Question:
Atheists, how do you know the difference between right and wrong without the Bible?
Wayne
2013-01-21 00:05:55 UTC
The Bible is a great moral pillar of our society. Without it people would be out murdering, raping and doing God awful kinds of things by their millions on a daily basis. It truly would be Hell on Earth. You may question the authenticity of the Bible (even though natural evolution is quackery re: Ben Stein), but you can't question its effectiveness as a method of social control.

A world without The Bible does not bear thinking about. We certainly would not be having this discussion right now as technology would be non-existant. It would be a world of savages, or a heavily repressed world like North Korea.

Atheists, face the facts. We need the Bible.
27 answers:
Bast
2013-01-21 00:16:17 UTC
When you went to breakfast today after church did you stone your waitress to death for working on the Sabbath? If not, you obviously don't get your morals from the Bible/know the "morals" in the Bible are sh*t. Atheists know this too, and are perfectly capable of knowing right from wrong without the Bible, just as you obviously are.
Morgana Yellen
2013-01-24 16:46:44 UTC
1. As someone else said I'm not a sociopath.

#2. I've never read the whole Bible but I've read parts of it and in it there is so many bad things in there. It isn't like the Bible is so pure and free of evil.

#3. Just because you don't believe the Bible doesn't mean you don't have morals. Just because I don't believe in God doesn't mean I'm going to go shoot some people when I'm done with this question.

#4. A lot of evil COMES from religion. For example, the Holocaust, Hitler was anti-Jew, an easy target to blame. If we all were people of science and fact he would have a different target. (probably not the best example.) IN 2011 there were about 16 thousand hate crimes. About 21 percent was sexual orientation based hate crimes and about 20 percent was religion based crimes. The Bible says many times that gayness is bad. Religion based is self-explanatory. Now I'm not blaming JUST or ALL Christians here. I'm blaming religion. Think how many crimes could be prevented if there was no religion.
?
2013-01-21 02:22:05 UTC
"No religious basis is needed to display ethical behavior." Everyone learns morals at a young age. In fact you're bound by your beliefs to do what is right. Christians hate gays, don't allow abortion for rape victims or contraception for no reason except their bible says so.



"Morality is doing what is right no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told no matter what is right."



Seriously when are you guys going to get it into your heads that you can have morals without religion.



'Technology would be non-existent without the bible.' We didn't make big advancements until the power of the church was taken away in the sixteenth century. Then people were allowed to make discoveries without being persecuted. If it hadn't been for the reformation taking away the power of the church there would be no modern technology.If there had been no religion we would be hundreds of years more advanced.



The fact that North Korea is oppressed has nothing to do with the fact that it's atheist. It's because their leader is evil. Gadaffi was a Muslim. The Syrian dictator is religious. Kony is a Christian. A world without the bible would be one where people would be free to do what they want without having to listen to stupid rules that make no sense in the 21st century.



Face the facts. We don't. I live a moral life and I don't need to be told by an out of date book.
evirustheslaye
2013-01-21 03:56:06 UTC
Right and wrong as dictated by the bible can be an extremely vile thing if you've actually seen what most of it says, Christians typically arguing that their morality comes from the bible jettison the bad parts of the bible as allegory or "morality for a specific era/context". It's obvious that these people are using some source of morality external from the bible and subconsciously assigning the bible as the source for lack of a better explanation.



Think about it this way, there are many moral cultures throughout history that have never known the bible.
M.M.
2013-01-21 00:33:06 UTC
You ask a big question there. I will try to cover as much as possible.



We cannot say what the world would be like without the bible or with for that matter. I know that there to this day are small tribal groups that do not have access to the bible. Recently another was discovered by "modern man". Now this one group for example. They are alive of coarse and must be reproducing or surviving and they have no bible. One could say they were doing it better than those who have a bible? They cannot even print a page and we could not even find them. Yet they exist in a world with an nuclear bomb. If you look at it if there was ever such a thing as winning. I think they did it. I believe it says in the bible that if you are to young to know God you go to heaven? Would these people fall under this group? I know it also said not sure if I the bible but I church institution that people must be found and told of God so they are saved. This may be a law/rule to increase the missionary work that the church is well known for.



