Fellow atheists, how do you instill good values/ethics in your children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like it (or not) our modern societies concepts of morals, ethics, values, etc can be traced to ancient Jewish teachings (ie don't steal, don't kill, don't lie, etc).

I'd be surprised if the ancient Jews had somehow failed to discover these timeless moral truths which are pretty much common to every human culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like it (or not) our modern societies concepts of morals, ethics, values, etc can be traced to ancient Jewish teachings (ie don't steal, don't kill, don't lie, etc).

I'd be surprised if the ancient Jews had somehow failed to discover these timeless moral truths which are pretty much common to every human culture.

Judaism was not born in a vacuum. While it existed in a largely polytheistic region, the moral code was probably not entirely different. For example, "an eye for an eye" is almost certainly from Babylon, since it is chiseled into Hammurabi's code and predates Judaism. So is prohibition on killing. But let's face it, all societies had that. Since we can trace religion back to neolithic times, and we can even see religion in our not-quite relatives the Neandertals, it is likely that the big components of social ethics had been hammered out before the era of Judaism. We also see societies with no apparent link to our history or culture in remote parts of the world, and they have evolved similar moral frameworks, suggesting that social necessity encourages convergence on the subject of morality -- to some degree.

I am not trying to take anything away from Judaism. It is the tradition that we trace forward to Christianity and then to our nation. So they are our forefathers in this way, but this does not mean that they invented morality.

What's more, we owe another important part of our moral code to a separate tradition, Greek Democracy. Out of this tradition came the eventual belief in the inalienable rights of man, which did not really exist in Biblical Judaism or Biblical Christianity. Both of those traditions existed in a world of kings and slaves. The Greeks also had slaves, but they advanced the notion in a way that led to our present state. The greeks weren't atheists, but these concepts came out of philosophy and not religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Unitarian?

This is what I did. I go back and forth between atheist and agnostic. But the Unitarian church teaches about love, respect, and appreciation for all people and all living things. All the religions are available to the kids if they want to know more about one, or if they find themselves gravitating towards one. My kids love it. I am so happy with their liberal, ethical positions that, much to the shock of everyone who knows me, I volunteered to be a preschool teacher in the equivalent of a "CCD" class this fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked into secular humanism? Perhaps something like that would suit you as it would provide a more concrete way of doing things.

Yes, that's where the thread started out, but there hasn't been much input on this particular point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like it (or not) our modern societies concepts of morals, ethics, values, etc can be traced to ancient Jewish teachings (ie don't steal, don't kill, don't lie, etc).

So do lots of teachings about not eating shellfish, stoning adulterers, not mixing milk with meat etc. If you think your current value system has much in common with those of ancient Jews then you don't know much history.

I believe in taking those elements that make sense, which tend to be those elements that are the most universal, and rejecting the rest.

[Anonymous]

Start here:

http://tiny.cc/802hw

[Anonymous]

The previous link is not going to hi-jack your computer. It leads to a TED video - Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions.

[Anonymous]

Not a sermon. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

By example, and keeping company with 'good' people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like it (or not) our modern societies concepts of morals, ethics, values, etc can be traced to ancient Jewish teachings (ie don't steal, don't kill, don't lie, etc).

Concepts like "don't steal" and "don't murder" are even older then that. It's a common theme among many societies - simply because stealing, murder, etc are detrimental to a society (and species). It has nothing to do with religion.

[Anonymous]

troll

[Anonymous]

I was raised in an athiest family. I was raised to believe that people who believe in god are less intelligent than those who don't. It isn't that we had "lessons" or anything like that. It was the superior attitute that my father (he was captain of the athiest ship) had towards religion and its followers. I guess what I'm saying, is your children learn from your actions, spoken or unspoken. Please teach them to have an open mind, and lead by example. I never had any sort of organized group, other than team sports and Girl Scouts. I don't think you need WES or anything like that. My parents worked hard to utilize "teachable moments" to turn us into ethical people. I love my parents, but they have their faults.

I converted to the Catholic church when I married my husband. The hardest part about that is dealing with my father who at christmas (which we always partook in growing up) sends Christopher Hitchins books about the stupidity of religion. And my mother, who is spiritual but anti-organized religion, who says that she would rather pay for some really expensive private school than let us send our DC to a Catholic school. So, I guess I'm saying don't be a hypocrite, and really do teach your kids to have an open mind by having one yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was raised in an athiest family. I was raised to believe that people who believe in god are less intelligent than those who don't. It isn't that we had "lessons" or anything like that. It was the superior attitute that my father (he was captain of the athiest ship) had towards religion and its followers. I guess what I'm saying, is your children learn from your actions, spoken or unspoken. Please teach them to have an open mind, and lead by example. I never had any sort of organized group, other than team sports and Girl Scouts. I don't think you need WES or anything like that. My parents worked hard to utilize "teachable moments" to turn us into ethical people. I love my parents, but they have their faults.

