"I don't believe in atheists" <Athiests@Fool.com> wrote in message
news:bevMe.41$Xh6.2777@news.uswest.net...

--
a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in
philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.
"~Glorious Sensation~" <inverclyde_uk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ddtv0g$mnp$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...

Can Atheists be ethical?

The answer to this question is a definite, "Yes." Atheists are
people who, whether they like it or not, have the law of God written on
their hearts (Rom. 2:15). They are subject to the same laws of our
country (and other countries). They have a sense of right and wrong.
They must work with people and being unethical in society would not
serve them very well. It is practical and logical for an atheist to be
ethical and work within the norms of social behavior. Atheists,
generally, are honest, hardworking people.
Nevertheless, some Christians raise the question, "What is to
prevent an atheist from murdering and stealing? After all, they have no
fear of God and no absolute moral code." The answer is simple: Atheists
are capable of governing their own moral behavior and getting along in
society the same as anyone else.
At the risk of labeling the atheist as self-centered, it does not
serve the best interests of an atheist to murder and steal. It would not
take long before he was imprisoned and/or killed for his actions.
Basically, society will only put up with so much if it is to function
smoothly. So, if an atheist wants to get along and have a nice life,
murdering and stealing won't accomplish it. It makes sense for him to be
honest, work hard, pay his bills, and get along with others. Basically,
he has to adopt a set of ethics common to society in order to do that.
Belief in God is not a requirement for ethical behavior or an enjoyable
life.

On the other hand

Atheists' morals are not absolute. They do not have a set of moral
laws from an absolute God by which right and wrong are judged. But,
they do have a legal system with a codified set of moral laws. This
would be the closest thing to moral absolutes for atheists. However,
since the legal system changes (slavery was legal 200 years ago but is
not now), the morals in a society can still change. At best, these
codified morals are "temporary absolutes." This can be a problem as the
norms of society shift and the ethics shift with them. In one century
abortion is wrong. In another, it is right. Well, is it or isn't it
right? If there is a God, killing the unborn is wrong. If there is no
God, then who cares? If it serves the best interest of society and the
individual, then kill. This can be likened to something I call,
"experimental ethics." In other words, whatever works best is right.
Society experiments with ethical behavior to determine which set of
rules works best for it. Unfortunately, however, social experimentation
is often harmful.
There are potential dangers in this kind of ethical system. If a
totalitarian political system is instituted and a mandate is issued to
kill all dissenters, or Christians, or mentally ill, what is to prevent
the atheist from joining forces with the majority system and support the
killings? It serves his self-interests, so why not?
But, to be fair, just because someone has an absolute ethical system
based upon the Bible is no guarantee that he will not also join forces
for the killings. But the issue is the base and ramifications of that
base. Beliefs affect behavior. That is why belief systems are so
important and absolutes are so necessary. A boat adrift without an
anchor soon crashes into the rocks.
The Bible teaches love, patience, and seeking the welfare of others
even when it might harm the Christian; in this the ten commandments are
a summary. In contrast, the atheists' presuppositions must be
evolutionary. Since evolution teaches that life is the product of purely
natural and utilitarian properties of our world, survival of the
fittest, natural selection, and equating humans to animals as a species
are the ontological basis for our existence and living. With this the
value of man is lowered. In contrast, it is a very high calling to treat
people properly who also are made in the image of God.
Basically, I do not see how the atheist could claim any moral
absolutes at all. To an atheist, ethics must be variable and evolving.
This could be good or bad. But, given human nature being what it is,
I'll opt for the moral absolutes -- based on God's word.


--
Most of my quotes are from:
http://www.carm.org/doctrine.htm http://www.carm.org/cults.htm
http://www.carm.org/apologetics.htm http://www.carm.org/seekers.htm
http://www.carm.org/atheism.htm http://www.carm.org/boards.htm
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ http://www.christianquotes.org/
http://bible.gospelcom.net/ Let no one be found among
you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices
divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts
spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Deut
18:10 http://www.christiananswers.net/

Atheists have no moral compass.
God-Haters are just hypocrites.

Hi,

I agree with you some are driven by Hate

I agree with you some are driven by Hate

"I don't believe in atheists" <Athiests@Fool.com> wrote in message
news:bevMe.41$Xh6.2777@news.uswest.net...

