lunaticheathen Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 In my studies of Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) religion, I think one concept on which most of it hinges is proper here. It certainly guides me, post-christian moral wise. Ma'at is a concept and a goddess - truth, order, creation, harmony, balance, etc. Ma'at, as a goddess, provided the ostrich feather against which the heart was weighed, to determine if that soul was worthy of eternal life. As a concept, no deity was above or beyond ma'at, not even the Creator(s), and the ancient kings served ma'at. The best I heard ma'at described was as another version of the Tao. It's just how things work. To work against that, against creation itself, is not only wrong, but, well, kinda stupid. It hurts you and many around you. To steal from someone else, in most instances, disrupts their lives, the lives of families, could cause that store to incur extra security cost, which drives up prices for everyone that shops there, etc, on and on the ripples travel. Not to say that this promotes absolute altruism or anything - we can see in ancient Egyptian monuments, the reliefs of kings whipping the snot out of their enemies - but it does cause one to think about the appropriate actions, and those where the impacts are desirable, as in the lying to save a refugee instance. Lying can disrupt many daily interactions and harm relationships, but to save a life, it becomes a weapon for justice. Ma'at, I feel, is inside us, as well as outside us. One certainly has a "personal ma'at", basically, a conscience, as well as how you, as a person, work best within this world, to make the larger ma'at of the community. So, there is no "one size fits all" morality, per say, but I feel everything adds up to what it needs to be. Whatever that is. The world hasn't ended, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Each incident, each situation, must be evaluated independently. You can't have too strict a moral code, something set in stone. For example, telling a lie would not necessarily be wrong, depending on the situation. If you had some Nazi's at your door in 1943 asking where were the Jews, you wouldn't tell them you were hiding them in the basement! A strict moral code doesn't work - life is too fluid for that. We have to see each situation and try to do what is best. It is not easy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagickMonkey Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Each incident, each situation, must be evaluated independently. You can't have too strict a moral code, something set in stone. For example, telling a lie would not necessarily be wrong, depending on the situation. If you had some Nazi's at your door in 1943 asking where were the Jews, you wouldn't tell them you were hiding them in the basement! A strict moral code doesn't work - life is too fluid for that. We have to see each situation and try to do what is best. It is not easy. Can't reasonably argue with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dB-Paradox Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I love it when Christians ask me, "Well, if there's no god, then where do you get your morals from? What makes us feel guilty for murdering another human?" Good point. I must get my moral to not murder from the murderous god, Yahweh. Yup, it all makes sense now! As a Christian, I was convinced that morality was only obtained through a moral lawgiver. But now it's quite easy to see how we have evolved. Even just in the last 2500 years or so. It used to be okay to kill someone as long as they weren't in your tribe. And not just the soldiers of the other tribe. Women and children, too. Over time, our "tribe" has become the "global tribe" and we now look out for all humankind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugene39 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 A couple of Saturdays ago, I spent the day arguing via email with a fundy. Quoting myself: "Why can people believe that God is needed to "create" morality? To me, that's about the dumbest thing. The God who commands killing, raping, beating slaves, etc. dictating my morality? How ridiculous! Evolutionary processes (humanism) give a much better view of morality, without all the back-pedaling that is necessary when one tries to extract their morals from the Bible - now that's an example of buffet Christianity." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freespirit Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I think morality comes from choosing to adhere to social norms. I guess it goes beyond that though, because some of it is simply an inborn human knowledge that surpasses cultural norms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Where do you get your morality? I think Arthur C Clarke's quote on this is very relevant. "The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingLife Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Morality is passed down from parents to offspring. If we take the biblical representation of morality, assuming it is all good, then how is it that folk end up criminals, thieves and murderers? This has to be an area of doubt but as in the case of the woo woo church, they will lay the blame on the parents causing a double whammy. Why is it that xians find the muslim moral code so offensive? They after all believe in much the same thing, they probably even like the idea that homosexuals should be stoned to death even in this day and age, their bible instructs them to do so but thankfully we have laws that surpass the archaic laws of ME goatherders. They are a little more tolerant of adulterous women, seeing that stoning them to death does not seem to fit the crime, they do not like the idea of burkas as that prevents them from flaunting their sexuality yet their bible insists that men should not shave, women should all have long hair. It is obvious that the morality that even xians espouse has little to do with the bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstInTheDance Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 It is good to make other people happy because it feels good. Even if it is inconvenient at times, doing good deeds not only helps others; it also helps the doer. It bolsters the self esteem to know that you've contributed to someone else's life. It gives a sense of purpose and a feeling of usefulness. It makes the world a happier place. I don't believe in sin, but I do believe in negativity. I feel strongly that what you put out there comes back to you. If you are a positive, happy person, you will attract a good life filled with good people. If you are nasty or a negative person, chances are good you will wind up lonely. My version of morality is simple. I try my best to be a good person. Someone I can like when I look in the mirror. I think of the qualities that I want to define myself by and I try to live up to them. Not to please an unknowable higher power - but so that I can be proud that I tried my best to be a decent person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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