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being good through desire or fear...
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does being good only because your religion tells you to because you wont get to heaven etc if you dont - and therefore is through fear rather than actually wanting to be good - count as genuine goodness...?
are some religious people therefore not 'truly' good in the heart and soul, seeing as theyre just following orders...?
so are the people who are not at all religious yet good of heart and soul because they want to be, the real saints iin the world?
obviously i mean SOME, not all...
are some religious people therefore not 'truly' good in the heart and soul, seeing as theyre just following orders...?
so are the people who are not at all religious yet good of heart and soul because they want to be, the real saints iin the world?
obviously i mean SOME, not all...
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Sounds a bit like Clockwork Orange - can you 'be good' if it's involuntary?
The thing is I'm not sure what 'being good' is. (As opposed to 'doing good'.)
If you're nice to your neighbours, is that real altruism, or because you hope your neighbours will be nice to you in return?
If you give to a cancer charity, is it really disinterested, or is there some thought in the back of your mind that cancer could affect anyone... therefore it could affect me... therefore it makes sense to give to the charity because I might need it some day?
The thing is I'm not sure what 'being good' is. (As opposed to 'doing good'.)
If you're nice to your neighbours, is that real altruism, or because you hope your neighbours will be nice to you in return?
If you give to a cancer charity, is it really disinterested, or is there some thought in the back of your mind that cancer could affect anyone... therefore it could affect me... therefore it makes sense to give to the charity because I might need it some day?
There are countless non-believers who, quietly and without expectation of reward, do a great deal of good in this world because they genuinely care about their fellow man. I think people who truly believe in eternal punishment do feel compelled to 'be good' and often to 'do good', whether that comes naturally to them or not. Just the other day someone said he was scared of not having done enough good things in this life to get to heaven, so he's clearly under some pressure - and I know a Christian who firmly believes she is going to heaven, but admits she helps people so that they will like her. Maybe she thinks her God will be hoodwinked too.
I used to go to catholic school, they used to put the fear of god into everyone, if you whistled, or misbehaved, you made mary/jesus cry, if you told lies your soul would go black, confession was a regular thing, I used to feel obliged to make up sins because the priest seemed to think there was more than what i actually confessed to.
its quite scary when i look back at it now
its quite scary when i look back at it now
You could argue that every act is ultimately selfish whether it's prompted by religious obligation or just the sense of having a moral obligation.
What I mean is that when we do a good deed, it's either because it makes us feel good about ourselves, or because we know we'd feel bad if we didn't do it. Either way, there's a reward in it for us somewhere.
Only a robot can be truly selfless.
What I mean is that when we do a good deed, it's either because it makes us feel good about ourselves, or because we know we'd feel bad if we didn't do it. Either way, there's a reward in it for us somewhere.
Only a robot can be truly selfless.
Carakeel has posted certain things on here before I believe about the things that happened to her at the hands of Nuns and Priest's whilst in a Catholic boarding school, if there is a Hell, I truly would like these nuns and priests to rot there for an eternity!!
While visiting a monastery in Greece as we walked through the main gates we were confronted by a load of Monks stoning a dog that had wandered through the gates, if it wasn't for the fear of arrest in a foreign country I would have thrown every stone back at the Monks.
And many Christians think they have a monopoly on Morals, they make me sick!!
While visiting a monastery in Greece as we walked through the main gates we were confronted by a load of Monks stoning a dog that had wandered through the gates, if it wasn't for the fear of arrest in a foreign country I would have thrown every stone back at the Monks.
And many Christians think they have a monopoly on Morals, they make me sick!!
It's not just Christians who think they have a monopoly on morals, Ratter. ;o)
I read a post this morning from a Christian about another ABer that was clearly a deliberate misrepresentation - and not nice at all - and it happens frequently, particularly when the subject happens to be a non-believer. Fortunately, someone else picked up on it and set the record straight. A Christian conscience? What conscience?
I read a post this morning from a Christian about another ABer that was clearly a deliberate misrepresentation - and not nice at all - and it happens frequently, particularly when the subject happens to be a non-believer. Fortunately, someone else picked up on it and set the record straight. A Christian conscience? What conscience?
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