How does an atheist know right from wrong?

[Zyke]

If christians use God's laws as a moral compass, what do atheists use to guide their moral belief? How do they know what is right and wrong? Why do they follow any laws at all?

I am just seeking some knowledge to help me understand.

[LeGrande]

you explain the Biblical command to "love your enemy"? That rule doesn't seem to "work" from a common sense or practical point of view. It is a radical idea and one that I feel cannot be explained by experience alone. Hence, I must disagree with your assessment that religion is a compilation of "helpful hints to live by".

Why is "love your enemy" any more a radical concept than thou shalt not murder? The Taoists believe that we are all "ONE", that goes way beyond loving your enemy. Love is a powerful force, maybe more powerful than hate. The phrase "love your enemy" is a simple recognition of that power.

[xzins]

How about "what happens happens?"

Whatever

[Zeroisanumber]

The Buddhists, I don't know, except their cosmology doesn't seem to involve a Creator.

Buddhists are agnostic on the matter of reincarnation or an afterlife. They're mostly dedicated to living a balanced life here on Earth.

[LeGrande]

I think religions really started from mans attempt to control and understand the world around him...and then a shaman realising that their was something to be gained by convincing others that you knew stuff that they didn't know.

I think there is an impulse in many people to be led, to not make the tough decisions and not be responsible for the bad decisions. Religion and government fill both the need some people have for power and control and others to be led : )

[xzins]

Morals are premised on God because they are premised on ultimate meaning.

Without God there is no ultimate meaning to anything....simply little, local, self-created meanings.

[dangus]

>> Which are the atheist societies that existed? <<

I'm gonna tell you right away I've been worn out by atheist apologists trying to explain that Stalinist Russia wasn't truly atheist, but any society which ever had any Christians in it is representative of Christianity no matter how anti-Christian its leaders were. Been there, done that, barfed it up.

Since it's not obvious to you which societies have been athiestic, I'm a little defensive. Please excuse me if that wasn't where you were going.

The following are leaders who have founded various nation states and boldly asserted the falseness of religion and who massacred millions of innocents:
HO CHI MINH
MAO TSE TUNG
KIM IL SUNG
POL POT
FIDEL CASTRO
VLADIMIR LENIN
NAPOLEON
NICOLAE CEAUSESCU
MARSHAL TITO

In addition, several world leaders have been personally atheist, but have been disavowed by atheists on the basis that they manipulated religious groups, including:
ADOLF HITLER
SADDAM HUSSEIN

Several world governments have been created which are not explicitly atheistic, and have not demonstrated the extreme levels of terror as certain atheistic governments, but which have actively suppressed religion, including:
THE FIFTH REPUBLIC OF FRANCE
THE UNITED STATES OF MEXICO

[js1138]

I disagree that atheists necessarily look to utility. I do not consider myself an atheist, but I am sometimes called one, because I do not base my behavior on expectations of reward or punishment.

I have a family for reasons that have nothing to do with religion. I love my family and other people for reasons that have nothing to do with religion.

I look to religion not for motivation, but for the council of thousands of years of experience. Loving and being good are not simple.

[Gingersnap]

"I disagree that atheists necessarily look to utility. I do not consider myself an atheist, but I am sometimes called one, because I do not base my behavior on expectations of reward or punishment."

Oh, I never said they all did; that was one of several options.

I don't see why anyone would label you as an atheist on that basis. I'm a Christian but I don't believe that works will affect my final destination one bit. Now, if you have expressed a disbelief in God, I can see where that would get you the atheist label.

[dangus]

Oh, Right Whale brings up a good point mentionning China. It was actually China I had in mind when I carefully worded, "modern, atheistic societies."

Chinese Buddhism is not inherently religious, and historically, a large portion of the Buddhist population could be described as atheist. While Buddhist China has been the site of the world's worst genocides, I concede that in the case of China, the spread of Bhuddism and the initial control of China did not depend on the genocides.

But it is still good to remember that semi-atheist, Bhuddist China was, in fact, the site of what is by far the world's most horrific genocide, when, in the late Middle Ages, the Chinese Emporer literally engaged in a war on poverty, wiping out nearly 5% of the entire planet's population. (In today's terms, that would be 300 million.)

[LeGrande]

Morals are premised on God because they are premised on ultimate meaning.

Without God there is no ultimate meaning to anything....simply little, local, self-created meanings.

If men discover absolute meaning (like the unified field theory) will that prove that there is no God? According to your logic it would : )

Each advancement displaces what it is built upon and sometimes that is painful.

[LeGrande]

Is the US a religious government? And if it is, what or who is its god?

[discostu]

Yeah it does, one of the keys to a healthy society is the ability to forgive and move on, putting the past where it belongs and moving towards the future together. A fine example is the US and UK, we fought two wars against the UK to win our independance and since then they have been our best ally and both nations have benefited from it, we have loved our enemy and been made stronger because of it.

[FormerLib]

And thus the concept of a "Just war."

[xzins]

I'll be waiting.

[Zyke]

I just want to learn a little more about how one lives morally without the existence of God. In today's society we learn from others in society.

Is God being phased out of societies moral compass? It seems so.

Some want to make sure that God has less of an impact on our lives.

[zahal724]

You're nuts. She's making a point. If you ever read her essays you would know that. She's part serious, but you have to realize that its fiction (come on! perpetual motion motors! talk about sci-fi). You also need to read The Fountainhead. She has the hero blow up a building. She doesnt really think ppl should blow up buildings, its just a point.

PS Any present tense should prolly be past tense.

[Protagoras]

objectivism and Ayn Rand is the way I do it.

LOL, Atlas Shrugged as the bible, and St. Ayn as the giver of the word. LOL

[RightWhale]

The branch of Atheist Existential philosophers had expected to come into complete agreement with Theist Existential philosophers excepting the existence of God. That is, there would be no difference in the area of ethics regardless of the starting point.

[zahal724]

uh uh. The Fountainhead is the Torah, and Atlas Shrugged is the New Testament. Ayn is God. lol

[Protagoras]

You will get a chance to try that gag out at a date in the future. I'm guessing it won't be a knee slapper then. But time will tell.