As an atheist, this is always an uncomfortable conversation, because the person is implying they would do a lot of anti-social, or downright cruel stuff if the law and Jesus wasn't stopping them.
Exactly. If not for the carrot of heaven and the stick of hell, what would they do? Well, a lot of them have chosen to call empathy a sin and cruelty and selfishness a good thing. Jesus be damned, apparently. They hate the Christ in their Christianity.
I'm an atheist raised by Seventh-Day Adventists. I am well versed in Christians cherry picking the Bible to justify any evil thing. They hate that I read the Bible front to back. That's why I'm an atheist. That book is WILD.
I was raised by Christians and they can find a way to justify cruelty and vilify kindness and generosity. They will comb the Bible for any excuse to be cruel while ignoring any verse telling them to be kind.
Again I ask what do these people think we were doing for 300, 000 years before Abrahamic religions came around? Just knifing and raping each other at random and going...¯\_(ツ)_/¯?
Atheists live by the golden rule as spoken by Buddha. Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. Oh, and Buddha did not believe in a divine being.
It also bears mention that morality/ethics are separate from religion and spirituality. I'm not an atheist, but my personal belief in ethics & morals isn't because my gods threaten me.
Comments
Religious rules copy our innate morals, they do not generate them.
I read the Bible front to back in my 30's for the first time, because I think everyone should see the book they claim our civilization was built on.
It definitely reads like something from Bronze Age farmers, and not divinely inspired
"Treat other people like you want them to treat you." Literally, the ONLY phrase you need to guide you. No 1000 page book needed.
If you add one more, you're absolutely done. It's SO simple.
"All people are created equal"