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What? Being theist or atheist is not a moral issue, it's a philosophical issue about the nature of the universe. The notion that atheists are less moral than t

What? Being theist or atheist is not a moral issue, it's a philosophical issue about the nature of the universe. The notion that atheists are less moral than theists is a common misconception.

jon_dahl 17y ago
I don't think he was saying that one (religious or atheist) is more moral than the other. Just that when we geeks take a stand on a fundamental question, whether it's moral or philosophical/theological, we often do it with conviction.
joubert 17y ago
I would argue it is more moral to be atheistic than to believe in some god.
- jimbokun 17y ago
  And a theist would argue that being theistic is more moral. This devolves simply to the question of whether theism or atheism is correct, so the question of the morality of either position is largely beside the point. EDIT: Hacker News is not allowing me to reply to you, so I'll ask my question here: If a group of atheist people shared a set of contradictory beliefs, requiring vile and immoral actions, would that make atheism immoral?
  - joubert 17y ago
    Except, theistic philosophies (religion), being based on set of contradictory beliefs, allow, no, even require actions from humans that we now consider vile and immoral.
  - MartinCron 17y ago
    One argument is that atheists are more moral because they are making moral choices based on what is good and right for other people, instead of saving up their virtue in a bank account in the sky to be cashed in on when they get to Heaven. That is, they aren't being good just because they think God is watching and writing everything down in a little book, they are really just being good. It's essentially the same argument that Karma is a moral cop-out: you should be good for its own sake, not because the universe is keeping score will reward you in this life or the next.
astine 17y ago
That depends on what you mean by 'moral.' In common usage, it is a synonym for 'ethics,' but in older usage it had religious connotations. Using the older meaning, a 'moral atheist' is an oxymoron. The fact that many religious ethicists still use the word this way leads to some unfortunate misunderstandings.

What? Being theist or atheist is not a moral issue, it's a philosophical issue about the nature of the universe. The notion that atheists are less moral than theists is a common misconception.

jon_dahl 17y ago

I don't think he was saying that one (religious or atheist) is more moral than the other. Just that when we geeks take a stand on a fundamental question, whether it's moral or philosophical/theological, we often do it with conviction.

joubert 17y ago

I would argue it is more moral to be atheistic than to believe in some god.

jimbokun 17y ago
And a theist would argue that being theistic is more moral. This devolves simply to the question of whether theism or atheism is correct, so the question of the morality of either position is largely beside the point. EDIT: Hacker News is not allowing me to reply to you, so I'll ask my question here: If a group of atheist people shared a set of contradictory beliefs, requiring vile and immoral actions, would that make atheism immoral?
- joubert 17y ago
  Except, theistic philosophies (religion), being based on set of contradictory beliefs, allow, no, even require actions from humans that we now consider vile and immoral.
- MartinCron 17y ago
  One argument is that atheists are more moral because they are making moral choices based on what is good and right for other people, instead of saving up their virtue in a bank account in the sky to be cashed in on when they get to Heaven. That is, they aren't being good just because they think God is watching and writing everything down in a little book, they are really just being good. It's essentially the same argument that Karma is a moral cop-out: you should be good for its own sake, not because the universe is keeping score will reward you in this life or the next.

astine 17y ago

That depends on what you mean by 'moral.' In common usage, it is a synonym for 'ethics,' but in older usage it had religious connotations. Using the older meaning, a 'moral atheist' is an oxymoron. The fact that many religious ethicists still use the word this way leads to some unfortunate misunderstandings.