test can be used as evidence that supports the existence of morality.

    This is a scientific method that can be used to prove the existence of things that aren't made up of matter such as hope, which also can be tested by this method but not prayer because they have been proven to be as effective as talking to an imaginary friend.

    What rubbish.  All you have is two groups of children who have had two different experiences behaving differently.  You are then arbitrarily assigning a classification to the behaviours as either moral or immoral without any basis at all.  They aren't behaving 'morally differently' until you can provide evidence about what is moral.  They are just 'behaving'.  The children's own assumptions about what this is, are no more valid than yours or the society they learned them from.

    This 'scientific method' doesn't prove anything at all.

    Quote from: Nizar
    Now you seem to stick to the fact that morals are evidence that religions are true or god exists as far as I understand.

    No.  I'm just asking that if a person insists on evidence to believe in God that they also provide evidence for those other things that they say they believe in.  Whether God exists, is entirely irrelevant to this.
    Quote from: Nizar
    So you can not accept the fact that morals are man made? the result of human experience that has been passed on from generation to the nest.

    I've yet to see evidence that they exist.
    Quote from: Nizar
    Today for example, It is morally wrong to drive an 8 selender-engine disel sucking truck because we know that it is harmful for the environment, fighting global warming has not been mentioned in any holy script as far as I can tell so this has to be a man made set of rules or morals.

    Is it morally wrong?  Where is your evidence?  If I have the goal of making myself happy and I happen to like big trucks, it would moral for me to drive one.  Why should I subordinate my moral goal to yours or even society's?

    And yet stewardship of the earth actually is taught in the scriptures - that humans don't actually 'own' it but are looking after it for someone else.  If that someone else doesn't exist, why shouldn't I do whatever I like with it?

    Quote from: Nizar
    This means that morality does not necessarily have to be sent down to us from god and could be a man made thing as well.

    Sadly, you haven't shown that at all.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #346 - January 28, 2009, 11:12 AM

    This thread very much reminds me of the Qurans challenge.

    Sparky is the quran, and the people debating him are the ones who have produced sura after sura, better and clearer, but because the quran says no other sura could ever be produced to rival it, the quran can never recognise it.

     popcorn

    Inhale the good shit, exhale the bullshit.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #347 - January 28, 2009, 11:17 AM

    Quote
    All you have is two groups of children who have had two different experiences behaving differently.  You are then arbitrarily assigning a classification to the behaviours as either moral or immoral without any basis at all.  They aren't behaving 'morally differently' until you can provide evidence about what is moral.  They are just 'behaving'.  The children's own assumptions about what this is, are no more valid than yours or the society they learned them from.


    Or yours, or the book you learned it from, or the imaginary deity you assigned them to. 

    "Befriend them not, Oh murtads, and give them neither parrot nor bunny."  - happymurtad's advice on trolls.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #348 - January 28, 2009, 11:19 AM

    Quote from: PeruvianSkies
    Fair enough.

    I'm sure most people are aware that 'right' and 'wrong' are also opinions depending on their context. I could understand your attitude if you were taking about calling things 'moral' and 'immoral', they are tied to an objective nature that does not exist, although I seem to have changed the meaning of morality for myself which is why I still use the term (bad idea I think).

    I don't feel communication will break down at all though. Even if we don't use those terms we will still think them and find other ways of expressing them. We all have opinion that we think are right and wrong and it is human nature to judge the rest of the world from our own perspective.

    Anything that is expressed or claimed is an opinion until it is supported by evidence.  Claims that behaviour is either right or wrong will generally be interpreted as universal claims because of the meaning of those words.  And most people would expect a reason that either you or they thought that way.  The same is true if you use moral or immoral because the general meaning of morality is the classification of behaviour into right and wrong.    If, at root, these claims are nothing more than an expression of your feeling, there is really no substance to them at all.

    As for your second paragraph, this is why I asked you before:
    Quote from: sparky
    You mentioned conscience before.  Let me ask you a question.  Do you experience conscience as something that tells you certain behaviour is right or wrong or that certain behaviour is more preferable to you or less preferable?  If the answer is the latter, I would ask if you experience guilt and how you interpret that.


    Did you have any thoughts on this?

