“It always amazes me that people feel they need some invisible sky daddy in order be good, to know right from wrong. I already feel what is right or wrong, ...”
Where did you get the sense to “feel” in your heart right from wrong? How do you “know” the difference? It is not cultural, because all humans sense the “natural law” despite their cultures. The natural law is imprinted on their hearts by Him who created us.
For example: All men “know” in their hearts that it is wrong to kill innocent life. True, some may sere their consciences from the natural deterrent; but from where does this innate sense of morality (natural law) find its prime mover, its FIRST CAUSE?
You are being intellectually dishonest if you think man determined the natural law by his own intellect or of his own volition. The world around us is evidence of that much.
“From what I have seen and experienced, the religious are meaner than atheist/agnostics.”
Then I would guess that your life experience is very limited, your knowledge of world history is rather shallow, or else you are very naive. And, here I will remark only of the Christian Creed: being “religious” is not equivalent to “practicing” the tenets of the Christian Faith.
Explaining away the biological, psychological and sociological influences to what makes us “moral”, with, “God made us this way”, is the simple way of looking at everything. Some people do not feel this need, and they take interest in exploring life, a zest that takes them places they never thought of, it is a fun and amazing world! More so than, “God did it.”
You wrote: “Then I would guess that your life experience is very limited, your knowledge of world history is rather shallow, or else you are very naive. And, here I will remark only of the Christian Creed: being “religious” is not equivalent to “practicing” the tenets of the Christian Faith.”
My life experiences have helped to form me as the person I’am today. I have traveled extensively, lived and met with many people of many faiths and cultures. I will never know everything and that is fine with me, because it gives me a life time of exploration and fun.