|
Edited on Thu Dec-10-09 04:19 PM by snake in the grass
...that no one propagates "no moral absolutes", as he understands it. To be sure, everything is open to question, criticism, and possible re-evaluation, but even the religious segment of society has done this for centuries. There are plenty of things condoned in the Bible, that were historically acceptable, but aren't anymore. Some are even illegal, see slavery or discrimination of females, for example. In the Old Testament a man could atone for rape by paying the father of the girl some shekels and subsequently marrying her. Try that in this day and age in Western society.
Furthermore, many of the things made illegal through legal systems throughout history (murder, theft, perjury, rape) are based simply on the fact that they are contrary and disruptive to social adhesion, and this is backed by evolution. Even within social species like wolves or primate (there are many others) one can observe positive social interaction on a level to what we would call morality; individuals who divert from accepted social conduct are sometimes subject to draconian punishment.
The constant whining of the religious extremists in the U.S. that we have gone downhill morally since promoting the teaching of evolution (an observable fact) or taking the 10 Commandments out of the public sphere, serves only to illustrate the fact that they have missed the point. The 10 Commandments are actually a good example of their short-sightedness. The first 4 have absolutely nothing to do with morality.
1: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
2: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
3: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
4: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
Why should they be heeded in a secular society like the one intended by our founding fathers?
5: 'Honour your father and your mother.'
--Now, this is nice and, perhaps ideal, but what if your parents are abusive drunks, neglectful, or pedophiles? Should they still be honoured? That's what's meant by being able to question everything.
7: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
--In a culture where woman are considered property, one can see why this is so upsetting. After all, you are using some other guy's stuff. In a tribal patriarchy, like the one from which these rules come from, it also served to ensure that your children are really your children.
10: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
--Another commandment that condemns an act that damages nothing and no one. Just because I wish I had my neighbor's iPod doesn't lead to the end of the world as we know it. An obsession therewith could, however, lead me to break numbers 6 and 8:
6: 'You shall not murder.'
8: 'You shall not steal.'
It's nonsensical to believe the children of Israel traveled for years through the desert killing and robbing each other until they were finally saved by the arrival of the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai. They would have never made it.
Finally, we have number 9:
9: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
It's not a coincidence that our justice system considers perjury a serious crime, as it makes a just decision difficult, if not impossible. Simply lying is, in itself, not punishable by law, but pathological liars are punished within their social fields, in that no one believes them, sooner or later.
Numbers 6, 8, and 9 are the only commandments necessary. The rest are useless and some things are missing entirely like rape, pedophilia, slavery, honour killings, or genocide. Our secular society is, in fact, more moral than what the 10 Commandments have to offer. By being able to question things, we are also in the position to correct wrongs within our system; slavery, for example. Relying solely on the so-called inerrant word of some deity prevents corrections. In that case, we might as well return to the Bronze Age. The very progress we have made directly correlates to the ability to question everything.
You can present this to your co-worker, but I wouldn't expect too much from him. In my experience, this goes straight over their heads. As a matter of fact, to question elements of the belief systems of pathologically religious is a very scary experience for them, for they define themselves over their beliefs. To call the beliefs into question is to question the very validity of their existence.
Good luck.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
