Pointy eggs and whales (Evolution)

by David Turell , Friday, September 14, 2018, 20:20 (2260 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

Gatekeeper: I actually am more appalled with people that deny such a notion because of a fear of religion. Why would people suppress such a simple notion because they are afraid of theist?

Tony: They aren't afraid of theist, per se, but rather they are afraid of the answer to "what if the theist are right?" If theists are right, then we face accountability for our actions from a source with more authority than ourselves. If the theists are right, then there is some entity that not only has power, but authority. Authority to set and enforce rules, and subsequently reward or punish its subjects for keeping or breaking those rules. That is what they are afraid of.

David: This is where I have trouble with theistic views of morality. It smells of reward and punishment. Being good for the sake of being good without any outside judgement is more worthy than fear of judgement of how I've done. I know and follow what is required of me without any sense of coercion. In this way I'm still following Jewish thought in that there is no heaven or hell, just God's afterlife.

Tony: I don't believe in hell, nor do I believe in divine punishment, per se. Think of it in terms of immigration laws. If you immigrate into a country, you are required agree to follow the laws, and if you don't you can be deported. God's kingdom is a kingdom of life. You can freely choose to follow the rules or not. Failure to follow the rules (sin) results in deportation (death). As his domain is higher than any we control, being the creator of life, then he has the authority and the right to grant or revoke the privilege. Yet, typically, we are left to suffer the innate consequences of our actions. The rules provided are to protect us from ourselves and each other, not from him. He doesn't have to punish, natural cause and effect does that quite effectively on its own. This is what you would refer to as innate morality, or 'being good for the sake of being good without outside judgement'.

Seems at times there is full agreement on this site.