Phanerothyme Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 A false trichotomy - sounds hairy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 A claim that pops up now and again, made by theists, is that without the bible (Jesus' teachings, biblical parables and the 10 commandments) we would have no morals. This argument is easily dismissed but that's not the point... Many atheists think that the world would be a better place without religion but if it were to happen immediately, would it be such a good thing? Imagine those people (the ones who literally believe that without the Bible we would have no morals, not all theists) suddenly losing their faith and realising that their moral compass is based on nonsense, how would they cope? Would they remain "moral", would they decide they had wasted their lives subscribing to a load of guff, them go on a rampage (ie current movie "The Purge"), or something inbetween? EDIT: I mention the Bible because I've only ever heard the morality claim from Christians EDIT#2: Added a 3rd option to the last question Well reality check here old son! It wont happen. Not now or anytime soon. But dream on anyway You atheists are about as tiring, boring and persistent as that other pain in the arse group the Jehovah's witnesses. Two sides of the same coin separated by belief and non belief Just go away all of you !!! Nobody really bothers about any of you anyway Another thing worth mentioning. Why always when you atheists post you just mention the bible. How about the qu'ran or the holy Jewish books or is that just a bit to "risque" and PC sensitive for your spines or lack thereof ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Institutions like religion stabilise moral drift to a degree. But there are no absolute morals. Quite how quickly morality can shift, I suspect we'll discover as religion becomes a minority interest and loses its influence upon the people. I don't sense a massive amount of confidence in the church or politicians for moral leadership, so I do wonder who will take on that role. I agree with your first point, but I do think you are wrong to assume that religion is becoming a minority interest. Christianity might be dwindling in this country, but Islam is growing. In many countries round the world religions are thriving and becoming increasingly polarised, something which I find quite threatening. Worldwide, there are many more people who would describe themselves as religious, than not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 A false trichotomy - sounds hairy. Why a false trichotomy? ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 01:57 ---------- Well reality check here old son! It wont happen. Not now or anytime soon. But dream on anyway Reality check unnecessary, it's just a hypothetical scenario You atheists are about as tiring, boring and persistent as that other pain in the arse group the Jehovah's witnesses. Thanks for the hostility Two sides of the same coin separated by belief and non belief Just go away all of you !!! Nobody really bothers about any of you anyway Strange how your outburst seems to imply you aren't either side of the coin Another thing worth mentioning. Why always when you atheists post you just mention the bible. How about the qu'ran or the holy Jewish books or is that just a bit to "risque" and PC sensitive for your spines or lack thereof ? No, it explains clearly in the OP why I mention the Bible. You should try reading it fully (the OP) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Why a false trichotomy? ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 01:57 ---------- Reality check unnecessary, it's just a hypothetical scenario Thanks for the hostility Strange how your outburst seems to imply you aren't either side of the coin No, it explains clearly in the OP why I mention the Bible. You should try reading it fully (the OP) Go on then! Grow a back bone! You want to start another thread about religion tell us what you think of the Muslim religion, the Jewish religion, the Hindu religion and why you think that the Christian religion alone only merits criticism and not the others No need to get all sensitive. I really hate it when a person wimps out. Speak up man ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perplexed Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Go on then! Grow a back bone! You want to start another thread about religion tell us what you think of the Muslim religion, the Jewish religion, the Hindu religion and why you think that the Christian religion alone only merits criticism and not the others No need to get all sensitive. I really hate it when a person wimps out. Speak up man ! I don't know about Roots, but I think they're all equally nonsense if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Your OP suggests otherwise: That's just one possible interpretation of it, it doesn't have to be read to mean that they will all react in one way or the other, just that the reaction of them all will vary and is of interest. You appear to be picking points rather than trying to engage in any meaningful way with the OP, even if it could have been more tightly worded. ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 09:55 ---------- I think it would be like the stages of grief - denial, anger erm sleepy, happy, grumpy,dancer and prancer. They'll probably carry on the basic teachings, alot of it could be construed as bobbins but the stuff like be nice, don't nick stuff that kind of thing will probably still happen. Christian aid do alot of good work but it's good and charitable first and Christian second. I think so anyway, I've only stuck a few quid in an envelope I've never called them out. Some will just go bat **** - id reckon corners of the deep south could be like the last days of sodom and Gomorrah. First thing is to work through the whole denial thing first - which could take decades. I can't think of a situation where it could happen though really. Since it's just a thought experiment, how about a real and verified manifestation of some other god, Odin maybe, who hits a few people with thunderbolts and tells the whole world categorically that the Norse Gods are the real ones and the rest of it is just nonsense... ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 09:56 ---------- Well reality check here old son! It wont happen. Not now or anytime soon. But dream on anyway You atheists are about as tiring, boring and persistent as that other pain in the arse group the Jehovah's witnesses. Two sides of the same coin separated by belief and non belief Just go away all of you !!! Nobody really bothers about any of you anyway Another thing worth mentioning. Why always when you atheists post you just mention the bible. How about the qu'ran or the holy Jewish books or is that just a bit to "risque" and PC sensitive for your spines or lack thereof ? The smilies don't alter that you a) didn't answer the question, b) decided to attack atheists instead. Get a grip. Nobody was suggesting that you were about to suffer a crisis of reality and have to work out morality for yourself. It was a question, which you didn't answer in a thread that nobody made you read! ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 09:58 ---------- Go on then! Grow a back bone! You want to start another thread about religion tell us what you think of the Muslim religion, the Jewish religion, the Hindu religion and why you think that the Christian religion alone only merits criticism and not the others No need to get all sensitive. I really hate it when a person wimps out. Speak up man ! They're all nonsense and cause more trouble than they have ever solved. But what gave you the idea that the OP was a) criticising, b) singling out your particular flavour of delusion? Over sensitive perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Why a false trichotomy? False dichotomy + a third option = false trichotomy. (If that's not a word, it is now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Well reality check here old son! It wont happen. Not now or anytime soon. But dream on anyway You atheists are about as tiring, boring and persistent as that other pain in the arse group the Jehovah's witnesses. Two sides of the same coin separated by belief and non belief Just go away all of you !!! Nobody really bothers about any of you anyway Another thing worth mentioning. Why always when you atheists post you just mention the bible. How about the qu'ran or the holy Jewish books or is that just a bit to "risque" and PC sensitive for your spines or lack thereof ? I note that you post appears to do nothing but attack the character of atheists. Sadly that's hardly surprising, it appears to be your default reaction to anything you don't like or disagree with. Could you possibly answer the question - would that be too much to ask? ---------- Post added 02-06-2013 at 14:04 ---------- Would they remain "moral", would they decide they had wasted their lives subscribing to a load of guff, them go on a rampage (ie current movie "The Purge"), or something inbetween? EDIT: I mention the Bible because I've only ever heard the morality claim from Christians EDIT#2: Added a 3rd option to the last question I'd have thought that very little would change, at least initially. People will stick to what is familiar and comfortable even if they dont have a reason for it any more, and their viewpoint will then slowly be modified. Morals are something that is given and used to define proper behaviour within society, and biblical morality has already been modified throughout history as appropriate. For example the old testament used to say you should go a bowshot from the city walls and dig a pit to relive yourself into. That got superseded by the advent of indoor plumbing.... In the same way the loss of their god or religion won't I think make that much difference to people's moral code, and to those fanatics who use it to perpetrate some of the more outrageous things, I suspect it may improve matters.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfish1936 Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Many Greek philosophers lectured on morals without Bibles, Jesus' words or Islam's teachings. Socrates, of course, was the most annoying one, because when someone answers him that morality is what pleases the gods, he examines the stories of the "Greek gods" and shows that what pleases one god may displease another. (At least, that's what Plato tells of him -- might not be true!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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