    But I don't think it is always human nature to apply our own preferences to everyone.  I don't like mushrooms but I don't for a minute think that everyone shouldn't like mushrooms.  Yet for some behaviours, I clearly expect that some kind of standard exists both outside of myself and outside of everyone else that 'should' direct everyone's behaviour.  This places me in a quandry if I look at the world and find no reason to believe that this standard actually exists.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #349 - January 28, 2009, 11:23 AM

    This thread very much reminds me of the Qurans challenge.

    Sparky is the quran, and the people debating him are the ones who have produced sura after sura, better and clearer, but because the quran says no other sura could ever be produced to rival it, the quran can never recognise it.

     popcorn

    Actually it's a lot like that.  For if morality, like beauty, is subjective then 'better' is never something you are going to establish by evidence.  If you feel it's better, it just is!

    Of course, I'm not asking people to produce a 'better' morality - just a true one.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #350 - January 28, 2009, 11:24 AM

    Quote
    All you have is two groups of children who have had two different experiences behaving differently.  You are then arbitrarily assigning a classification to the behaviours as either moral or immoral without any basis at all.  They aren't behaving 'morally differently' until you can provide evidence about what is moral.  They are just 'behaving'.  The children's own assumptions about what this is, are no more valid than yours or the society they learned them from.


    Or yours, or the book you learned it from, or the imaginary deity you assigned them to. 

    If it makes you feel better to think so, sure.  Either way, it remains true that morality doesn't exist.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #351 - January 28, 2009, 11:31 AM

    The thing sparky is lost on is that to prove morality can only exist with God, he needs to prove his version of God exists. If he cannot prove his god exists then it is plainly obvious that morality exists without god.

    All morality is, is acting in accordance with what is accepted to be the right conduct. People who do that are moral. Hence morality exists irrespective of god.

    All societies establishes in some form or another, what they perceive to be the 'right' and ?wrong? conduct, usually for the good of all (even animals, plants, fish, buildings, environment, etc). Individuals can also have their version of right and wrong, and if their version can be voiced loudly enough and the majority feels it would for the betterment of society then in a democratic secular society the morality will change. It is evolving, just as we are evolving as is our planet evolving.

    To say because there is no absolute morality then morality does not exist is a ridiculous argument from religious fundamentalists keen on diversion tactics trying to baffle the naive with jugglery of words.

    Take an analogy. In cricket batsmen have what is called a batting stance. No on can agree what is the best stance any individual should adopt. They vary widely. Purists may say it should be according to how Don Bradman stood. But we do not have to follow that and most don't. If we do not follow it but adopt a stance most comfortable to us it does not mean we do not have a batting stance. Its not that batting stance does not exist if it?s not like Don Bradman's. It would be ridiculous to say that.

    Similarly it does not mean that morality does not exist because it?s not according to some 2,000 year old scripture, but based on an evolved societies knowledge and experience.

    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #352 - January 28, 2009, 11:32 AM

    Quote
    All you have is two groups of children who have had two different experiences behaving differently.  You are then arbitrarily assigning a classification to the behaviours as either moral or immoral without any basis at all.  They aren't behaving 'morally differently' until you can provide evidence about what is moral.  They are just 'behaving'.  The children's own assumptions about what this is, are no more valid than yours or the society they learned them from.


    Or yours, or the book you learned it from, or the imaginary deity you assigned them to. 

    If it makes you feel better to think so, sure.  Either way, it remains true that morality doesn't exist.


    It does exist, and its man made.  You have an obsession with finding a supernatural source for morality, which you tell yourself is "objective".   Your morality is as man made as ours, you just can't admit it.

    "Befriend them not, Oh murtads, and give them neither parrot nor bunny."  - happymurtad's advice on trolls.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #353 - January 28, 2009, 11:52 AM

    Morality is relative to the society you happen to live in and within that society to you as an individual


    So sparky if morality is relative to the society then it does exist, doesn't it.

    It may not be true according to you holy book. But it exists because it is relative to another person's.

    Thanks for admitting it.

    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #354 - January 28, 2009, 12:09 PM

    Readings from the Holy Book.

    Which Holy Book?

    There will be no white flag above our door
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #355 - January 28, 2009, 12:34 PM

    Readings from the Holy Book.

    Which Holy Book?


    The Bible. Check the first page. A Hassan video.

    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #356 - January 28, 2009, 02:15 PM

    Quote
    All you have is two groups of children who have had two different experiences behaving differently.  You are then arbitrarily assigning a classification to the behaviours as either moral or immoral without any basis at all.  They aren't behaving 'morally differently' until you can provide evidence about what is moral.  They are just 'behaving'.  The children's own assumptions about what this is, are no more valid than yours or the society they learned them from.


