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Subject: Re: Falling into the trap Author: Forest [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 08:38:30 07/19/01 Thu In reply to: Mark7 's message, "Falling into my trap Jeff" on 08:34:05 07/19/01 Thu "Morality is nothing but a set of rules designed to prevent people from cutting each other's throats." I think that's basically correct. I think the underpinnings of morality are sympathy and empathy. We don't want others to suffer what we know to be suffering. But *who* we feel sympathy or empathy for depends on our cultural construct. A brutal person can be extremely moral to his own friends and family but ruthless to the enemy, the non-person, one who is not Di'neh, to the gooks, etc. . . Belief in a higher being does not determine the size of the circle in which one's empathy extends. I also believe that humility is a fundamental underpinning to morality and certainly that does not flow directly from a belief in a higher being. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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[> [> [> Subject: You're kidding yourself, Mark Author: JeffF [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 08:51:30 07/19/01 Thu Do you honestly think that most of the historical atrocities you've mentioned wouldn't have been committed if people weren't religious? They would have used another excuse. Anybody can and have claimed to have God on their side(Remember the song "With God on our side from the Vietnam era?") But, if they didn't believe in God, they would use another excuse. Patriotism has been used as many times as an excuse for war as anything else. You don't look down on other people because you believe in God. If you look down on other people and don't believe in God, you'll give yourself another excuse and one that works better because if you believe in a God of all people, then you shouldn't be looking down on other people anyway. I repeat what I've said before - most so-called religious wars(The Middle East, the Balkans, Ireland, India-Pakistan) are really wars over land. People use relgion as justification,but they'd use something else otherwise. I assume this thread started because of the IS thread that I took down. If you're refering to a current thread, point me to it.