I do not know if the bible is really the greatest moral pillar for our society either In fact the majority of mans blood shed and most current wars are based in the conflict of varied moral beliefs:interpretations of the bible.



As I address you question I am noticing that it seems to be based more on one sided comments more than thought out ideas.



You say natural evolutions is quackery. But as we speak the bible itself is undergoing another evolution or version of it self. Not to mention so is human kind and our world species for that matter. Why do you draw a separation between evolution and God? Could not evolution just be a process that it of God. Like gravity? Magnetism, and matter?

These things exist and can from some where. I I understand you would say God? So why not evolution to? In the bible there is an evolution of man from Adam and Eve to beyond you and me. The most obvious change is the life span of man. There is cultural and religious law evolution processes described in the bible as well.



I can't help but notice that the basis for your question isn't one from someone who is walking with God but one who is looking to create strife and depredation of thoughts.



The largest example is the fact that you call out Atheist and single them out over everyone else. Why not Buddhists? Or Satanist? You have a unsupported hatred to Atheists that may have been given to you through propaganda and you need to stop and change that before it gets out of hand.



Who is to say that God didn't create Atheists as well?



The bible exists an those things you say are bad happen still. A lot.



The bible exists in Korea... They know of the bible as well.



If God is love and wants you to follow in his path. How are you doing that with you false statement disguised as a question.



May God be with you on your travels.
Harkness
2013-01-21 00:44:19 UTC
You make a really great point. History proves that before the Bible came along, humans lived like savages in heavily repressed societies like North Korea. With no technology and millennia of rampant murdering, raping, and doing god awful things on a daily basis, it's a wonder the human races survived so long before the Bible came along.
auntb93
2013-01-21 00:09:53 UTC
I do indeed question the Bible's effectiveness as a method of social control. Also its moral efficacy in such a role.



The reason I can be moral without the Bible is that morality is a human trait, and not merely a religious one. I could go into a lot of detail, but there are probably several hundred books on the shelves of the local library that do it better. Here's my summation:



Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told.

Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.
?
2013-01-21 00:46:26 UTC
Your Bible actually encourages murder, rape, genocide, and a heap of other ugly things. It is used to justify the worst crimes there are. A world without the Bible can be seen in action – in Scandinavian countries which are overwhelmingly atheist, yet are the most peaceful and have the highest standards of living on the planet.
Garrett
2013-01-21 00:13:17 UTC
no we don't....only 53% of america takes any stock in the bible so if you were right then EVERYONE in america would be being raped murdered and other such things all day every day. logic and common sense work just fine as a moral guide for me tyvm. now tell me HOW THE **** do you get off claiming the bible is responsible for what science has accomplished? 97% of scientists ARE ATHEISTS.
anonymous
2013-01-21 00:29:53 UTC
"We need the Bible."

YOU need bibel...



“How could the biblical authors, who were said to have been so close to God and what he knew, have been so ignorant.”



“Just think how insightful a book that actually came from a Creator would be...

Beautiful mathematics, comprehensive laws of physics, clear biology, consistent morality and ethics among other gems.



Instead we get a bizarre book on talking snakes, burning bushes, slaves, neolithic philosophy and a strange preoccupation with everyone's sex life”.



Quite frankly, if you need the carrot and stick idea of heaven and hell to behave, then you're not a moral person at all; you're a sociopath leashed by fear and self-interest.

~
SH
2013-01-21 00:24:28 UTC
In Genesis God created man in His image. One of the attributes of one of those images is we have with us to know the difference between right and wrong. Even the unsaved have this knowledge to know the difference between right and wrong. So why do we not practice this and do the right thing? Because we are born with a sin nature because of Adam and Eve, we have free will and God says the heart is wicked.