    Or yours, or the book you learned it from, or the imaginary deity you assigned them to. 

    If it makes you feel better to think so, sure.  Either way, it remains true that morality doesn't exist.


    It does exist, and its man made.  You have an obsession with finding a supernatural source for morality, which you tell yourself is "objective".   Your morality is as man made as ours, you just can't admit it.

    Things that you make up in your head exist only in your head.  In that sense, pretty much anything that you can think of 'exists' - including God.  If you can't point to evidence outside yourself, no-one else has any reason to believe that it exists.  For the purpose of 'morality' that is catastrophic because it consists entirely in claims about people's behaviour - including others than your own.

    I may well be in the same boat but that doesn't mean that it suddenly becomes meaningful for you to talk about behaviour being 'right' or 'wrong'.

    What I can admit is that my conscience is far more consistent with the existence of an objective morality than without it.  This is also true for anyone I have ever met and also seems to be true for the atheists on this board.  They continue to talk about certain behaviour being right or wrong not just for themselves but for everyone even though they cannot provide evidence for why this should be the case.  Yet they have no trouble asking for evidence when the  subject is God.

    Of course, this doesn't mean that God exists but it seems to mean that I will end up living inconsistently if he doesn't.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #357 - January 28, 2009, 02:16 PM

    Morality is relative to the society you happen to live in and within that society to you as an individual


    So sparky if morality is relative to the society then it does exist, doesn't it.

    It may not be true according to you holy book. But it exists because it is relative to another person's.

    Thanks for admitting it.

    It means that it exists in your imagination - much like the FSM, the fairies, santa and whatever else you might like to dream up.  It does not give you grounds to make any kind of claim about people's behaviour being either right or wrong - which would need objective evidence.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #358 - January 28, 2009, 02:23 PM

    It does not give you grounds to make any kind of claim about people's behaviour being either right or wrong - which would need objective evidence.

    That makes no sense. It's just an opinion. We are well within our rights to give an opinion on a particular situation and as I stated before 'right' and 'wrong' can be objective or subjective depending on context.
  • Re: Readings from the "Holy Book"
     Reply #359 - January 28, 2009, 02:38 PM

    Until we know what the goal is, we have no way of knowing if it is 'improving' or not.  If we had evidence for a particular goal, we would have our morality! 


    You do not have to know the ultimate goal of pure morality to difine finite steps and measure as you go along. That is how business operate, They set targets for months, quaters, years etc. Bill Gates did not have to know the ultimate goal of Microsoft when founded back in 1975 to develop and measure improvements. Small goals can be defined along the way.

    We do not know the ultimate goal of evolution, but we can measure improvement.

    Quote
    It is a statement of blind faith from you that you think it is 'improving' unless you can provide evidence that it is.


    It is not blind faith, like your blind faith in believing in a blood sacrificed godman without evidence.

    We can measure improvements/regressions in morality through observations of how societies grow. Let us look at some moral changes (let's take wester Europe) and compare it with godly societies (let's take Middle East) over the couple thousand years and see if we see any imprevements

    From                                        To                                         Improvement

    Stoning                                    Imprisonment                           Yes
    Amuputation                             Comunity work                         Yes
    Females not educated                Females educated                    Yes
    Slavery                                     No slavery                                Yes
    Rapist can buy victim                  Rapist jailed                             Yes
    Idol worshippers killed                 Respect for all                         Yes
    Prisoners of war killed                 Medical treatment/prison           Yes
    Woman evidence 1/2 mans         Equal                                     Yes
    No freedom of belief                   Freedom of belief                     Yes
    No freedom of speech                Freedom of speech                 Yes
    Animal Sacrifices                         Limited/frowned upon             Yes
    Polygamy                                  No polygamy                           Yes (at least for women!)
    Anti-Semitism                            Banned                                   Yes
    Scientists Persecuted                  Honoured                              Yes
    Torture                                    Courts                                     Yes

    Sparky, I can provide evidence that morals have improved over the last 2,000 years. I do not need blind faith to see that as a society today, we have far superior morals than the societies when god believe was at its strongest.


    Knowing Islam is the only true religion we do not allow propagation of any other religion. How can we allow building of churches and temples when their religion is wrong? Thus we will not allow such wrong things in our countries. - Zakir Naik
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