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IMHO
proverbs 16:2
All the ways of a man are clean inhisowneyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
if what i see now on the street is morals without religion, i'll pass.
I really don't think there is a contradiction at all.
If you are a beleiver, then god (heavenly father) has bestowed upon you morals, you still have the choice (free will) to do the right thing, or ignore those morals and do whatever you want.
The same as if you are a non-beleiver, then your parents or a key figure has bestowed or taught you morals, then it is up to you to do the right thing and follow their guidance, or again, do whatever you want.
It's not contradicting the bible and it's not against free will. We are all born with a sense of what is right and wrong. Our environment and our upbringing either reinforces or clouds this initial sense. We have a choice to either accept or reject or modify what we first know.
All our morals have changed over the years, Christians too. Back in the OT, Gods people committed genocide on not a few nations, because God told them to. Practically every person alive today would be horrified if a 'Christian' nation committed genocide against a non-Christian nation.
A few hundred years ago, people considered heretics were burned at the stake for their beliefs, by Christians and the Christian crowds cheered while it happened, The Inquisition was conducted by Christians and is infamous for its cruelty and bloodletting. Can you say that, given the opportunity, Christians would happily do the same today, to atheists, or those of another sect? Maybe some would, but I think the vast majority would consider burning someone at the stake barbaric, and most of us would recoil in horror to think of actually going and watching a spectacle like that as entertainment.
We would say that we are MORE civilized in predominantly Christian lands today. That is because morality has changed.
Morality has to do with happiness. It makes us happy to make others happy. It gives us a feeling of well-being, so in a sense being unselfish is also selfish, because it benefits the giver too. It is logical to do things that benefit us and make us feel good. If we see someone smile at us or express appreciation for something we do, it makes us want to smile back, and do more for that person.
So we could ask which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did people begin to form morals because God told them to? Or because they found out that by having morals and doing good to others it made them happier and gave them a better life?
If I practice good morals without having read the Bible, then my motives are less in question. If I do them Because I read the Bible, am I just doing them because its right to do so, because God told me to, but not necessarily whats in my heart?
It's not contradicting the bible and it's not against free will. We are all born with a sense of what is right and wrong. Our environment and our upbringing either reinforces or clouds this initial sense. We have a choice to either accept or reject or modify what we first know.
Have to disagree that we are born with morals, even your christian morals. Isolated individuals who have not been taught your moral code show no propensity to automatically follow it. People do what they are taught not what is thought to be moral programing. Morals change so either there is no moral programing or the creator is incompentent.
Yes, I really don't think we are born with morals. We are born with a conscience. Whether someone listens to that still small voice is another thing. Morals are taught.
I really don't think there is a contradiction at all.
If you are a beleiver,then god (heavenly father) has bestowedupon you morals, you still have the choice (free will) to do the right thing, or ignore those morals and do whatever you want.
The same as if you are a non-beleiver, then your parents or a key figure has bestowed or taught you morals, then it is up to you to do the right thing and follow their guidance, or again, do whatever you want.
Free will is a part of it all.
So what you are saying is that morals are a divine gift from God? And he bestows these and other qualities on "believers" exclusively after they have proven themselves and have met some arbitrary standard? And for the rest of us, these qualities are bestowed on us by mere mortals? In that case we should clasify morals as either divine morals or just plain morals. I hope that doesn't sound ridiculous.
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