If there is no "? ", why be good?
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Individuals really need to look up the word "Agnostic"
Like it's not a belief system.
It's based on 'Knowledge'
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SMH @ this thread being effectively deaded by moving it to R&R.
? cant discuss complex and intelligent topics in the GNS. -
Oh.... So this is the original thread. So, just in case the imposter thread gets deleted or something, I'll just copy and paste like so:
I agree with the Einstein quote in respect to people using reward as a motive for why somebody worships ? (and just for kicks, the Bible does talk about that). However, Dawkins seem only content with what the existence of ? means morally...just like some religious folk may be. He is under the impression that the Bible is about earning a spot in Heaven through morals and maybe if he just (at least behind closed doors) do a thorough research on the Bible he would see that it is not. -
That is not what motivates Dawkins Alissowack. As an atheist I am often confronted by theist who honestly believe that since I do not believe in ? I will do evil, or as it is generally conveyed "Why be good?". It is this belief that seems to rise in many theists that Dawkins is responding too.
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@whar. Is Dawkins really saying these things because he wants to differentiate between who believes what? Sure, it is the common argument towards people who believe in a deity that they believe atheists are incapable of doing good. But, in his argument, has he made any attempt to say that maybe the theist are wrong within their own religion? Has he really considered any counter arguments against it...because there are and from the "religious" themselves. Dawkins has made specifically clear who those "theists" are and his response in more on this "who are you (Christian) to say that I can't do good" variety.
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I am confused by your response. I am talking about the original Dawkins quote. If something else has been posted attributed to Dawkins my comments do not include that, however the original statement by Dawkins is not about differentiating between beliefs but rather how poor an argument is. It is an exceptionally weak idea to claim a belief in ? is a prerequisite for doing good.
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@whar. I have a habit of trying to read between the lines. Whether I am right in my assumptions is another story. If this is just a defense of the quote, then I agree that some religious folk do have this assumption that all atheist are up to no good.
However this is Richard Dawkins. In his book "The ? Delusion", he makes it very clear what he thinks about the "Christian" ? and to think he is just making an innocent observation in his quote is only a half truth. There are people who believe in the ? of the Bible who don't share this view and it would have been "fair" to hear from other Christians on the matter. -
Forgot about this thread since it was moved LOL
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I am not always good or bad and I don't believe in religion or the Gods they present. Why be good? Because you realize we are all kind of in the same boat as humans. I have been severely depressed so what do you do? You try to get away from people instead of putting your dread on others. Is some higher being going to bless you with the means to get away from people or the health to go get the means, no, not necessarily. Will a person bless you with that, maybe if you meet the right one. Will that person say they are of some higher being and try to get you on there right track? Maybe, maybe not, but you have a better chance seeing what people call the goodness of ? through a person than through him or it. So, why would I not be good to people most of the time?
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that little essay mattered little to me. im a Buddhist and im told that being, "Good" by following the precepts and through general acts, thoughts, or deeds will gain me merit which will accumulate and carry over to my next life leading me that much closer to Liberation...or at least thats what I've been told. but i dont think of it like that. i think of it like this, its simple. negative actions only bring negative results. weather it be now or in the long run, your gonna get bit in the ass for whatever you did wrong. so i choose to act right, i don't need a ? or an old book to tell me that.
i'm a buddhist too and came in here to write the same thing -
West Brooklyn wrote: »Good and evil only exist in the minds of sentient beings. Being conscious of the world around us, we eventually stumble upon something we can call "less favorable" or "more favorable". These things can equal to a "evil" and "good", respectively. We would never be able to get around that. IMO, suffering is the only concrete "evil". What we can believe to be "evil" is any number of things that lead up to suffering of mankind or any conscious being, individually or as a group. This seems to be true whether there is a ? or not, and makes ? unnecessary for good and evil to occur.
I do not believe in a creator ? , but I believe in doing good for the universe because our actions are like throwing a rock into a pond. When you do, it creates ripples in the water. Likewise, throwing negative energy into the universe creates "ripples"
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Because believing heathens run the world.
