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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg or e who wrote (2300)	10/23/2000 5:40:18 PM
From: E	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28931

There is a lot in this post of yours with which I agree, or at least feel in real sympathy with. I think that in myposts to cosmicforce and Steven i've to some degree addressed your basic thought, that if you stipulate a God who lays down the rules, you have "absolute" right and wrong, and if you don't, you don't, and<<<Yet we know in our hearts that some things are just wrong, we can't escape it.>>> I think that what God, or Allah, allows many Christians and Muslims to think is moral regarding -- for one easily illustrated example -- treatment of the women in their own families is demonstrative of the fact that what we know in our hearts is right or wrong changes drastically from culture to culture, however devoutly religious that culture. Allah doesn't help the Muslim girls who are murdered with virtual impunity by their devout fathers or brothers because the girls have been raped, thus disgracing their families (oddly enough; you'd think the rapist was the disgraceful one, but no). (I know that there are abuses in Christian countries, too, I hasten to mention, and that there are criminal atheists (though as we know, they are statistically underrepresented in the prison population.) (I'm aware that this is probably because the higher the educational level, the higher the percentage of atheists and the lower the likelihood of being imprisoned.)) "Honour-killings" are just one example of devotion to an external God-authority not being very useful as a deterrent to what you and I "just can't help" seeing as wrong.) It really is hard for me to understand why anyone believes that the development of human conscience, which tells us what we "know in our hearts" is right and wrong, depends on the stipulation that the feeling you refer to above ("some things are just wrong") comes from a God-- instead of being an innate, evolved characteristic (or capacity) of humankind.

To: Greg or e who wrote (2300)	10/23/2000 6:46:00 PM
From: Dayuhan	Respond to of 28931

You are probably aware that many tribal cultures living in harsh environments practice infanticide, usually in situations in which the presence of an infant might be detrimental to the survival of the mother or other members of the tribe. The tribal religions give full sanctions to these acts, and even require them. Evil? To us, yes. To them, no. Biblical morality is as relative as any morality anywhere. The bible is stuffed with stories of the most immoral acts possible, which are presented as being perfectly acceptable because God said it was ok, usually because the victims were nonbelievers. One of the things I find threatening about Christian morality is precisely this precedent for exemption. Since God has been notably silent this past 2000 years, most people simply accept the word of priests and other intermediaries, and intermediaries have invoked the exemption clause to provide us with witch-burning, inquisitions, and crusades, among other eccentricities. I think I'd rather stick with rules that we develop and interpret ourselves, based on our own observations.