Morality lesson from an atheist

Forrest Valkai and Seth Andrews have a good handle on morality. #religion #debate #atheism

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[jim.h]

One of my favorite memes:
"If you need the threat of hell in order to be a good person, then you're just a bad person on a leash!"

[ngoma]

It’s also interesting how the same act in one religion gets you a carrot and in others a stick…

[gregdenson]

Everyone is going to hell in someone else's religion for not believing what they believe.

[LittleBananaJoe]

Yes, it’s Kohlberg. And yes, the lowest step on the scale of morality is fear of punishment.

[scmtu]

"I don't believe I will be punished for bad things"
The sad part is in religion, God punishes people mostly not for bad things you did, but for "incorrect" faith you had

[Dan-ysnk]

This is why Forrest is one of my favorite members of the Atheist experience. He is so clear and concise with information and his level of knowledge of science is top notch. I respect his character, knowledge and understanding of the human condition. Thank you for keeping me informed.

[TheGreyAreaBetween]

One of my favourite quotes actually came from Yasser Arafat of all people. “All religious wars are about people arguing over who has the biggest invisible friend.”

[XMeK]

Far too often they think "I want to go to heaven, and not to hell, so I'll unalive this heretic for the glory of non-existent god"

[RecMike]

"If God isnt real, then murder is good. If you dont have God, what's keeping you from murdering and raping your way across the country?! I need him to keep me on the right path. I'm very moral"

[adamrspears]

A truely Good Hearted person doesn't need a reward to be motivate/encouraged to use their best judgement regarding doing what's right.

[markcollins]

Integrity is doing what’s right when no one is looking.

[Aware_Bear]

Howard Simmons described it as a "Moral Dessert" the reward at the end of life for going good things. It was used in "The Good Place" to explain how motivations impact the true morality of your choices. If you're only doing good things for a reward, your behavior is selfish.

[jasonw]

The scary thing is I believe a not insignificant percentage of the population behave solely because they believe in a sky daddy.

[outermarker]

In fairness, even when I was christian I was taught that fear of punishment was not the goal of faith. That was 'baby stuff'.
Ultimately you did good things because you just wanted to, out of a heart of giving love and no expectation of reward.
Sure you longed for a heavenly afterlife, but you knew that your focus should be right here. 'Jesus should find you working' kind of thing, tap you on the shoulder and give you a hug as you collapse in his arms and finally lay your burdens down.
You knew that christian maturity was about giving, not getting.
I remember how sad I was about prosperity gospels and 'false teachings' etc.
Ultimately though, I realized nobody needs the mass confusion of religion to be moral, and care for others just because it's right.

[ozzylepunknown]

We choose to do "good" or "fair" things because we have a primal understanding of the fact that if the other individuals within our colony are feeling well, they can help us more effectively, we only treat each other well because it enables cooperation, and good ties with other people enhance the potential amount of cooperation between individuals

If we act "bad" or "unfair" against other people, we may feel internally bad because this would be equal to the action of refusing from eating food or drinking water, it lessens the chances of survival to cut off potential individuals that could help you through favors or cooperation.

[zogar]

Their morality isn't even do good get good, do bad get bad. It's believe what I do, get heaven, don't believe, burn in hell.

[jasonmcinturff]

I like your professionalism and how you explain things. I also like how you don't make other people feel stupid. You're having a conversation and I appreciate that

[Thrillin_Chillin_Drillin]

Stage1: I don't want to go to hell.
Stage10: I don't want anyone to go to hell.

[gmanw]

I literally have asked the question " who is more moral"? The atheist who does good without the expectation of reward or the fear of punishment after death, or the Christian who does good things with the expectation of reward and the fear of punishment.

The answer is clearly ..the atheist.. the Christian is motivated by self interest..the atheist is not

[BlarglemanTheSkeptic]

Have you noticed that that doctrine of "forgiveness" (by praying/confessing) removes any requirement to act morally?

You lied? "Forgive me Father, for I had sinned"
Murdered? "Forgive me Father, for I had sinned"
Participated in genocide? "Forgive me Father, for I had sinned"
*Interfered with a child? "Forgive me Father, for I had sinned", and if you are a priest, the church will hide it for you.*

The ONLY "sin" you can't get away with is saying a bad thing about the holy spirit. Eh..wot?? 🤦🏻