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[quote=Anonymous][quote][quote]

As a Christian, it's our worldview that this is because the Christian God calls for a moral accountability to someone other than self. Most of the Christians I know and have as friends struggle with many things that we have faith are sins because the Bible tells us that. It's not because we feel superior or want to beat people over the heads. In fact, many of the most sanctimonious people I encounter are just as puritanical from a secular perspective as many Christians are from a religious one. The difference with Christian belief in sin is that our guidepost comes -- or should come -- from the LORD. You might be a moral atheist, but the Bible says that none of us is righteous, and it's the acceptance of this as a fact for ourselves that leads Christians to love God, out of the mercy that He showed us in provided forgiveness through Christ. I'm sure there are Christians who believe out of a desire for "fire insurance," as one PP put it, but many of us love God because we know He's better than us but loves us anyway.

But for a moral atheist? What is your guidepost? How do you know it doesn't truly serve yourself rather than others? And when you fail, isn't it nice that there's no judgment for you for not acting morally toward others? A truly Biblically oriented Christian doesn't think he gets off free when he sins, and the Bible doesn't teach that. So we submit to the law of God and ask Him to help us do what he wants from us. Again, some of us are really bad at that -- and some say they're Christians when they're really not -- but that won't excuse even moral atheists from accounting for their own actions to the God who created them.[/quote]

or Zeus. Or Kali.

Honestly, none of this matters to me as an atheist.   Why should it?  Like I said, I try to be a good person, etc.  [/quote]

Exactly. I know when I am being an asshole, when my actions are hurting others. And there's many a study that shows that service to others brings the most happiness. We can dither over if whether acting in a way that generates happiness is self-serving or not, but bring happy is often synonymous with contentedness. Content people, those who are at peace with themselves, generally don't murder or steal. For humanity to thrive in balance, people have to mostly not be an asshole. And mostly we're not. That's a gross over-simplification, but you get my point.

I'm a little baffled when Christians ask about ones moral guideposts. Do Christians need guideposts to be good? Like, how do you imagine you'd be without your faith? I mean, if somehow it was proven that God didn't exist would you go out and murder? Steal? I doubt that you would.

To me all this is just...obvious. Not to say that I have it all figured out, I absolutely don't. Humans are complex and often contradictory. And there are really big problems in this world that "don't be an asshole" won't fix. It's just where I begin.

I'm sure that your Christian faith feels just as obvious to you. Right?

But the thing about atheism, the thing that I actually feel a sense of peace over, is that we both feel this obvious things that inspires us to be better people. It's just a bit awkward that you think I am going to hell.[/quote]

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