Greetings
Dear Reader,
When I
first pondered this as a reason to believe that there is something beyond me in
the universe that is responsible for my existence it seemed simplistic. Then as I pondered and read about it I
realized that the simplicity of the argument is the rational for it.
Why
would we conceive of truth, right, and justice if there was nothing outside of
us to influence it? Why would violation
of those things be onus to society were there not a code written into us that
proposed the value of them?
I have
read many things that try to reason man away from an outside influence in this
area but the arguments seem circular. It
does not seem reasonable that we would evolve a set of behaviors that would have
moral imperatives.
I am not
going to review all of the arguments here as others have done it far better
than I can. It is, however, key to why I
believe. I am not obligated to any moral
code that does not come from outside of fallible man. If that code is not imposed from something
greater than me then it has no authority over me.
If there
is no morality beyond man then man can only impose his moral code on me because
of his power over me by sheer numbers.
This use of might makes right flies in the face of the code that it
presumes to enforce.
Wishing
you joy in the journey,
Aramis
Thorn
Mat
13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a
disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally
hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."
Posts
ReplyDeleteThis is not even an apology for anything. It is stating that the view that you have is correct and there is no possible other view. Why is it more rational to accept that something outside of oneself that exists beyond space and time instills morality than that we learned to be moral creatures because it is good for us?
It is reasonable for man to evolve morality. In fact, recent research shows that human evolution supports cooperation and that society had to learn to be moral for civilization to persist. It may be even more basic to relationship building than that. There are facts to back the idea up. The Evolution of Morality by Richard Joyce has a wealth of information on the subject. I feel uncertain about where morality comes from.
I do not know if it evolved as a matter of physical change or if it became necessary as people began living in larger societies and habitually grew into what it is today. I do not know if God created an unchanging moral landscape that we simply exist in or if morality must change as we learn to create a more perfect society. God could have made us that way too after all.
On a more personal level I would have to argue just the opposite of this entry. A man imposes a moral code on himself whether or not God created an objective moral code. There is no morality that must be followed. There is only morality that can be followed, and it is a matter of will that determines its following. Might does not make right, but the will of a man can.
I see our rules and morals as more of a gift bestowed onto us, not by an almighty creator, but through thousands of years of hardship, pain, and suffering. I do not dismiss the idea of creationism only the idea that a book written by man could ever hope to explain it. I don't dismiss evolution, only that a book written by man could get it right on his first try. I don't dismiss the morals that holy scripture instructs us to follow, only that it be commanded by an almighty.
ReplyDeleteThe human mind is made of many different selfs, each with a drive. It is the world around us that shapes these archetypes, the influences of men and women, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, that shape our actions. Hate reciprocates hate, love to love and fear to fear. Each feeling feeding and strengthening a different side of your many personas. It is how we have come so far in such short time. I hope you do not belittle the acomplishments of the entire human race with the idea that this set of morality was mearly handed to us primitive beasts as a gift from the gods.
We are not even close to perfect and if there is a god, what kind of creator would blindly hand morality to a child in the hopes that they would learn to use it correctly? This is our journey and we must figure it out on our own before we be deemed worthy, for we are lost souls struggling to find the light in this increasingly dark abyss.
At least that is my take on it.
-AL
This is an interesting view on morality. It seems to me that morality has evolved through humanity's history in many ways. I feel sure that there are certain things that have always been and will always be abhorrent to humanity, but that may not be the case.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, AL makes a good point that morality would be moral whether God commanded it or not. If God commands the slaughter of a nation is that moral? If God commands me to cast out a non-believer is that moral? I think that loving my neighbor would be moral if it had never been written down. Certain things are intrinsic to being human and being part of humanity right?
I do not think that I fully understand the idea of multiple personas you talk about. I tend to think that we can overcome a simple drive to hate because we are hated or even to love because we are loved. Maybe you could explain more about that.
I find your last statement poetic. The world does seem bleaker than ever to me at times. I do not think that the world is at its darkest moment now though. There is always evil in the world and I do not believe that it waxes or wanes unless, of course, people decide that they have all of the answers and cease to struggle "to find the light".