I believe God speaks to people through their conscience and their thoughts. Some only believe God speaks to mankind through the Bible. What about you?

Integrity

Binge Poster
Professed believers are nothing more than sinners that heard the Word, that Jesus came to save sinners, believed what they heard, and trusted God.

From an old hymn:

There is a fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners plunge beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
OK,
So then where do morals or right and wrong come from?
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
As a child, my parents taught me right and wrong. As an adult, I think we decide our own set of morals....yes some people base theirs on religion, some don’t. But I don’t think that non religious people are automatically devoid of morality.
I agree. Well said.

Where did the right and wrong that your parents taught you come from?
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
They aren't devoid of morality. They get their morality from Christianity whether they want to admit it or not, in some form. They just cannot properly explain where they get that morality from. Because they believe in nothing.
Are you saying there was no morality before Christianity?
 

floridays

Well-Known Member
OK,
So then where do morals or right and wrong come from?
Within each person (a creation of God) light is given, it's innate.


What a person does with this light is left up to them.

I won't preach, read Romans 1 for yourself.

I will offer Romans 1: 18- 23

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness,

19 because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them.

20 For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

21 For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things.
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
I believe God speaks both ways, but if your conscience goes against what the Bible says, then your conscience is not listening to God.
I believe if your conscience goes against what the Bible says it may just be pointing out limitations or possible errors or confusion within the Bible.
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
First off, many highly secular societies in the world today with the lowest rates of belief in God—such as Sweden, Japan, and the Netherlands—are among the safest, most well-functioning, and most humane societies on earth, with the lowest murder rates, violent crime rates, infant mortality rates, child abuse fatality rates, incarceration rates, etc. Conversely, those nations with the highest rates of corruption, murder, inequality, political repression, and violence—such as Colombia, El Salvador, and Jamaica—are among the most religious. Granted, this is merely a correlation, but it is a powerful correlation that may knock out the knees of the claim that “only God” can provide morals and values for civilization.
Secondly, within the U.S., those states with the highest levels of belief in God—like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama—have much higher rates of violent crime and other "social pathologies" than those states with the lowest levels of belief in God—such as Vermont, Massachusetts, and Oregon. If popular belief in God kept people moral and widespread atheism led to immorality, then we would expect to see an opposite correlation; we would find that those states (and nations) wherein God-belief is strong would have the lowest levels of violent crime, while those states (and nations) wherein God-belief is weak would have the highest. But we typically find just the opposite.


Where does morality or right and wrong come from?
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
Within each person (a creation of God) light is given, it's innate.


What a person does with this light is left up to them.

I won't preach, read Romans 1 for yourself.

I will offer Romans 1: 18- 23

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness,

19 because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them.

20 For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

21 For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things.
So you are saying morality comes from within each person.

Therefore each person has their own personal innate morality?
 

floridays

Well-Known Member
So you are saying morality comes from within each person.

Therefore each person has their own personal innate morality?
No, I'm saying within each person light is given, from God, our creator at conception, at the first instance of cell division.

God is not concerned with morality, His requirement is sinless perfection.

Morality is a subset of sinless perfection. Morality on it's own is failure.

I also said I wasn't going to preach, I offered Romans 1 read it for yourself.
 
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Red Devil

The Power of Connected
Please explain.

I’m just trolling @BigGuy2732 . I do have morals but don’t derive them from religion. I believe morality comes from our ability as humans to empathize with other people. I also think there are a lot of gray areas and that morality isn’t absolute. Many religious people have good morals but I don’t think religious teaching is necessary or helpful in developing good morality. I think you would be interesting to talk to about these things even though I disagree with you about most of it.
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
People who do not believe in God have no basis for their morality, they attribute their sense of right and wrong to nothing. That must be tough to reconcile. The honest atheists are the ones who straight up kill people and do whatever they want because why not? This is all an accident and nothing matters.

@BigGuy2732,​

Do you believe God speaks to people through their conscience and their thoughts.

Some only believe God speaks to mankind through the Bible.

What about you?

 

Integrity

Binge Poster
I’m just trolling @BigGuy2732 . I do have morals but don’t derive them from religion. I believe morality comes from our ability as humans to empathize with other people. I also think there are a lot of gray areas and that morality isn’t absolute. Many religious people have good morals but I don’t think religious teaching is necessary or helpful in developing good morality. I think you would be interesting to talk to about these things even though I disagree with you about most of it.
Nice post.

Is my understanding of your post correct?

You derive your morality from your ability to empathize with others?

Morality is subjective and not objective. All morality?

I have found some religious people to have good morals and some to have really bad morals.
 

floridays

Well-Known Member
Nice post.

Is my understanding of your post correct?

You derive your morality from your ability to empathize with others?

Morality is subjective and not objective. All morality?

I have found some religious people to have good morals and some to have really bad morals.
I've found some sinners are just that, sinners.
I've found that some sinners are actually forgiven sinners, religion aside.

Which are you?
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
No, I'm saying within each person light is given, from God, our creator at conception, at the first instance of cell division.

God is not concerned with morality, His requirement is sinless perfection.

Morality is a subset of sinless perfection. Morality on it's own is failure.

I also said I wasn't going to preach, I offered Romans 1 read it for yourself.
@floridays,

Do you believe God speaks to people through their thoughts and conscience or do you believe He only speaks to mankind through the Bible?
 
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Red Devil

The Power of Connected
Nice post.

Is my understanding of your post correct?

You derive your morality from your ability to empathize with others?

Morality is subjective and not objective. All morality?

I have found some religious people to have good morals and some to have really bad morals.

Yes you understand my post correctly. I do believe morality is always subjective. Some things might seem clear-cut but if you dive into it I think there is always a little bit of gray. I try to do the right thing to the best of my ability. Sometimes that comes naturally; other times it’s difficult.
 
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