You are right, we do need the word of God because it is God's letter to us to know about our Savior, and yes there are bad things in the bible, but the bible is also a record of depraved mankind. The law was given to show that we could not keep the law, we need to be redeemed by Jesus to restore our relationship with God.
?
2013-01-21 00:13:54 UTC
The Bible talks about how non-Christians have God's law written in their hearts even if they aren't aware of it --- that they obey God's law even if they don't recognize that it is God's law (see the book of Romans) But there is a saying that i heard that i think articulates any person's understanding of right and wrong, "Knowing what is right and wrong is not complicted --- what hurts people and what doesn't."
?
2013-01-21 00:08:28 UTC
My own judgement for what is good or bad based on my empathic look at society...I look at how I would want to be treated and how I would hate for my things to be stolen, or to be hurt...I can also look at your bible and see that book was devoid of any true morality...it was all about obedience in a god that did evil things.
?
2013-01-21 09:35:21 UTC
Then why do non-Christian/Judaic societies also view murder as wrong? Why is the murder rate in Japan one of the lowest in the world? Why do amazonian tribes with next to no contact with western civilisation have sanctions against rape?
?
2013-01-21 00:12:21 UTC
there is no right bible. The bible belongs on the book shelf in between the horror and fantasy books. I you call murder,incest and hate a great thing to follow then more fool you
Scottish Buddha
2013-01-21 00:42:48 UTC
you do know that most of the stuff condoned by the bible is actually illegal in the modern civilised world. So trust me when I say, my morals are far better than anything even suggested by the bible.
anonymous
2013-01-21 00:07:36 UTC
I just turn to Numbers 31: 17 whenever I need a few extra morals.
The Grim
2013-01-21 00:23:10 UTC
Ever heard of the dark ages? People used to kill "witches" and scientists in the name of God and this was mostly practiced by priests and religious people.

I swear if the dark age wasn't there, we would have had rockets taking nincompoops to Uranus by now and I'd be going to Pigfarts.
sprite
2013-01-21 00:08:05 UTC
LOL! Morality and ethics are beyond your 'bible'. In fact, christians are wrong many times because they rely on the bible. ie: the poor treatment of women (according to the bible, women are considered property); slavery; incest are some things in your bible which are WRONG!
anonymous
2013-01-21 11:10:22 UTC
Common sence. its bad to steal, its bad to kill, its bad to cheat. its funny if you look at countrys with no athiests its acttually alot more violent. when i do something wrong i have to make it right to not feel guilty i dont just try to pray for forgiveness . if i were to kill someone i would have to live with the guilt for the rest of my days, where as if a religous man does it he can just pray for forgiveness and he doesnt feel guilty anymore. THATS ****** UP
?
2013-01-21 00:09:20 UTC
atheist

no longer reading the bible

not murdering

not raping

not a savage

argument invalidated
anonymous
2013-01-21 00:08:15 UTC
actually my dear friend. the bible was made by people who wanted other people to believe in their ideal religion. and most of the things it talks about like Adam and eve. are nonsense.
Double Trouble plus one
2013-01-21 00:22:23 UTC
You're trying to tell me, that without the bible - human kind wouldn't know that murder/rape is WRONG?!?!?!?!?!



You are very naive!!!!

PMSL
anonymous
2013-01-21 00:10:14 UTC
Since you seem to be a moral compas then you tell me? The question is dumb.
?
2013-01-21 00:13:19 UTC
For god-fearing religions, the only reason to be moral is the child's concept of morality — be good or you will be punished. For healthy non-believers, we can see that altruistic behavior and morality grow out of the knowledge that making others happy makes us happy.



How do you know the difference between right and wrong WITH the Bible. The Bible endorses genocide, slavery, rape, incest, human and animal sacrifice (i.e. Jesus and ritual sacrifice of animals), and many other evils. People often pick out what they think is good and ignore the bad.



Even the mythical Jesus in the Bible is not a good source of morality:



Matthew 10:34

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."



Matthew 10:35-36

"For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man's enemies will be the members of his own household."



Luke 12:49-53

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."



Luke 14:26

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple."



John 15:6

"If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."



Matthew 18:25

"But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made."



Matthew 24:45-51

"Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.



Luke 12:42-48

And the Lord [Jesus] said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants [slaves], to give them their rations at the proper time? "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."
relaxification
2013-01-21 00:11:45 UTC
You're not worth the paper you're printed on.
Galactus
2013-01-21 00:06:33 UTC
Easy: I'm not a sociopath.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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