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Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
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@Cognostic
Cognostic, I completely agree with you on your assessment of how moral codes arise. Those five paragraphs I could have written myself. The concern I now have, however, is do those codes break down in the absence of faith, and then must we evolve new codes of social behaviour to replace the ones we've lost. Granted, many of the old religious moral codes we are better off without, but I worry that we might be throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Let me explain. Did you watch the AR live stream titled, 'Allie is back!'? If you are like me, this was your first introduction to this wonderful woman. Six months ago Allie was a full-time member of the podcast but she was suddenly, and viciously, mobbed by her fellow vegans and hammered with death threats and promises of torture of herself and her children. Listening to what she went through, and what she experienced as a result of the attacks, brought tears to my eyes. It was a truly immoral assault conducted by individuals whom we'd probably describe as Leftists, and if my hunch is correct, they were likely also atheists. I can't say for certain, but I fear they may have been our own. Certainly these people were not likely devout Christians. The attack on Allie was nothing like the type of behaviour I would expect of a Christian.
The Antifa mobs I have seen chanting "No borders, no walls, no USA at all!" are without question Leftists. They are probably also atheists and they do seem prone to do violence. Yes, mobs can be dangerous things, but the Christian gathering of several weeks back, the March for Life, consisted of tens of thousands, but there was absolutely no violence. Did you notice that? There was the attack on the Sandmann boy, but that was led by a Left leaning media. Sandmann was then mobbed on Twitter, etc., and again the attack was perpetrated by those representing the Left, many of them probably atheists. Alyssa Milano, Elizabeth Warren, Jim Carrey, Kathy Griffin, Bill Maher and many others lept to the attack. What is wrong with society?
I am guessing that Twitter is so new that moral codes have not yet had a chance to develop around the use of this platform. However, the problem I am perceiving is that the Twitter mobs seem all to be Leftists (or am I reading this wrong?). Conservatives don't seem to mob other conservatives in this way. Leftists, it seems to me, are well known for being cannibalistic. Is this because Leftists are atheistic and many have lost their moral compass? Conservative Christians may try to live by the Golden Rule in their treatment of strangers, and even conservative atheists might, but Leftest atheists instead seem increasingly likely to act like a pack of wolves with anyone perceived to have betrayed the group zeitgeist.
I am truly beginning to think we may have a problem on our hands.
The problem Bob L is categorizing people. It is too easy to just categorize someone or a group as something, that is too convenient. Be it whatever persuasion, far-leaning radicals are the danger.
Here is something to think about. What persuasion were the terrorists who flew the planes into the towers? They were far right. Ponder that, and please stop throwing stones.
Bob L.: Hi Bob. Thanks for the reply and inquiry.
In my view, moral codes are a part of society, be that society clan, tribe, or larger. Religion is a creation of mankind. This is why we have 30,000 Christian sects, over 20 Islamic sects, About 71 different Jewish Sects, and we have not gotten into Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, or Shinto. In my opinion faith (Religions) are an outward manifestation of internal social beliefs. Religions serve as tools to justify social beliefs (moral behavior). The society makes rules and then justifies them through their religion. This is why religion is always lagging behind culture. As the world changes our religious morals and beliefs always lag behind.
"Certainly these people were not likely devout Christians. The attack on Allie was nothing like the type of behavior I would expect of a Christian." I did not watch the video; however, a heinous attack on someone precised to be non-Christian over the internet by Christians is well within the moral and behavioral boundaries of most Christians. I submit to you that you are engaged in special pleading and the "No True Scotsman" fallacy. Christians certainly do behave this way and the more conservative they are the more likely we are to see this sort of attack behavior.
"The Antifa mobs I have seen chanting "No borders, no walls, no USA at all!" are without question Leftists. They are probably also atheists and they do seem prone to do violence. "
I have to agree with this. Every group has its nut-jobs. However, it is the Antifa group and not atheism that move these idiots to violence. It is a social movement distinct from not believing in god. They have all sorts of other beliefs that are being reinforced which have nothing to do with not believing in a god.
