No God,no satan?

[claymore]

If theres no God then theres no satan,if theres no heaven then theres no hell, if theres good then there is bad.In the end who do we answer to?

[beryllium]

The person looking back at you in the mirror???

[clairey-s]

Don't spoil the surprise!

Anyway, that's assuming that there is no God, and who told you that was true!? x

[chakka35]

Well said, beryllium.

[naomi24]

Beryl Absolutely.

[jake-the-peg]

Moral codes don't have to come from religion.

Religous people are often so brought up in concepts of sin, divine judgemnt, confession etc. That they often find it impossible to understand that ethical frameworks can exist outside of religion.

Yet there are many of them. Our legal system is secular, the courts have no interest in whether you go to church and the church has little interest in whether your car tax has expired.

Groups like doctors have ethical comitees which whilst sometimes having religous representation are essentially secular.

You might ask who God is responsible to? His maker perhaps?

Concepts of right and wrong spring from our human concept of empathy. Our ability to put ourselves in the position of another person or animal.

That's why "Do as you would be done by" is such a dominant theme in ethical and religious ideas.

It also is the underlying way to be happy with your own decisions after all "good and evil" is all about whether you sleep at night.

Apologies to those who've heard it before but my favorite quote is bt Steve Weinberg a Nobel prize winning physicist and athiest.

Without religion good people would do good things, bad people would do bad things, but for good people to do bad things...that takes religion

[beso]

Contemplate this. When you die you become at one with the universal spirit. In this state you experience all the feelings you contributed to in your life. You will know exactly what it is like for all those you treated well and those you treated badly, even those you affected without being conscious of it.

You will experience these emotions for eternity without the chance of ever changing them. Heaven and Hell are exactly the same place. The experience is the result of how the individual has lived their life.

No God or Satan required to give the rewards or inflict punishment.

[The Sherman]

i dont like, agree or think thats at all fair beso! I think that sounds horrible!

[naomi24]

Beso Where do your ideas come from?

[beso]

My concept certainly frightens many. It drives home the point to being a good person in life more than any abstract concept of a flaming Hell. People can to easily think to themselves that judgement will treat them well especially those who believe a quick sorry at the end will absolve them of a lifetime of wrongdoing.

I came up with this concept myself after many years of contemplation. It makes a lot of sense to me and it is consistent with my overall philosphical outlook. It is simple and requires no separate authoritarian consciousness.

No matter if it is the final truth or not it is a good model to live by. Very few will be going to anything like the common idea of heaven. But I take comfort in the understand that although I might suffer there will be real justice to those who most deserve it.

[figure]

Beso, are you dead and speaking through the dead? Or have you died and returned with your dead memories still intact?

[figure]

Beso, have you died and returned with your dead memories still in tact? Or are you speaking through the dead?

[MrsT]

Me! You answer to Me!

[naomi24]

Beso The reason I ask is because I believe something similar myself - only I think you've taken it one step further.

Arrrghhhh ..... Mrs T I didn't mean it, honestly!!

[Octavius]

Oh thank God in Heaven I re-read the question. For a moment I thought you said there was no Santa.

[beso]

I came to the conclusion by the same method as those who wrote the various holy books.... contemplation.

Difference is that my philosophies are consistent, unlike those of the (jn)famous books that contradict themselves at every level. Perhaps this is because I didn't start with the premise that I belong to a master race and secumb to the delusion that my every thought was inspiried by devine providence.

Mine is a scientific approach to philosophy. All hypotheses must be critically assessed and be consistent with all observations. It must apply across all frames of reference. For example it does not allow for incongruencies such as a genocidal deity who tells us "thou shalt not kill".