Am I correct in stating that Christians own their own morality?

Question

If some think that becoming Atheist denotes a total oblivion of morality, that we choose this life to try and see how much we can get away with. Which is false. Then it is safe to say that the opposite argument is also plausible, that the religious mind has no morality outside of God's watchful eye. That somehow if he was not looking that all chaos would ensue on Earth.

Please tell me this is not that case. That deep down you actually understand that humanity for the most part is just and kind. That with or without the Christian God there would not be chaos. I mean really, only 30% of the planet is Christian. Why are the other 70% not morally void?

Answer 1

that made no sense at all. you contradicted yourself 2 or 3 times...

Answer 2

A moral person acknowledges the abstract concepts of right and wrong.  To a Christian, the source of these is God.  The question is, what is the source to an atheist?  Is it to a philosophy?  Another human being? or do they make themselves the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong?

A Christian is taught to love all, including their enemies.  To forgive all, and keep on forgiving.  To show mercy to all, especially the outcasts, those on the edges of society, and those with no voice of their own.  To judge no-one.  A Christian, first of all, acknowledges their own shortcomings.  They, therefore, cannot judge the shortcomings of others.  A Christian cannot judge the way another believer exercises their faith.  That is between them and God.  A Christian cannot judge anyone outside the faith.  That is God's job.

How does this compare with atheistic morality, and what is that based on?

Answer 3

Am I correct in stating that Christians own their own morality?

Not at all.

Christian base our morality on what we see as the word of God. This is an unchanging book.  You may see that differently we do not.

Others who reject this, base their morality on what is the fad at any  given time.  Darwin is well know for thinking that blacks were far less than human.  Hitler based his killing of the Jewish people on his own views, you can not make the case that anywhere in the scriptures do you find it ok to kill millions of Jews because they are jews.

So the question is what do you base you morals on, what we see today?  or next week? etc.  Before 9/11 most never gave much thought about Islam, today that is not the case, so our views have changed.

I hope you see my point,  one last think When I say the bible has not changed in over 2000 years this is what I am talking about.

Do you know that there are today over 5900 hand written manuscript of the holy Bible, with the earliest copy of the New testament PROVEN to be dated to 120 AD?  That is only 50 years after John wrote it.  Out of those 5900 manuscripts, do you know that each and every one are exactly the same?  Word for word, but you claim it is not accurate.

Do you say the same thing for the works of Plato?   Do you know that there are only 7 actual texts of Plato that are at least 1000 years old?  And that the oldest that they can find dates to over 1200 years after his death, do you question the authority and accuracy of them?

How about the accuracy and correctness of Aristotle?   Once again there are only 5 manuscripts and the oldest, written 1400 years after he had turned to dust.

Seems a bit selective in your acceptance based on the hard facts, now doesn’t it?

Answer 4

Many Christians don't agree on what is moral and what isn't

Some are too pushy and over-bearing and think that they do own their own morality and then they don't get why consensual stuff is OK

edit: if the bible is unchanging then why do many cherry-pick? the letter below  is an example:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other specific Biblical laws and how to follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness (Lev.15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. If I come into contact with a woman who is menstruating and she doesn't tell me until afterwards, must I kill her immediately or can I just beat her?

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself? Also, is Sabbath on Saturday as Seventh Day Adventists (Christians, like us...or are they?) or is it on Sunday as Baptists and some other faiths agree? I am beset by not knowing who to kill and when to kill them...please clarify this for me.

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality (Lev. 18:22). I don't agree. I'm also confused about how homosexuality can be an abomination when Jonathan and David were married in the Bible (1 Samuel 18:1, 3 - 4). Here, I'll quote it - "And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle." and also Ruth's relationship with Naomi is suspect, (Ruth 1:16-17) "And Ruth said to Naomi, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part three and me." Can you settle this?

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27 and even though 1st Cor. 11:4-6 says that it is a shame upon a man to have long hair. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? Also, since it is strictly forbidden to "eat neither fat nor blood" in Lev. 3:17 & Lev. 19:26, does that mean that I must be a vegetarian and must I smite those who choose to eat meat?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them (Lev.24:10-16)? Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws (Lev. 20:14)?

k) I know that it is an abomination for a man to wear a woman's clothes or a woman to wear a man's (Deut. 22:5), so does that mean that since my wife borrowed my boxers once, she's going to h**l?

l) An unbeliever sent me an email telling me that God is an ABORTIONIST? It says, "In Num. 5:11-31, God commands a husband to get an abortion for his wife if he suspects she has been impregnated by another man. A priest is to make her drink a potion and tell her, "If any man other than your husband has had intercourse with you, may the LORD make an example of you . . . by bringing upon you miscarriage and untimely birth." To deliberately cause a miscarriage is to perform an abortion. And who brings about this miscarriage? Who performs this abortion? It is the LORD who does so. God is an abortionist. In Ex. 21:22-25, God tells us what to do if a man who is fighting knocks against a pregnant woman. If the woman dies, the principle of "life for life" is invoked and the man responsible for her death must be killed. If she lives but has a miscarriage, then the death of the fetus is to be compensated for by the payment of a fine, as demanded by the woman's husband. Thus, God has revealed the status of the unborn fetus: it is not an independent, full-fledged human life, whose destruction amounts to murder. It is a thing owned by the woman's husband, a thing whose loss, like that of any other thing, may be compensated for with money." How can this be true?

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging and also for the reassurance that the Bible is infallible.

Answer 5

Agreed.

Answer 6

Atheists generally have a convienent morality, that is if it is more convienent to do evil then, if they truly believe their atheism, they will choose to do it.  It's a relative morality that changes with the circumstances whereas a theist has an ultimate basis for that morality thet applies in every situation.