Q- Dragons channel: youtube/user/qdragon1337 Venomfangx has returned, and for now hes staying in the realm of philosophy and away from actual science. Still, even in this area Shawns claims deserve a response. In the area of morality Shawn of course makes the claim that the ultimate source of objective morals comes from his interpretation of the Bible. This idea has several problems with it but we will be focusing on one for the purpose of this essay. Since his return Shawn has said that hes interested in discussion as long as it remains civil. I hope he will take this essay as a serious rebuttal to his claims. One of the supposed advantages of God given morality is that it is unchanging and absolute. Besides the fact I find such a black and white view of the world unrealistic, the morality given by the Bible is not as absolute as you think. So what causes moral laws literally carved in stone to become so flimsy? One word, God. Many times throughout the Bible God commands His followers to take actions that were previously declared sins. God declares killing someone is a sin, then commands His followers to kill others. Usually when you ask a Christian about a contradiction like this they will respond its okay because God commanded it, and Hes all good. Do you see a problem with this? Supposedly there is a single being, whos all powerful and all knowing. At the same time hes portrayed as having very human emotions, and certainly bases many of his decisions on those emotions. Mind you, this is the being that determines the absolute, correct morality, but at any time can break that moral code should He choose. Most can recognize the danger of taking all of our information from one known hypocritical source. It makes little sense to exempt that source from any personal responsibility. God isnt good; good is whatever God wants it to be. Many Christians will no doubt object, claiming that Gods morals are for man, not Himself. That makes some kind of sense despite being very hypocritical of God. But what about the servants of God who break His moral code under His command? They are human and therefore should be bound by Gods absolute moral code, right? Nope, because God commanded it certain humans apparently get a free pass on certain sins. Of course this only happens when its part of His plan or making sure justice is served according to His morality. So here we have people taking actions that would be sinful had they not been commanded by God. Here however, is where we encounter a major problem, because Gods tool of choice is humans, anybody from any religion can claim to be doing a normally immoral action in the name of God. This entire arrangement seems like a very roundabout way to get things done. If the moral code doesnt apply to God why doesnt he just perform the actions himself and command humans to follow his laws no matter what? In both scenarios God influences the universe, but a more direct approach would eliminate any mistakes humans could make. It would also prove the existence of God through numerous physical manifestations in accordance with that Gods moral code. You cant understand the ways of God, the apologists will shout. Fine, I will freely admit the ways of God do, in fact, confuse me. As a person who endeavors to live life with rationality as a top priority the methods of this all powerful being make no sense to me. But for the sake of argument well say that you are right. God is the being portrayed in the bible, guided by oddly human emotions and able to change right and wrong as He sees fit. The followers of this God are permitted to take sinful actions with no consequences, so long as He commands it. Certainly God orders the deaths of many people throughout the Bible, even doing some of the killing Himself. If a person truly believed God was all good then they must also believe all of those deaths were justified. From this position of seeing the killings as righteous and holy, one would assume that any true believer would also kill if commanded by God. So, hypothetically, if you were 100% sure your God commanded you to kill someone: would you do it? And would it be the right thing for you to do? This entire scenario is hypothetical so an honest answer would do no harm. It shouldnt matter who you would be ordered to kill or why, and it shouldnt concern you that God could do it Himself. So long as it came from God your beliefs would dictate the action was right, and who are you to question His ways? However, if you find your personal sense of right and wrong clashing with Gods morality, perhaps you should reevaluate the merits of human derived morals. You can of course not answer these questions, but that would be just as telling as any answer. If you do answer, be sure to do so honestly as lying is a sin. Although if its to make you and your religion look good you can probably get a God approved lie.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 01:05:31 +0000
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