As with so many believers, you think your faith qualifies you to define morality.
What qualifies me to decide FOR MYSELF what such a work is is what qualifies you FOR YOURSELF to determine such a thing.
You don't really need me to spell it out for you.
It is impossible to accept the Bible as a ‘great book of morals’ and in the same breath deny its ‘holiness’.
Morality and holiness are two different things. It's really that simple. I can believe in the value of Jesus' moral teachings without thinking they come down from an unseen God--why is that so difficult to understand?
I don't expect you to BELIEVE as I do, but I don't see why you can't UNDERSTAND my position. Why is that so frightening to believers?
The self-righteousness of believers thinking only they get to determine morality--through belief in something THEY believe in that someone else may not--is not surprising.
Morals can flow from religious belief, but all your name calling doesn't mean YOU are the one who gets to decide for ME what *I* see as moral or immoral.
You or anyone else who flames me can search my posts going years back. Sure, I get into flaming back and forth sometimes, but I am on the whole very respectful towards believers. I expect only the same in return about my beliefs--even if they are not in your god.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
God's word defines morality. I choose to follow His Word and choose to (attempt) to follow His moral code. Not my moral code - God's moral code. My faith is in God, but that does not imply I get to push my faith or His morals on you and never did. Please don't confuse all that.
Self righteousness? For you to say this here provides more info than may be realized....could write tons here.
Self righteousness has nothing to do with attempting to follow God's moral code - rather submitting to His moral code! If someone claims to be in submission to God and at the same time is self righteous......RUN!
If anyone is self righteous, they are the ones who deny they are the created. They do in fact - stand and rely on their own “self” for all things (well who else is there, then?). That....is self righteousness....but I'll bet you do find that surprising.
I don't determine morality on my own - I go with what God's word says.
I'm very curious as to how the Bible can be a ‘great book of morals’, and from your view, not be given by God to men to write, yet these men some how had a reasonable sense of morality.(?) (And oh by the way - you seem to think they are ‘ok’ morals some how?) (It is good tho, that you have read some of the Bible at least!)
This begs the question again that no one is too eager to answer....is where did any or all this morality come from, if not from God? It did not crawl up on a beach. It did not come to being by a billion years of some if-then-else cancellation process.
I'm not asking you to change your morals, I want you to tell me historically how the first decision between good and evil came to pass? Tell me where the very first thought of good and evil came from in human history.
The ‘holiness’ factor I mentioned is in ‘God given’ versus just a bunch of books written by men that happen to contain someone’s version of ‘morals’.
One of the big points here that is apparently not getting across - is that all of you who claim there is no God, and who are adamantly opposed to the idea of submitting to a higher power - need to be able to explain where morals, morale, good and evil knowledge came from.
I don't need to hear of your views of how life began. You can argue all day about big bangs, amoebas, beach scenes and monkeys - but I personally want you all to explain in detail where and how the human mind - uniquely - ‘developed’ knowledge of good and evil. And again, instinct does not apply.
thank you.