"I am guessing that Twitter is so new that moral codes have not yet had a chance to develop around the use of this platform."
I disagree. There is something about the internet, Twitter as well as AR, that simply allows people to drop all morality. These posts are basically anonymous. People feel free to insult and express strong opinions when they are anonymous. I am as guilty of this as the next person. When it is in writing on a web-page, we are not actually responding to people but to ideas. If an idea seems foolish we simply call it as we see it. We say things that we would not say, or would say differently were the person sitting in front of us. Tact is lost when it comes to participating in forums like this for most people.
"Christians may try to live by the Golden Rule in their treatment of strangers, and even conservative atheists might, but Leftest atheists instead seem increasingly likely to act like a pack of wolves"
Ahemmm... Westboro Baptists...... The bombing of abortion clinics...... Witch hunts in Nigeria / child mutilations...... Gay rights issues ..............
"According to the view of many historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted into a persecuting religion.... Miroslav Volf has identified the intervention of a "new creation", as in the Second Coming, as a particular aspect of Christianity that generates violence....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_violence
Christians are in no way exempt from violence and horrific behaviors. Not in the past and not in the world today. All you need do is look around a bit.
@ Cog
Bravo. I was going to respond the fuckwittery and idiocy in Bob L's post but had to take a Becs and lie down first. Thanks for saying politely what I would have said but in much more pungent and corrosive terms.
10,000 agree button must come here!
When we die, our bodies begin to rot. That's it. It's a stark reality but a reality none-the-less. Religtardology, and christardology in particular, were invented to help the weak minded cope with this reality. This came at a price because everything has it's price. The price in this case was that the clergy were able to use and abuse society with impunity. The bastards raped and pillaged their way through history. Any member of the down-trodden society that disagreed with the church would not be going to heaven because, obviously, they were heathens or witches or devil worshippers or actually the Devil in disguise. The penalty for all these 'crimes' was death because christardology is a loving and forgiving religion.
Morality - I'm with Shouty Man on this one. Morality evolves. Once, the church protected their clergy who raped little boys. All the church thought was necessary for de lard's forgiveness was for the clergy to say three hail mary's, two ahhh, men's and a partridge in a pear tree. Now, even though the church still seeks to protect the evil fookers, the law puts them in jail.
Question for you OP: Quid pro quo and all that, Clarice. Quid pro quo. Why would anyone wish to fry their brains by attending some babble college? Have you no gag reflex ffs?
anonymous:
.I think the "Atheists" on the site have done a fair job of giving you their opinions. What I want to point out to you is that your questions have nothing at all to do with atheism. Nothing in what you have asked addresses atheism. Atheism is a lack of belief in God or gods and nothing more.
1. Origin-- How do you think life came into existence? (This question has nothing to do with atheism. What you need to do is go and talk to a science teacher and have him explain abiogenisis.)
2. Purpose-- Is there any ultimate meaning to life? (This question has nothing to do with atheism. People that do not believe in Gods simply have lives with meanings different than people who do believe in gods. It's not an atheist issue.)
3. Morality--How can we know what is good and evil? (Both Science and Psychology have a whole lot to say about the origins of morality. None of it has anything to do with magical creator beings. And none of it has anything to do with atheism. No one needs to know anything at all about morality to be an atheist. Asserting your god done it, does not make it so.)
4. Destiny--What do you think happens when we die? (What makes you think there is a destiny? You would have to prove such a thing exists. As far as death or destiny go THEY ARE NOT ATHEIST ISSUES. Just like everything else in the world, when we die we die. How is that not obvious? If you can't understand this you want to look into the science of death and dying. AGAIN _ NOT AN ISSUE FOR ATHEISM. Your problems are with SCIENTISTS not ATHEISTS.
YOU ARE NOT TALKING TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THESE QUESTIONS. ATHEISTS ARE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD OR GODS. Certainly we have some scientists on the site and I am a psychotherapist so I do have an opinion about morality and its natural evolution and how it is learned. Atheism is not a WORLD VIEW. Atheism is not a PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLOOK ON LIFE. Atheism is simply a LACK OF BELIEF IN GOD.
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