I came across this video, where Comfort and young Hovind discuss their proclivities and desires toward criminal and sociopathic behaviors if it were not for their religion.
My question is this, how many Christians and people of various faiths here at CF would be tempted to commit crimes and exhibit sociopathic behavior if you didn't have your belief in a deity to restrain you?
That's a silly video. Depends on the person I suppose. I used to be pretty involved in certain things before Christianity, but then I'm not saying now that I realize things are better this way if I went back would I be involved in certain activities? Hard to say. Depends now that I'm in college and have gotten my life back to where it should be (Long story don't ask.) It's hard to imagine having the time of day or the need.
My question is this, how many Christians and people of various faiths here at CF would be tempted to commit crimes and exhibit sociopathic behavior if you didn't have your belief in a deity to restrain you?
Does that include speeding? I was sometimes tempted before I was an atheist, temped some more as an atheist, and tempted again when I returned to theism. Maybe it was the 68 Camaro?
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Most people used to be a wilder when they were younger, so it's not surprising that conversion and deconversion stories alike often end with "...and I'm a better person now". Post hoc ergo propter hoc abound.
Anyway, I do believe that a tiny minority of christians would be awful people without their religion. I think religion can help control certain types of individuals. On the other hand, religion can bring out the worst of other types.
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Here is a reminder of the OP's question:
My question is this, how many Christians and people of various faiths here at CF would be tempted to commit crimes and exhibit sociopathic behavior if you didn't have your belief in a deity to restrain you?
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You mean like siding with the PLO against Israel, genetic engineering, abortion, adultery, fornication, or slavery?
Those sorts of things?
So you're saying that the only reason you side with Israel is because God wants you to and the if one were to only look at secular facts they would side with the PLO?
The thread title got me interested, because I often do think of how sociopaths and psychopaths fit in Christianity, but the video itself was a bit meh.
Anti-social Behaviour like psychopathy, and I suppose sociopathy, is increasingly being accepted as a disorder, like a learning disorder, except instead of intelligence, it's empathy they're lacking. So a person with that problem doesn't actually understand why anyone cares about what it is they're doing. Their brain is different.
I question whether the men in the video were actually sociopaths, but I do wonder if there are Christian sociopaths/psychopaths and how they deal with that.
In all honesty, people with or without Christianity can behave in a society and conform to the rules, but Christianity is more than a list of rules to follow.