In 2006, Bob Geldof was asked whether he was a saint or a sinner. He replied: "Being an atheist, I can't be either."
Indeed. Both sainthood and sin are built on the foundation that the "divine" exists. But what if you don't believe in the divine? How, then, do you decide what's right and what's wrong?
In the absence of God's good word, how do we build a system of morality?
If a child is born in the middle of nowhere, on a farm, the only people he knows and see's are his immediate family. No TV, no radio, this child only knows his surroundings and what his parents pass on to him. Genetically speaking, some sense of morality will be passed onto the child. I am a Christian because a) I was born into it, and b) when I was old enough to think for myself and actually decide, I made it my own truth. Now this child, their in the same situation, morally, they believe whatever their parents have engrained in him/her, but what happens when this child starts to question what's right and wrong? There are no other factors around them to get answers from. No one should ever just take what their told and run with it. If this child's parents believe murder is okay, and the child grows up with murder being socially acceptable (albeit a very small social environment) this child will believe it is okay. Correct? Now take this on a larger scale, if we're building a system of morality, it's about what the people in charge of this system believe. Not everyone is a born leader, some people will take charge, and some people will look to others to make decisions. It's all about what these people who step up believe in that will shape this system morally. If their beliefs are too farfetched it will be questioned, but if it's within reason, that is what will stand. Everything starts small, and usually with one or two people who believe in 1 thing.
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