Morality and Religion

wrote: > > Listening to the lecture about the nature of morality, and where > exactly it comes from, really opened my eyes to the truth of it all. > I believe that human beings have an innate sense of morality, whether > its living in the deep forests of Africa, or in New York city. Now, > to ask if eachother's morals were different, well, that's something to > talk about. > It was interesting to correlate religion to "creating morals," or > having a great impact on what exactly is right or wrong. But, I don't > think that religion has been the basis of what people think is right > or wrong. But, that opinion is all based on what you believe. As for > me, I don't believe that the Bible set the rules for mankind, on how > we should act and how we shouldn't act. Lane said it perfectly: who > knows if jealousy, gluttony, greed, and anger did in fact, help humans > evolve into the beings that they are today. Now, is that such a bad > thought? Absolutely not. That just goes to show that the "bad" > morals are in some ways, good. Lane also said something that has > stuck with me. Has the morals that the Bible has put into writing > been created in order to "control" our inhumane way of living? Does > God really think we're all that bad? Why is it that religion always > has to be the answer to everything? > Morals are innate and natural. It all depends on your upbringing. If > you were raised in a very conventional Muslim household in > Afghanistan, there is a very good possibility that your morals will > differ from someone who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. We all have to > do things to survive...so why should morals be the deciding factor in > what we do? We have to do what is right for us, and not rely on some > book to tell us otherwise. Hope that makes sense...I feel like I > blabbed a little. K thanks! > --- In sciencereligion@yahoogroups.com, "bored0education" > wrote: > > > > With knowledge come ethics and laws that create a false sense of > > morality disconnected from the natural state in which man is born. It > > is not enough to be a human machine, blindly trailing a set of rules > > that promise eternal happiness. Ethics and morality are nothing if we > > do not have the ability to choose to say no. > > Without an option to deny it, morality is meaningless. > > Happiness is a product of knowledge; the knowledge that the good and > > the bad will both meet at the same end. Death is the final equal and so > > far, no proof has been offered that choosing to be bad is inferior over > > the choice of good. To suggest that morality is a required element of > > existence is absurd. In the end, whether people are good, bad or > > indifferent, no one will be in any better or worse shape then any > > others. It is meaningless to do; however, the only choice any of us can > > make is to live a moral life. > > > > GZ > > > " name=message>
I really enjoyed your post. This past class session was by far my
favorite, because I could actually follow the topics being
discussed.
I also lean toward the notion that morality is something that humans
are naturally born with. Religion is not necessarily the creator of
the moral lifestyle. If you think about it, human beings are the
creators of religion, so in order to create a structured, moral
environment we must have been born with the sense of right and
wrong. I guess one could counter argue that religion is divinely
inspired and thus not the result of human actions, but rather God
working through humanity - like it was stated before it just depends
on what you believe. But God would still be utilizing a being that is
made with faults such as jealousy, greed and hatred - and faith
along cannot rid human beings of these traits.
Lane brought up the idea that morals, such as the ten commandments
have been used as a way of controlling people. I do not reject this
idea either. We tend to forget that humans run religion and the
history of religion is not squeaky clean. I remember being 5 years
old and sitting in an office in St. Mary's Catholic church with my
mom. The priest told us that we could not attend church unless we
made a monthly donation to the church. At the time my mom was a
single parent trying to make ends meet and we did not have the funds
to contribute monthly payments to the church. So the priest denied
us worship due to the lack of money that we had. From that moment on
I have been a skeptic of organized religion. I still believe that
religion can influence society on micro and macro levels positively,
but any form of power can be abused. I think it is healthy to doubt
ones faith and continue to evolve in ones faith of a supernatural
power.