I converted to the Catholic church when I married my husband. The hardest part about that is dealing with my father who at christmas (which we always partook in growing up) sends Christopher Hitchins books about the stupidity of religion. And my mother, who is spiritual but anti-organized religion, who says that she would rather pay for some really expensive private school than let us send our DC to a Catholic school. So, I guess I'm saying don't be a hypocrite, and really do teach your kids to have an open mind by having one yourself.

You seem to be implying that your parents are hypocrites, but I cannot understand why would you think that.

Your father is correct that on average atheists are more intelligent than those who believe in God (see below). I would also be extremely disturbed if one of my children converted to Catholicism and started sending their children to Catholic school, since I would see this as a retrograde step. And I certainly don't blame them for sending you Christopher Hitchens books - if you are truly open-minded you would read them. You never know, you might learn something.

The present study examined whether IQ relates systematically to denomination and income within the framework of the g nexus, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97). Atheists score 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=Arti...95cc1ecbd026da77245c

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised in an athiest family. I was raised to believe that people who believe in god are less intelligent than those who don't. It isn't that we had "lessons" or anything like that. It was the superior attitute that my father (he was captain of the athiest ship) had towards religion and its followers. I guess what I'm saying, is your children learn from your actions, spoken or unspoken. Please teach them to have an open mind, and lead by example. I never had any sort of organized group, other than team sports and Girl Scouts. I don't think you need WES or anything like that. My parents worked hard to utilize "teachable moments" to turn us into ethical people. I love my parents, but they have their faults.

I converted to the Catholic church when I married my husband. The hardest part about that is dealing with my father who at christmas (which we always partook in growing up) sends Christopher Hitchins books about the stupidity of religion. And my mother, who is spiritual but anti-organized religion, who says that she would rather pay for some really expensive private school than let us send our DC to a Catholic school. So, I guess I'm saying don't be a hypocrite, and really do teach your kids to have an open mind by having one yourself.

You seem to be implying that your parents are hypocrites, but I cannot understand why would you think that.

Your father is correct that on average atheists are more intelligent than those who believe in God (see below). I would also be extremely disturbed if one of my children converted to Catholicism and started sending their children to Catholic school, since I would see this as a retrograde step. And I certainly don't blame them for sending you Christopher Hitchens books - if you are truly open-minded you would read them. You never know, you might learn something.

The present study examined whether IQ relates systematically to denomination and income within the framework of the g nexus, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97). Atheists score 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=Arti...95cc1ecbd026da77245c

Ugh, I'm not the poster you are responding too, but I think sending Christopher Hitchens books to a Catholic is just as bad as my mother sending me ( an agnostic) religious books. I know that such a present is all about her, and no regard for me or my outlook. Just agree to disagree and leave it at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was raised in an athiest family. I was raised to believe that people who believe in god are less intelligent than those who don't. It isn't that we had "lessons" or anything like that. It was the superior attitute that my father (he was captain of the athiest ship) had towards religion and its followers. I guess what I'm saying, is your children learn from your actions, spoken or unspoken. Please teach them to have an open mind, and lead by example. I never had any sort of organized group, other than team sports and Girl Scouts. I don't think you need WES or anything like that. My parents worked hard to utilize "teachable moments" to turn us into ethical people. I love my parents, but they have their faults.

I converted to the Catholic church when I married my husband. The hardest part about that is dealing with my father who at christmas (which we always partook in growing up) sends Christopher Hitchins books about the stupidity of religion. And my mother, who is spiritual but anti-organized religion, who says that she would rather pay for some really expensive private school than let us send our DC to a Catholic school. So, I guess I'm saying don't be a hypocrite, and really do teach your kids to have an open mind by having one yourself.

You seem to be implying that your parents are hypocrites, but I cannot understand why would you think that.

Your father is correct that on average atheists are more intelligent than those who believe in God (see below). I would also be extremely disturbed if one of my children converted to Catholicism and started sending their children to Catholic school, since I would see this as a retrograde step. And I certainly don't blame them for sending you Christopher Hitchens books - if you are truly open-minded you would read them. You never know, you might learn something.

The present study examined whether IQ relates systematically to denomination and income within the framework of the g nexus, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97). Atheists score 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=Arti...95cc1ecbd026da77245c

Ugh, I'm not the poster you are responding too, but I think sending Christopher Hitchens books to a Catholic is just as bad as my mother sending me ( an agnostic) religious books. I know that such a present is all about her, and no regard for me or my outlook. Just agree to disagree and leave it at that.

I am this poster -- child of an athiest. That poster quoting me sounds like my dad who thinks his way is the only way because it is, of course, true. So yes, I am calling my parents hypocrites. And that responding poster one too.