Morality without God

Strathos

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@Strathos


I'm also curious.

I don't know if you meant to tag me, but to elaborate on my answer:

Basically, I think the question is poorly framed. If you ask an atheist if they are 'moral', they will likely say yes, and that's because they're defining 'morality' from a godless worldview, which is different from how we define it. So really, when they use the word 'morality' they are talking something completely different than we are when we use it.

Obviously, if the question is 'Can an atheist be moral qua Christian morality', the answer is no, but some atheists might claim that a Christian cannot be moral according to whatever standard of morality they follow.

So the real question to be asking is 'Which system of morality is superior/correct'. For an answer to that, I'd go with the one established by the Creator of the universe.
 
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Euodius

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No, the person without God does not exist. His existence is standing out from God. Insofar as a person is moral, it is by the grace of God.

Dostoyevsky wrote well on this topic. A man who rejects God stands logically incoherent in regard to morality and anything goes.
 
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eleos1954

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Can you be moral without God?

Yes, but there are different types of "morality".

The word moral:
a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do.

There is divine morality - standards, behavior or beliefs set forth by God the creator.

Social morality, that is, what smooths and benefits the function of society ... and this type of morality varies from person to person and comes from various sources ie cultural, tradition, philosophy etc.

Each person chooses what is or isn't "moral" (right behavior), some choices may be "in line" with divine morality, some not.

Morality is an individual viewpoint ... either based on God the creator setting the ultimate standard(s) ... or something else ... the something else(s) is set by self (outside of the divine)

Ultimate standard of measurement .... God or self
 
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jamesbond007

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Can you be moral without God?

What did God write first in the Bible? The Ten Commandments. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God and the last six commandments deal with our relationships with one another.

ten-commandments.jpg


Thus, one cannot be moral without God. We live in a fallen world.
 
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Kris Jordan

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So humans are inherently evil without the influence of God?

Humans are sinners by nature with wicked hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) and wouldn't be in existence without God, so "evil without God" isn't an option, in that sense. :)
 
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JacksBratt

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Can you be moral without God?
Of course you can. We have the morality of God written on our hearts.. in our DNA.. We still have the sinful nature that causes us to sin..
Our knowledge of what is right and wrong is what our guilt is based on.
 
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Halbhh

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Can you be moral without God?
Generally the answer is Yes -- of course! .... Mostly. ;-)

But....it depends on whether you mean "moral" in just the everyday sense of the word usually meant in a typical American sense...

...or instead something more profound...such as actually loving an enemy, that kind of thing that can create lasting peace and harmony, peace that isn't only an armistice, and to create that lasting real peace where it looked impossible to get that true peace and harmony.

I actually tried to do "love your enemy" as an experiment when a non-believer, and it was extremely difficult to even try to do, taking a lot of imaginative work ahead of time (since the instruction there isn't just 'tolerate your enemy' or 'refrain from striking your enemy' or such, but something vastly more difficult....) , and I could only get part way there for about 30 seconds, and then felt weak and wobbly for quite a while after. (but...that 30 seconds totally changed that relationship in a jaw dropping way!)

So, it's pretty much just impossible without some kind of profound change and aid, is my experience (if one means actual, real love by the word 'love' in the instruction "love your enemy").
 
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Faithfulheart43

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The convincing is Gods' job, ours is only to preach the Gospel.
I think rather it is Satan's job to do the convincing, and God's job is already done in that we have been made in his image and already have a moral compass placed in our DNA.
 
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Credos4Christ

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Well, before we can get to the meat of the conversation, we have to define "morality".

It seems to me most of us are in agreement that morality is the distinction between what is necessarily "good" and "evil", "right" and "wrong", "just" and "unjust", and so forth.

From this premise comes the next part of the argument: who defines morality?

If we assume a lack of existence in God, then there can't be morality, as nothing exists to define it for us. Without God, morality simply becomes a socially-constructed, mutable thing, vulnerable to the faults of human beings. At any time, murder can be universally justified, as theft, jealousy, adultery and other immoral behaviors.

But, as it turns out, the "moral but not religious" camp draws their conclusions of right and wrong from God. Without God or, at least, a similar explanation, their entire concept falls apart—as morality would become entirely relative and the world would be disorderly. Then if we ask them where their concept of right and wrong came from, they'd say it came from their parents. And from their parents, their grandparents. So on and so forth.

When you've reached the conclusion of their family tree you'll find that their values, their morality, their compass, came from God. All the Ten Commandments will be in there and very likely will be reinforced by the role religion played in their culture, in their family, etc., and they will share common beliefs.

So, the long and short of it is: no, you cannot be moral without God. Morality is God. It's what he gave to us. It's what makes us unique. Animals don't have morality. A lion cannot decide it's immoral to eat a gazelle and stop doing that. It has no sense of morality. We're rational creatures endowed with free will who were given commands by God in how best to use our free will. Not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors.
 
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Zachm531

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Can you be moral without God?
You can do nice/ kind acts and you can do things with good results but nobody is good. Not even we as Christians are moral. If we were good people then Jesus wouldnt have needed to come! Romans 3:10-20
 
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GaveMeJoy

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Can you be moral without God?
You can do moral things and look moral outwardly but God is perfect and sets the standard for morality so without him no human being can reach the standard. It’s somewhat semantics depending on how someone defines morality
 
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LovebirdsFlying

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You can, but it wouldn't do you any good for the Judgment we all face. Because to stand up in the Judgment, we have to be not merely moral, but perfect.
 
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Contenders Edge

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Can you be moral without God?


No, because without a Creator who has defined right and wrong, good and evil, we have no basis for morality. Morality can only be defined by an unchanging authority and that can never come out of man who is always subject to change. What man may declare right and good today may be declared wrong and evil tomorrow and vice versa, but with an unchanging authority who has defined morality, what is right and good yesterday is so today and will be tomorrow and forever; the same with good and evil.

It is only upon an unchanging God, to whom we owe our existence and before whom we all must give an account, that a basis for morality can rest.
 
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frederick943

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Can you be moral without God?

Sure, why not? You have to live among your fellow creatures, and common sense should dictate that you don't go around killing and stealing and such. Even primitive peoples who never heard of a God know enough to work together for the common good.
 
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