Atheist Moral Thought

I have a simple question; has, in the recorded history of Mankind, an Atheist ever had an original moral thought?

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2 Responses to “Atheist Moral Thought”

  1. Denis Mitchell Says:

    How can an Atheist have an original, moral thought? If such a person does not accept the Judaic Christian concepts of the 10 Commandments, (taught to most of us from a very young age as a code of moral and legal conduct), on what would they base a standard of moral and ethical conduct?

    I believe that such people have much in common with sociopaths. They are not bound in any way by accepted standards and mores of behavior. Ergo, they are free to conduct their lives unrestricted by rule of law or morality.

    Several of the major religions teach codes of conduct and may or may not believe in God as we generally know and perceive him. But it is my understanding that an Atheist rejects the very concept of a Godhead. I may be putting my head out for the chop but it would seem cogent, from a Christian perspective, to postulate that as Anti-Christs, such people are truly acceptable to Satan. They can adopt any ‘so-called’ ethical position and substantiate it simply by asserting its separation from mainstream Christian understanding of moral issues.

    Without a basis for your morality, (such as is provided by the Commandments and the Rock who struck them), how do we learn morality?

    I have read enough philosophy, (Greek, Roman and Middle Eastern), to know that far greater minds than mine have struggled for answers to such questions.

    For a dimwit like me, the commandments are a great signpost against which to plot your direction. When I contemplate an act/actions I get an instant mental printout of its potential impact on my life. Enough to say, ‘Whoa back fella, you iz going the wrong way!’

    Won’t suit everyone I know but those who wrote the Constitution thought it was an excellent start and finishing point. All the Courts of the land accept it as the foundling basis of their deliberations and, politicians use it as the position from which all law is drafted.

    Pardon me for sounding smug but, I think Atheists have a very real problem. How and on what basis do they bring up children? Denis Mitchell

  2. jonolan Says:

    You bring up an interesting point. I’m not Christian, not even remotely close to being one. Yet I was raised in America, a de facto Judea-Christian country with the 10 Commandments being a large part of the underlying basis for law.

    So, while not accepting those Commandments specific to the worship of the Abrahamic God, I was raised to accept the rest of the tenets set forth within those Commandments.

    One point though – Atheists still have reason to restrict their actions to those within the law, the fear of consequence and reprisal. What they do not have is any reason not to suborn and corrupt the law itself.

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