I don't need religion to be a good person.

Were the average person to become something as relatively puny as Emperor of the Galaxy, he or she would see his or her subjects as specks in the universe; so surely the tendency to project the same attitude onto the Emperor of the Universe is understandable.

The statistic is only impressive to shallow minds

Be that as it may, it doesn't touch the argument that you need God to live morally.

 

One the contrary, it shows people who don't have a sky fairy are moral and obey the law more then those who base their lives on mythology. May also have to do with a higher intelligence level and educational levels

 

You can find a little film ditty that says most anything.

 

Those who rant about sky fairies are no moral or good than those who don't.

 

Which has bupkis to do with anything I said, obviously.

which, to all appearances heretofore, has nothing to do with you.

 

Atheists are less intelligent than believers.

 

"sky fairies" those are the words you use to describe Jesus Christ and what He did for all who would believe.....says something about your own character and morality.

 

However, gratitude for the saviour aside, to condemn those who don't makes you just as wrong. Those sins were died for were they not. So what's the point of dying and forgiving if you're going to judge someone how they live their lives which brings me to the point, it is highly anal retentive and awfully pedantic to complain about the usage of 'Sky Fairies'.
What you do with your life is your business, what they do with their lives is there's and as long as nobody's hurting anybody or nothing like that, who cares?

The very fact it's hard to picture a point for some of living a good life without God is stupid for there is no need to be good other than being good.

Tough love as well.

 

Another example of you projecting onto others what you yourself are afraid to admit to; religious people only seem 'aggressive' and 'superior' to you because you fear they're right and think you are indeed 'inferior'. It's your own insecurity, not their 'attitudes' which are not at all what you claim.

 

Sure, just redefine what a good person is. Hitler did it I am sure.

 

You don't see me attacking people. I do stand against wrong behavior however. Some would claim adultery hurts no one, but Jesus saved the women caught in the act and told her to "go and sin no more". Yes, what you do with your life is your business. Instead of continually attacking those of faith....why don't you spend your time telling about the virtues you are for? From my perspective, the bar is a lot higher than you perceive. You think you are good but you aren't. You have failed by insulting those of faith and suggesting they are "anal retentive". You have failed a number of times as have I. We are in the same boat. I, however recognize that. I reach out for help outside the boat. I am not going to depend on your standard of "what is good".

 

Well, it seems to me, that if we are going to make it fair game to ridicule other people's beliefs, why should atheists be off limits? Why should they get a pass, if mocking & ridicule of beliefs is going to be a socially acceptable practice?

For example... i hear atheists, now, claiming to be 'moral, hopeful, & purposeful', with their lives. But how is that possible?

IF... you posit a CREATOR, who made everything.. for a purpose.. and that his CREATION must answer to Him,
THEN... you have a basis for morality, hope, purpose. That basis comes with the CREATOR. HE has included those 'features' within the Creation.

BUT IF... you posit naturalism, only.. all of life, the universe, humanity.. is a cosmic accident. There is NO purpose. No 'hope' in an afterlife or soul. No basis for morality. You can only have human constructs for these things, which Sartre called, 'value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.' There is no such thing as hope, morality, or purpose, in the naturalistic worldview. It is something you make up, to pass the time.

So you cannot get a 'theistic' style 'hope, purpose, & morality' from a purely naturalistic worldview. It is logically impossible. You ONLY can have human constructs.. or relativity. So words like 'good' or 'moral' or 'purpose' have no meaning, other than emotional platitudes.. they are nothing, in the face of Reality.

So if some atheist mocks a theist for believing in a 'sky fairy', then why should this atheist not be mocked for believing in an irrational fantasy of 'hope, purpose, & morality', when they have NO POSSIBLE BASIS for it?

I'm just justifying some tit for tat.. i'm not really into mocking, & i tend to avoid the religious mud slinging. But i cannot condemn theists for returning fire for some hysterical, irrational outbursts, filled with ridicule & ad hominem.

 

I have no clue what you are talking about. Nowhere have I said that religious are superior to me because they are certainly not, and that is quite obvious.

 

The point is, you don't have to worship an imaginary being in order to be a good person.

 

I and plenty of people I know don't believe in gods or religions and are good people because we want to be, not because someone has to tell us to be or because we are threatened with "hell" and other such ridiculous things. Some people do need religion. Some people do not.

 

As long as you redefine what a good person is that covers anyone.

 

I think the qualities that define a good person are just common sense. It shouldn't have to be "defined." You already KNOW what is wrong and what is right. It comes down to your choices and why you make them.

 

Jeffrey Dahmer the serial killer said he did what he did because he was an atheist at the time and could define morality as he saw fit. I am sure Stalin, Pol Pot, etc....thought they were doing the moral thing also. Human beings do not have a good track record when it comes to morality.

 

I make the choices that I make because

And there are some people who claimed religion and were just as awful. So? What is your point? That if you don't believe in gods you will become a serial killer? Come on!

 

Not as bad as say Stalin. He killed more people in a short time span than the Black Plague. Pol Pot was absolutely evil. Both were Godless tyrants.

 

Funny how you people get all bent out of shape because someone calls your entity a "sky fairy" yet you will compare US to serial killers and "evil" doers, and then you wonder why we find you annoying, self serving, and NOT true to the teachings of your own religion (IOW, YOU don't even really buy into it), not to mention arrogant and rude.

 

It is not me doing the comparing, these are just historical facts. Also I am not bent out of shape about anything. The truth is the truth.

My religion? Where did I claim to have a religion?

 

What is this truth you are trying to say? Just come out and say it instead of comparing people with other people who they have nothing to do with. You think that if you don't believe in a god then you are an evil person, isn't that right? That you NEED a god to be a good person?

 

The truth is that history shows human beings to be badly flawed. The premise that human beings are naturally good by their own nature is just not true.