What is ethics without religion?

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   Fastianposted 12 years ago

   What is ethics without religion?
   
   Without the concept of Heaven & Hell what motivates us to do good or bad?

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   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   Hello Fastian,
            I truly believe from my studies of the bible that there is a heaven and a hell. This is why Jesus Christ died on the cross for all's sin, so that we may be saved from hell. To be saved from hell, we must accept his sacrifice into our hearts and strive to do what is pleasing to God. Notice I said Strive. We are still sinful bodies in the flesh, but our souls are covered in the blood of Jesus in which saves our souls to heaven for eternity. God has given us free will to accept Jesus or deny him. Those who deny him will have to face the consequences.

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      Andy McGuireposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think Jesus died on the cross because he was kind of crazy and went around telling the Romans that he was the son of their God, which they did not take kindly to. I will say that Jesus did have the best PR team of all time though.

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      Livingtwentyfirstposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      True.Jesus is God and he died to save mankind.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It wasn't the Romans who were threatened by Jesus Christ. It was the Jewish people who had Jesus sacrificed.

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   MickSposted 12 years ago

   Ethics is ethics, it has no need of religion,.  Are you suggesting that people cannot behave correctly without some religion waving big sticks over them?

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      Fastianposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      We have formed rights, duties &  laws to co-exist peacefully. If violated there's punishment in this world. I wanted to ask about those things which do not carry punishment here such as lying. Why an atheist won't lie when there's no heaven for h

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      MickSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If you were refering to lying why didn't you say; this is a very broad question. An Atheist or any one else does'nt need religion not to lie. Your implication is that Atheist are liars as there is no reward for speaking the truth in Atheism.

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      Fastianposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't mean that. Atheist I used just as an example. Take any man for instance who doesn't accept Heaven. What makes him do good deeds? Whatever it is would be precious for it makes him much better than many believers.

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      CrescentSkiesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Some people are just good by nature. I personally don't need a book written by man or presumably by god to tell me what's right and wrong, I understand it simply by looking around me and knowing what hurts others and what does not.

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   Seek-n-Findposted 12 years ago

   Ethics without religion--beliefs without an institution.  Enter:  relativism.  But I will reframe the question entirely:
   
   I would like to advocate that heaven and hell are not good motivators to do good or bad, at all.  One is fear of punishment, and the other is "good" for reward. 
   
   What if people did good because at their core, they were created to be good? What if people realize that sin and evil are more like a virus--a disease with a cure--rather than a part of who they are? 
   
   What if "good" becomes their identity, and through relationship with Love, they become freed and released to become who they were always meant to be?  And what if all the doing--all the good--came from a place of being, rather than doing? 
   
   We love because He first loved us.
   
   Motivation makes all the difference.

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   manatita44posted 12 years ago

   A moral code is a code by which we live our lives. Without it society would crumble. Having people to protect us, e.g., the police, is a form of moral code. It is always set by us as humans, as is right and wrong. Dharma is the inner code and is set by God. So seen from a certain standpoint, they are different.
   However, this creation is God's and He runs it well with all that it needs for its function. The moral code is ultimately also a part of it. Still, we can say that religion or spirituality is the inner science that teaches us how to know God, and morals are instructions that helps us to keep our society or world together.

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   Kristeenposted 12 years ago

   Love for God is my motivation. I am confident that I am saved by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. Apart from that I strive to serve Him and reflect His love to those around me. Because of my sinfulness there are times when I fail and don't do so well at it, but at the end of each day I can go to Jesus for forgiveness, strength and guidance. Love comes from God. When we love God we naturally reflect His love to others.

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   Mike Marksposted 12 years ago

   we should do good for goodness sake... not for a reward or to avoid a punishment... would you burn a child if you thought you would receive citizenship in paradise for doing so?  Would you save a child if you thought you would receive everlasting pain inr return?  There's a firemen who has received many years of pain, a melted face, alienation, throbs and aches, because he chose to run into a daycare and save three children, would he do it again?  Good acts are meaningless if you do them only to profit.  Ethics is the simple understanding that harming others is wrong, and helping others is right, and the question of how much of your own happiness should compromised in order to help or not help others.  Religion has nothing to do with it.  Jesus went to the cross supposedly knowing full well he would be healed and beautiful again after three days.  Was his sacrifice even in the same ballpark as that fireman who knew his burns would last all the rest of the days and years of his life?  And were they both not motivated to accept the consequences for the sake of helping others, only the fireman's consequences were so much more severe...

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   CrescentSkiesposted 12 years ago

   Well I actually ask this question to a lot of people who try and push their faith on me. "How are you a better person than me if I'm doing the right thing because I want to do the right thing and you're doing the right thing because you're scared of getting burned for all eternity?"
   
   The funny thing is that a lot of people on this planet are simply good people, we do the right thing because we enjoy doing the right thing. Religion does not equal ethics, religion does however provide a guideline of ethics for people who can't figure it out on their own.
   
   That's part of the reason why, as an atheist, I will never attempt to push my lack of religion onto others. One of them might be one of the types that are only kept in line by fear of fire and brimstone not because they simply are good people.

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   Andy McGuireposted 12 years ago

   Why do you have to bring religion into ethical behavior? I don't believe in magical virgin births, great floods, or that Jesus was a guy with super powers, yet I do not go around kicking puppies, stabbing hobos, organizing human trafficking rings, cheating on my taxes, or stealing senior citizens' pain meds.
   Ethics can be belief-based, but there is zero evidence to support that they are mutually exclusive.
   
   
   Also, how do you account for the ethics of the ones that absolutely do believe, with every fiber of their being, then crash a few 747s into skyscrapers?
   This is a rhetorical question by the way, I don't actually care about any rebuttals; just food for thought.

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    dghbrhposted 12 years ago

    Ethics can be strong in life even keeping aside the religious believe. Ethics may be applied in all simple things in life about what a person feels and his attitude is always influenced by his ethics. But all simple decision may not be so influenced by religious thoughts. Though religion influences ethics to a great extant.
    The concept of heaven and hell may not motivate us for good or bad. Heaven and hell can be here where we are living just now. But good and bad is a relative term. One thing which is good can be bad from the other side of the chair in many occasions. So the responsibility, upbringing, believe, trust, attitude toward life can well influence and very effectively motivate us to do good or bad.
    Thank you.

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       Livingtwentyfirstposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I think there is no ethics without religion.Religion is the fibre that holds ethics.Religion is what we strongly believe in.Ethics itself stems from our strong belief in others and in the fact that being good is beneficial.ethics is born of religion

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