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Octopod wrote:I don't recall reading that in the bible anywhere.

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning (TIME) God created the heaven (SPACE) and the earth(MATTER).

Octopod wrote:

hailrazer wrote:
I know someone created everything.

So what created that someone then?

The God of the Bible is not limited by time, space, and matter, as noted above. This is all assuming you're referring to the God of the Bible.

Revelation 22:13

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Here's something I was always curious about...

For the non-believers, what do you think causes us to have a conscience? I mean if you don't believe in some kind of afterlife then why not go full primal ape shit and live however you want? Rape, murder, pillage, whatever. Besides the laws that have been put in place by fellow man and those consequences of course.

And since many (maybe even a majority) of the laws and values of modern society mirror the values built from Christianity how do you feel about them?


I'm not being a smart ass I really am curious about your views on this.

I'm not saying that an atheist shouldn't have a conscience I'm just wondering what the explanation is for having a sense of right and wrong or for having emotions in general if you don't believe you have a soul.

Jrecee wrote:Your theory could be right. Who knows? Your questioning is more philosophical than religious. When people talk about god in this sense, it's not really a religious god. But when people claim to understand this god, (at least to some degree) do things in the name of this "philosophy" and claim that humanity became aware of this god's plan thousands of years before we invented buttons, atheists begin to have questions.

When things start boiling down to religion, it is assumed that God has intentions for his creations and has instructed them accordingly. At least, that's my idea of God beyond the unknowable.

Gamerforlife wrote:I like the idea of God, which I tend to think of as "it" rather than as he or she as being something far beyond any human concept. Unless you've been living in solitude in some mountains somewhere for the past twenty or so years in deep meditation, I doubt the average person will ever understand what god is until that person leaves this mortal coil

Even though I refer to God as "him", I also do not consider God to be either Masculine nor feminine per se.

jp1 wrote:Here's something I was always curious about...

For the non-believers, what do you think causes us to have a conscience? I mean if you don't believe in some kind of afterlife then why not go full primal ape shit and live however you want? Rape, murder, pillage, whatever. Besides the laws that have been put in place by fellow man and those consequences of course.

Because no matter if it's written in a religious text or not, "Treat others as you wish to be treated" is a pretty good rule of thumb.

Those morals and ethics existed long before Christianity was ever thought up.

As a matter of fact I believe a lack of an afterlife makes life all the more precious.

Hobie-wan wrote:

jp1 wrote:Here's something I was always curious about...

For the non-believers, what do you think causes us to have a conscience? I mean if you don't believe in some kind of afterlife then why not go full primal ape shit and live however you want? Rape, murder, pillage, whatever. Besides the laws that have been put in place by fellow man and those consequences of course.

Because no matter if it's written in a religious text or not, "Treat others as you wish to be treated" is a pretty good rule of thumb.

No disagreement here. I'm not questioning why it is good to be a good person. I'm asking why as atheists do you believe you want to be a good person? If you don't have a soul then why do you have a conscience? Why aren't you just an eating, breathing, and pooping machine. Why can you love, hate, be sad, angry, happy, etc?

I'm not trying to make any point. I just would like to know what you believe about these things. Besides the obvious chemical reactions in the brain.

Hobie-wan wrote:

jp1 wrote:Here's something I was always curious about...

For the non-believers, what do you think causes us to have a conscience? I mean if you don't believe in some kind of afterlife then why not go full primal ape shit and live however you want? Rape, murder, pillage, whatever. Besides the laws that have been put in place by fellow man and those consequences of course.

Because no matter if it's written in a religious text or not, "Treat others as you wish to be treated" is a pretty good rule of thumb.

I don't think it's in any living thing's nature to want to harm others. I mean animals kill eachother, but even they just do it to survive. Most animals go through mating rituals too, which means that even animals don't try and rape eachother

I don't think any living creature is evil by nature. Though we certainly have crazy criminals, murdurers, etc. but I think their actions can be explained either through psychology(by looking at events in their life, upbringing, etc.) or brain damage(losing some parts of the brain can lead to violent behavior)

We still talking human beings here or animals?

jp1 wrote:

Hobie-wan wrote:

jp1 wrote:Here's something I was always curious about...

For the non-believers, what do you think causes us to have a conscience? I mean if you don't believe in some kind of afterlife then why not go full primal ape shit and live however you want? Rape, murder, pillage, whatever. Besides the laws that have been put in place by fellow man and those consequences of course.

Because no matter if it's written in a religious text or not, "Treat others as you wish to be treated" is a pretty good rule of thumb.

No disagreement here. I'm not questioning why it is good to be a good person. I'm asking why as atheists do you believe you want to be a good person? If you don't have a soul then why do you have a conscience? Why aren't you just an eating, breathing, and pooping machine. Why can you love, hate, be sad, angry, happy, etc?

I'm not trying to make any point. I just would like to know what you believe about these things. Besides the obvious chemical reactions in the brain.

You answered your own question. They are chemical reaction. Honestly I do not know the science behind them. Humans are animals and other animals have them to whatever degree. Try to take a baby from a mother in the wild, try to snatch some food away from them. You will see anger, hate, love, sadness, etc...

And some animals do rape. Ducks for one.

Octopod wrote:Those morals and ethics existed long before Christianity was ever thought up.

As a matter of fact I believe a lack of an afterlife makes life all the more precious.

That was never my understanding of it. In fact even during much of early Christianity people were quite savage. As bad as some crimes sound today they are nothing compared to the occurrences of nearly every type of unspeakable act throughout history. I'm not crediting Christianity with the creation of morals and ethics I'm just saying that modern laws were built upon many of the beliefs instilled in Christianity. Much the same as many laws which are unfair (such as banning gay marriage) are credited to it.

Still, I don't seem to be getting the point of my question across.

I'm not asking why or how can an atheist be a good person. I'm asking why as an atheist would you believe in such things as kindness, compassion, love, etc. Things you do not have tangible scientific evidence to support but none the less can see every day. Why do these things exist if we are just a random occurrence and without purpose?

Now I have posted so much about it that my question has spawned into something that could be viewed as something other than curiosity about the beliefs of others so let me reiterate that this is a genuine question and not a spark for debate about atheist vs. christians.