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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2023 18:46:20 GMT
"I've met people who believe in God that are good and that are bad. And I've met people who don't believe in God that are good and that are bad. So, just be good."
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Post by captainbryce on Jan 17, 2023 9:46:01 GMT
"I've met people who believe in God that are good and that are bad. And I've met people who don't believe in God that are good and that are bad. So, just be good." Yeah, there's a few problem with this though. 1) In Christianity you cannot be "good", and even if you could, being good is not how one is saved. So the concept of "goodness" is largely irrelevant in that religion, which means there is little motivation to actually be good. 2) The concept of "goodness" is inherently subjective. Religions will tell you that morality is objective (which is ironic since all these religions have different claims about what is "good"). But the reality is that in most religions the idea of good is derived from Divine Command Theory, which is essentially a "might makes right argument". So what you think is good can be easily deemed "bad" according to someone's religion, and vice-versa. 3) Not only is morality subjective, but good has no meaning if it's not with respect to a goal. Good for what? Good for whom? When people say "be good", it's taken for granted that everyone knows what good means and agrees about what is good. But that's obviously not true! What is good for you might not be good for me.
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Post by Isapop on Jan 17, 2023 16:01:02 GMT
"I've met people who believe in God that are good and that are bad. And I've met people who don't believe in God that are good and that are bad. So, just be good." Yeah, there's a few problem with this though. 1) In Christianity you cannot be "good", and even if you could, being good is not how one is saved. So the concept of "goodness" is largely irrelevant in that religion, which means there is little motivation to actually be good. 2) The concept of "goodness" is inherently subjective. Religions will tell you that morality is objective (which is ironic since all these religions have different claims about what is "good"). But the reality is that in most religions the idea of good is derived from Divine Command Theory, which is essentially a "might makes right argument". So what you think is good can be easily deemed "bad" according to someone's religion, and vice-versa. 3) Not only is morality subjective, but good has no meaning if it's not with respect to a goal. Good for what? Good for whom? When people say "be good", it's taken for granted that everyone knows what good means and agrees about what is good. But that's obviously not true! What is good for you might not be good for me. Suppose we were to take out "Good" and replace it with Matt 7:12 - "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." If you can't be "good" in Christianity, you can follow that precept. So now, the OP becomes: "I've met people who believe in God that do unto others and that don't. And I've met people who don't believe in God that do unto others and that don't. So, just do unto others." Would that take care of those problems you cite?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2023 0:22:29 GMT
Yeah, there's a few problem with this though. 1) In Christianity you cannot be "good", and even if you could, being good is not how one is saved. So the concept of "goodness" is largely irrelevant in that religion, which means there is little motivation to actually be good. 2) The concept of "goodness" is inherently subjective. Religions will tell you that morality is objective (which is ironic since all these religions have different claims about what is "good"). But the reality is that in most religions the idea of good is derived from Divine Command Theory, which is essentially a "might makes right argument". So what you think is good can be easily deemed "bad" according to someone's religion, and vice-versa. 3) Not only is morality subjective, but good has no meaning if it's not with respect to a goal. Good for what? Good for whom? When people say "be good", it's taken for granted that everyone knows what good means and agrees about what is good. But that's obviously not true! What is good for you might not be good for me. Suppose we were to take out "Good" and replace it with Matt 7:12 - "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." If you can't be "good" in Christianity, you can follow that precept. So now, the OP becomes: "I've met people who believe in God that do unto others and that don't. And I've met people who don't believe in God that do unto others and that don't. So, just do unto others." Would that take care of those problems you cite? I am glad you explained this. Capt Bryce left me confused
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2023 18:08:33 GMT
Just be kind and compassionate to every human and non-human animal that you come across.
Whether you believe in God/Gods/nothing, you will either receive your reward in Heaven, or go to your grave knowing that you were the best person you could have been... You can't change 'the world', but you can change the world of every soul that you encounter.
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