Good topic, though we need to be clear on our topic while discussing it.
First, as others have pointed out, “religion” is probably not the term you want here, it’s too vague. Let’s say either “Christianity” or “revealed Scripture” - referring to any dogmatic adherence to a text that is thought to have come directly from God to a writer (examples - the Torah, The Qu’ran, the Bible, etc.)
OK, it seems clear to me that revealed scripture doesn’t give a solid base for morality for several reasons. First, as you pointed out, it is twisted around to mean a wide range of things. Thus, people can “base” their morality on revealed scripture, but that really doesn’t mean much since they just chose the parts they like, and ignore or creatively interpret the rest. That can be discussed more if anyone likes, but it looks like a dead horse to me.
There are some who do seem to stick more to what the words actually say, and in the case of the Bible, that’s even worse, since the morality presented by the Bible is very different from our modern morality. In other words, it seems to me that the closer someone gets to actually keeping the morality of the Bible, the scarier they are to me. The Bible clearly blesses all kinds of atrocities, not to mention the terrible moral consequences of logically thinking about morality based on a Biblical worldview. For one example of that, here is a copy of a post from another thread:
Are you saying that butchering your wife and kids is not an immoral act?
Um, yes, since that obviously and clear violates our evolved morality in many ways, such as hurting our family, violating expectations and promises, etc.
On the other hand, if I were Christian, wouldn’t killing them now be the ultimate good I could do? I’d guarantee that they’d go to heaven, especially the children who are too young to have lost their faith. If I don’t kill them now, they could eventually lose their faith in Jesus and go to hell and be tortured forever, so I better do it tonight. Of course I’d go to Hell for it, so doing it would be the ultimate selfless, loving act a father could do. Christians have realized this and killed their families from time to time. Andrea Yates is the most recent, but by no means the first, there are others if anyone cares. Now let’s see, I’ll need to stop by the hardware store . . ..
Next, if we look at another word choice, we ask if “Christianity” is a solid basis for morality. Again, the answer seems to be no, since we see much of the same - people start with a morality, and then work to put it on the lips of Jesus by ignoring or creatively interpreting the words of Jesus found in the “revealed” scripture of the NT. For instance, Jesus says to hate one’s family (and gives the example of himself denying his own family), makes racist comments, bans divorce in all cases other than adultery, and so on. Sure, one can find contradictory statements by Jesus, but that only shows that the Bible is contradictory.
A good morality could be based on the simple golden rule:
ICANT wrote:
My reference was to Jesus and the commandment He gave to His followers. "Love thy neighbor as thyself". If you are going to be Christ like you must do this, and that is what being a Christian is.
The Golden Rule isn’t some invention of Jesus. If you know your Bible, you know that Jesus is quoting Leviticus, the same book that advocates killing a teenage son who tells you about a neighboring religious festival, and has many other immoral laws. More than that, this simply idea (of treating others as you wish to be treated) isn’t some exclusively Jewish thing either - it is found in all major religions.
For examples, look here:
Versions of the Golden Rule in dozens of religions and other sources
Saying that the golden rule is Christian is like saying that drinking water is Christian - sure all Christians do it, but so does everybody else. In other words, the Golden rule is a common factor in all religions - it doesn’t make one a “Christian” any more than it makes one a Hindu.
Have a fun day-
Edited by Equinox, : added Yates.
-Equinox
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