Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with theism

Why morality?

wigglin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:39:30 -0800

Why do theists bring up morality when arguing for the existence of god? Whenever I am arguing with a believer about the existence of god, they inevitably bring up morality. Their view being that for there to be any morality, it must be derived from an ultimate authority. This makes no sense to me. Obviously our sense of morality has changed through out history, so what reason is there to believe that such a thing as absolute morality exists? Why can’t morality be based off of reason, human solidarity, and the desire to limit human suffering?

Just because it would be nice if there were absolute moral laws to live by, doesn’t necessarily make it true. Something being pleasant does not say anything about its truth value, a fact that I find theists often ignore.

That said, let’s assume god does exist and you are a believer, why bring up morality? How could anyone have any idea what god wants us to do? Unless god is speaking to you directly, your personal morality is as made up as anyone else’s. Religious texts, which are supposedly the word of god, are full of things that modern society deems morally abhorrent(slavery, sexism, child abuse, racism, etc.), so they are irrelevant when talking about morality.

Thanks!

Converts to atheism or theism

keith0718 — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:56:39 -0800

Name some prominent converts to either atheism or theism. I'm looking for books and names of fairly prominent thinkers and authors (ancient to modern) who, at some point in their lives, converted either (i) from atheism to theism, or (ii) from theism to atheism.

Whom do we sacrifice our virgins to now?

pantsrobot — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:34:55 -0800

Has there ever been an atheist civilization\tribe? Maybe atheist is too strong a word as it denies the existence of god(s). Perhaps, a tribe who did not have the concept of a divine being?
Are there any arguments for the existence of a god that incorporate this preponderance of religion?

THE UNIVERSE etc.

iced_borsch — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 22:12:13 -0800

Do we live in a natural world or a supernatural world? These days, I lean towards the former, but I could be convinced otherwise with a solid pummeling of persuasive arguments, essays, rants, websites, diatribes, etc.

Where do you stand in the debate? Are you a theist? An atheist? An agnostic? Why or why not? Does the possibility of a godless universe depress you or excite you?

Similarly, is the universe a cold, lonely place with only rare occurences of life, or is it teeming with life? Why or why not?