Post by Bozur on Jan 21, 2009 11:30:28 GMT -5
Why Believers are Ethically Bankrupt
theinformationparadox.com — Response to an article regarding Atheism being morally bankrupt. Sadly, theism produces ethically bankrupt individuals who see no problem trampling on the rights of others in their quest for approval from their chosen mythological leader. More… (People)
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Why Believers are Ethically Bankrupt
Posted by JCE Stumble Upon Toolbar
Last month a delightful article by Ben Shaprio pontificated on why atheism is morally bankrupt. His reasoning was simple:There’s only one problem: without God, there can be no moral choice. Without God, there is no capacity for free will.
Sadly for Mr. Shaprio this reasoning is wrong - millions of people are considered to have excellent morals without god and since the concept of free will is derived specifically from religion it does not apply to the issue of atheism.
On the other hand, it does beg the question as to why Christians and all other religious people are ethically bankrupt. Take any week in the news and you are bound to find numerous stories of religious committing crimes. Some of these crimes are vile, some are nuisance and some are downright odd but all of them are crimes, which makes them ethical violations.
For the purposes of this article I specifically chose the word ethics because the religious seem to have garnered a special hold on the word morals although no such mention to religion is included in the definition of either word. Linguistic evolution has deemed morals to come from biblical text and ethics from society. While both can produce equally good results, only one of them actually requires conscious thought to produce desired results.
Adherents to religion will claim moral high ground meaning they have received their instructions for behavior and consequences be damned they will abide by them. Their behavior often tramples on the rights of those around them as they seek the holy grail of approval from their master. Their doctrine of free will and operating on some kind of bizarre honor system in which they will be “punished” upon death leaves open a flood gate of shamefully unethical behavior affecting those who are forced to endure time with them during their life.
Reprehensible behavior becomes morally acceptable and absolved once they confess but the matter of ethics is never once addressed. Raping a child is never ethically acceptable. The Catholic Church, however, considers that to be a forgivable sin if only the right words of confession and promises to stop are made. Not quite good enough.
Morality is a distinctly poor system of judging character because it demands no accountability, no true responsibility for ones actions. Reading a holy text and interpreting it in order to develop a code of moral behavior creates an open system in which ALL behavior becomes acceptable. Ethics is a system that requires full accountability and there are consequences for ones actions. Consequences that may save lives or prevent the loss of innocence in another child.
So religion can keep their ‘moral’ instruction and claims of free will. I will keep my ethics and know that I am doing the right thing, that I respect the rights of others and want to benefit society and that I am accountable here and now for my actions.
Remember kids: "Morals are, in the light of reality, ethically bankrupt."
www.theinformationparadox.com/2009/01/why-believers-are-ethically-bankrupt.html