Knowing what is right and wrong

[polarmystery]

Originally posted by: manowar821
Religion is make believe, treating people nicely is not. I don't understand the fucking issue.

Do you treat people nicely because you believe it is the right thing to do or do you do it because of some religious teaching that you aren't aware about since you are not religious? I guess I'm more concerned with the origins of the moral code if there is one. Some say God, some say from many Gods, etc.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Crono
Your question points to the matter of absolute morality versus relative morality. The problem with relative morality is that it is no morality at all. When you do what is right in your eyes, and I do what is right in my eyes, we are bound to disagree.What I do and what you do will inevitably be in disagreement and there will be anarchy and destruction.

Morality is law that is above everything else, law that is supposed to guide human thought and behavior. Unless there is a law giver, and respect of the law giver and the law, a person or society cannot be moral. The question then is who is the law giver? Unless the law comes from someone/something greater than a man (assuming you accept the belief that all human beings are equal in value), no one will agree nor respect the law.

In essence, the reason for discord in this world is because mankind refuses to acknowledge the law and the lawgiver, God, and instead tries to live by his own standard ("what is right in his own eyes", to borrow biblical language). I am a Christian and hold the Bible to be absolute truth, nothing else. It's not true because I believe it, but I believe it because it is true.

Man is not inherently able to tell the difference between right and wrong. Human beings are corrupt in this regard. The conscience is an alarm of sorts within the human mind that informs a person when he does something wrong, but it is linked to the standard that the person holds to. If the standard is not right, the conscience wrongly alerts the person or doesn't alert the person at all. In the physical world, pain performs the same function: letting the person know something is wrong. In both the spiritual and physical world, the mechanisms are corrupted because of original sin. People often feel pain in the wrong place or when they shouldn't, or don't feel pain at all when they should. That is why leprosy is such a potent image in the Bible: it is a symbol for sin. Leprosy (Hansen's disease) doesn't destroy the flesh itself, but attacks the nerves. The disfigurement that comes from leprosy is the result of a person damaging himself because he is unable to feel. Sin acts in the same way.

People who believe this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they believe.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: calvinbiss
The major source for all morals/ethics are PARENTS.

If your parents had good morals, then likely you do to. If you practice good morals, then likely will your children.

This is a good post.