Recent searches
Search options
@zencoffeebreak@mas.toWeird that it's always "how can atheists be moral without God" when they're the only ones who can truly do good for the sake of doing good, without expectation of eternal reward or punishment
#atheism
and when you give to the poor be like the atheist, not even expecting that your Father in Heaven sees and will reward you
@zencoffeebreak It still may not be just for the sake of doing good. There may be some self interest based on the idea that if he scratches someone's back today , it's more likely that someone will be around that will be willing to scratch his back tomorrow, should he need it. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
@zencoffeebreak Unfortunately, some people in our society need a god figure smiting them down or a daddy laying out the rules to have any ethics or moral codes.
@zencoffeebreak wanna push back on this a little bit - it's ultimately a christian view of morality, even if flipped on its head. many non-christian religious communities place emphasis on doing good things not because of reward or punishment but simply because it's the right thing to do. each specific community will have their own interpretations, but as an example many strains of judaism place much more emphasis on correct action (treating those around you with respect and care) than correct belief, and sikh communities are notorious for jumping in and helping out whenever disaster strikes. fear of one specific god and anticipation of reward or punishment is a specifically christian way of looking at ethics and morality, and it does a disservice to religious minorities to apply that lens to our communities.
@flowers yes, very good points!
@zencoffeebreak While I agree with your point 100% - a person who chooses to do good simply out of a preference to do so rather than under duress implies a higher morality, morality doesn't imply altruism.
As long as neither the action itself, nor your motivations are themselves immoral, and there's a net positive outcome, the action is moral.