Wow. To some it might seem Plato should have been struck by lightning!
(Some years ago in school, my class discussed religion. Our teacher asked a question that rather disturbed her attentive audience - Did God create man, or did man create God? The basis for the latter was that man needed a supernatural being to explain the unexplainable phenomena around him. It was disturbing to think about rocking the fundamentals of religion. Here we go again.)
Man has the ability to decide what is good or bad, in most simple cases anyway. Do not steal, do not lie, do not hurt etc. Our conscience allows us to weigh the rationality of situations and actions to prescribe them as good or bad. How is our conscience inherently able to make this determination? A god-given ability? Maybe. If we are able to decide good or bad, does it also mean we can go against what we currently know to be good or bad based on God's word? Are we then going against God? Will God be upset or will He be happy that we are able to think for ourselves?
Let's not forget that it is also our upbringing that allows us to define right from wrong. Racist parents will likely have kids that feel the same way.
Different religions present varying versions of higher beings. There merciful gods, sympathetic gods and even vengeful gods. Some gods are presented with flowers, others with animal sacrifice. Given these differences, the message to their followers is likely different too. 'Good' to one person may not be the same as 'good' for another (granted there are also general key similarities in all religions). A good god that makes you do bad things? (Hmmm, i shouldn't be able to put that sentence together.) Then followers wouldn't know the difference. Would witnesses of other religions and atheists be able to identify the 'lack of good'? With caution, yes.
This situation also begs us to ask the questions - Are atheists evildoers? My answer is no. In fact, rational atheists should be able to provide a perspective untainted by religious constraints (if religion can be applied to the situation at hand).
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3 comments:
i'd like to think that there is a god. i'm agnostic. and i'm open to all sorts of religion.
i've an aunt who's a devout buddhist. i like what she said the other day: it doesn't matter which god you pray to, as long as you do good.
the significant other is a sleeping christian... who CAN be rather narrow-minded sometimes when it comes to religion. tht's why i hate talking about religion with him. if we all think like him, this world is doomed.
i believe there's a god, and i also believe in the evolution of man. i believe that god planned it this way, that is, for us to evolve from homo-whatever to the species we are today. The garden of eden story is, well, a story to me. and i believe that it's a story that was put into a book that was written by the powerful.
simple as that.
He/she is right. It does not matter which God one believes in, as long as one does good.
What is good? What is bad?
Deep down in your heart, you know.
Thanks to the owner of this blog. Ive enjoyed reading this topic.
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