If God Eoes Not Exist, Everything Is Permitted Essay

Not all people who are religious have sound morals, just as not all people who are atheistic are immoral. In his article, John Arthur discusses why religion does not depend on morality and morality does not depend on religion. Arthur seeks to alter the perspective of those who believe religion is necessary within a society to have a proper moral code. Many believe religion provides a purpose in life, a motivation to do what is right, and a set list of guidelines to follow in order to be a good person.

Therefore, the only reason one has to behave ‘morally’ is because god, the bible or Jesus says you should. Moreover, the consequences of behaving in contradiction to Christian values or behaving ‘immorally’ involve punishment by god whether it be in this life or the after-life. This philosophy sheds some light on why atheism is feared, despised and misunderstood as well as why atheists are persecuted in America. If there is no god to answer to or no consequences for ‘bad behavior’, why then, would anyone behave in a good moral fashion? What is to prevent deviant behavior, if there is no god? These questions are the main basis for the Christian argument which maintains that atheists are untrustworthy, immoral or amoral, social deviants and therefore lesser human beings. Some have gone as far to say that atheists are unpatriotic, un-American and do not even have the right to be acknowledged as citizens of the United States.

in this world, and they are effects derived from a cause. The effects in turn

In examining the relationship between religion and morality, there are many equally important topics that should be considered. One topic, nonetheless, that I think is essential in beginning to discuss the philosophy of morality in the context of religion is that which is concerned with whether religion has a significant role in the definition of morality. Religion does have a significant role in the defining and understanding of morality, and this is important for ethics. The aim of this paper is not to argue whether it is possible for one to be moral without being religious, for this I assume is more or less evidently possible, but rather whether a general concept of religion and God is needed in the proper interpretation of morality. I will refer to Plato’s Euthyphro and its focus on piety and the dilemma it generates, in guiding this discussion.

The theist, therefore, appears to be faced with a choice between a view which implies a kind of moral chaos and a life of moral immaturity, and one which belittles an Almighty God. One attempt to resolve this dilemma turns on the distinction

The belief that morality requires God remains a widely held moral maxim. In particular, it serves as the basic assumption of the Christian fundamentalist's social theory. Fundamentalists claim that all of society's troubles - everything from AIDS to out-of-wedlock pregnancies - are the result of a breakdown in morality and that this breakdown is due to a decline in the belief of God. This paper will look at different examples of how a god could be a bad thing and show that humans can create rules and morals all on their own. It will also touch upon the fact that doing good for the wrong reasons can also be a bad thing for the person.

“Man was created a rebel; and how can rebels be happy?”(Dostoevsky. The Grand Inquisitor. Trans. Matlaw. 131). Nietzsche elaborates on this point by affirming the idea that we are made up of two instinctual drives: the Dionysian, which causes us to be passionate, impulsive and unrestrained, and the Apollonian which makes us disciplined, restrained and controlled beings. Mill and other utilitarian’s like Jeremy Bentham denies the former. I embrace this idea that most of us are creatures of chaos, who are born wild and need to be tamed by the structures of society. What type of society would we live in if people did not believe in sins, or heaven and hell? Although we would like to deny it, the reality is that the greater majority of the human race is not capable of living without paternalistic laws, and moral limitations that stem from religious doctrines. J.S. Mill would strongly disagree with this statement: “ That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

Almost all religions with Gods have a set of morals they want their worshippers to follow, in this case I used the Christian religion as an example. Most Christians strive to be the best people they possibly can. While most tend to behave this way out of the goodness of their own hearts, some behave in this manner because they fear hell and God’s wrath. They believe that their behavior dictates whether or not they end up going to Heaven and Hell, and thus follow the morals laid out by the bible, i.e. the ten commandments. While religion plays a heavy role in determining one’s morals, people create their own morals as well. For example, a person may always hold the door open for others, not because they do it for fear of eternal damnation, they do it because they believe it is right. Gardner states that people do this to help achieve that better future each person has in their mind. In the end, everyone has this idea of what they want their life to be like in the future, and they develop their morals around that. When that person eventually dies, they die knowing that they followed their morals and were a better person for it in the grand scheme of things.

By answering the timeless question, “Are humans inherently good or evil?”, one can then gain an even greater understanding of the thing that is us. Therefore, history and society can prove that the answer is in fact that humans are inherently evil. Now, that was all without using religion, but religion provides an excellent view and explanation into the world of humanity. Presuming that the statement above is axiomatic, then religion has an issue that science and secularism do not have to deal with. The problem is why would an all-powerful God allow his creation to suffer under the disease known as sin. Even if we believe that humanity brought a sinful nature onto itself, why would God place the ability to sin into our capability? That is

Morality only exists if we believe in God; therefore if God doesn’t exist there is no morality. There have been so many evil acts committed in the name of God that it is difficult to maintain that a belief in God equates to morality. There are situations that happen every day where decisions are made based off of human rights that contradict the word of God. Morality comes from within, it is an understanding of right versus wrong and the ability to choose what is right. Knowing all this a belief in God is not a requirement for a person to be moral. (Mosser, 2011)

To many individuals, morality and religion are two related but distinct ideas. To be specific, morality consists of principles set by societal norms concerning the distinction between right and wrong and good and bad behaviour among persons. Alternatively, religion involves the relationship between human beings and a transcendent reality or a superhuman controlling power, God. In many societies in the past and present, the idea of God is used to help reinforce moral codes as valuable and vital through rituals and methods of presenting the teachings of God. By many, religion is used to instil fear

In his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens dissects and criticizes the various claims of religions and the tragic events that have been caused by various religions. The title of the book sums up the arguments of Hitchens in this book in the fact that he makes many arguments of why “religion poisons everything.” The majority of the chapters in this book discuss why he believes religion to be a manmade notion that has led to more trouble than anything else in the world. Most of his focus is on the three Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism but he does fit in criticism of other religions as well. The topics he chooses to discuss range from the sketchy origins of Mormonism to the

The opposing arguments towards the belief in God and it having anything to do with moral society usually state that the religiousness of our country doesn't have much to do with the actual religion part (Bender, Bruno, 27). The counter argument says that religion is being used more as sociability or a way of belonging, rather than the actual believing in a God and wanting to spread his holy word. Other facts they may use are that people are able to have a conscience and are able to make decisions without having a holy book to tell them the difference between right and wrong. They usually express the fact that all people have the ability to tell between right and wrong due to instincts.

Religion in the world has always been considered a rather important aspect of society. Although this is true, there are still people that question the existence of God. A survey done among 1000 people showed that 65 percent of Americans believe that religion is losing its influence on American life (Sheler, 8). Even so, Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society because since the beginning of history man has always made up some sort of role model to explain events and situations that seem inexplicable, God gives people a sense of comfort and hope to know they aren’t alone, and when a society believes in a God, there is a religion behind it that gives ethics and values that they must

People in our society today who have the atheist point of view on religion, which is the belief that there is no god, are going against the so-called norms of society, and therefor are seen as deviant. Deviance is just an idea. Society determines what is deviant by the ideas they hold of what should be the norm. Atheism is seen as a negative deviance, or below the norm. They have a status that is placed on them in society. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they believe in evil, although that is how it is sometimes viewed from people in society who have a specific religion or faith. Atheism, which is not a new idea, has been evolving in our society, and is the reason for problems leading to debate and court cases, and for