--
a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in
philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion. "~Glorious
Sensation~" <inverclyde_uk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ddtv0g$mnp$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...

Can Atheists be ethical?

The answer to this question is a definite, "Yes." Atheists are
people
who, whether they like it or not, have the law of God written on their
hearts (Rom. 2:15). They are subject to the same laws of our country
(and other countries). They have a sense of right and wrong. They must
work with people and being unethical in society would not serve them
very well. It is practical and logical for an atheist to be ethical and
work within the norms of social behavior. Atheists, generally, are
honest, hardworking people.
Nevertheless, some Christians raise the question, "What is to
prevent
an atheist from murdering and stealing? After all, they have no fear of
God and no absolute moral code." The answer is simple: Atheists are
capable of governing their own moral behavior and getting along in
society the same as anyone else.
At the risk of labeling the atheist as self-centered, it does not
serve the best interests of an atheist to murder and steal. It would
not take long before he was imprisoned and/or killed for his actions.
Basically, society will only put up with so much if it is to function
smoothly. So, if an atheist wants to get along and have a nice life,
murdering and stealing won't accomplish it. It makes sense for him to
be honest, work hard, pay his bills, and get along with others.
Basically, he has to adopt a set of ethics common to society in order
to do that. Belief in God is not a requirement for ethical behavior or
an enjoyable life.

On the other hand

Atheists' morals are not absolute. They do not have a set of moral
laws from an absolute God by which right and wrong are judged. But,
they do have a legal system with a codified set of moral laws. This
would be the closest thing to moral absolutes for atheists. However,
since the legal system changes (slavery was legal 200 years ago but is
not now), the morals in a society can still change. At best, these
codified morals are "temporary absolutes." This can be a problem as
the norms of society shift and the ethics shift with them. In one
century abortion is wrong. In another, it is right. Well, is it or
isn't it right? If there is a God, killing the unborn is wrong. If
there is no God, then who cares? If it serves the best interest of
society and the individual, then kill. This can be likened to something
I call, "experimental ethics." In other words, whatever works best is
right. Society experiments with ethical behavior to determine which set
of rules works best for it. Unfortunately, however, social
experimentation is often harmful.
There are potential dangers in this kind of ethical system. If a
totalitarian political system is instituted and a mandate is issued to
kill all dissenters, or Christians, or mentally ill, what is to prevent
the atheist from joining forces with the majority system and support
the killings? It serves his self-interests, so why not?
But, to be fair, just because someone has an absolute ethical
system
based upon the Bible is no guarantee that he will not also join forces
for the killings. But the issue is the base and ramifications of that
base. Beliefs affect behavior. That is why belief systems are so
important and absolutes are so necessary. A boat adrift without an
anchor soon crashes into the rocks.
The Bible teaches love, patience, and seeking the welfare of others
even when it might harm the Christian; in this the ten commandments are
a summary. In contrast, the atheists' presuppositions must be
evolutionary. Since evolution teaches that life is the product of
purely natural and utilitarian properties of our world, survival of the
fittest, natural selection, and equating humans to animals as a species
are the ontological basis for our existence and living. With this the
value of man is lowered. In contrast, it is a very high calling to
treat people properly who also are made in the image of God.
Basically, I do not see how the atheist could claim any moral
absolutes at all. To an atheist, ethics must be variable and evolving.
This could be good or bad. But, given human nature being what it is,
I'll opt for the moral absolutes -- based on God's word.


--
Most of my quotes are from:
http://www.carm.org/doctrine.htm http://www.carm.org/cults.htm
http://www.carm.org/apologetics.htm http://www.carm.org/seekers.htm
http://www.carm.org/atheism.htm http://www.carm.org/boards.htm
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
http://www.christianquotes.org/ http://bible.gospelcom.net/
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter
in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens,
engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist
or who consults the dead. Deut 18:10 http://www.christiananswers.net/

Atheists have no moral compass.
God-Haters are just hypocrites.

Hi,

I agree with you some are driven by Hate

Hi,

I agree with you some are driven by Hate

I agree with you some are driven by Hate

Once upon a time in alt.atheism, dear sweet I don't believe in atheists
(Athiests@Fool.com) made the light shine upon us with this:

Atheists have no moral compass.

Which is why religious people outnumber atheists in prisons about 99 to 1.

God-Haters are just hypocrites.

Non-sequitur.