You said:
If I were not a Christian, I do not think I would believe all people are equal.
I am a secularist. Or an atheist, or a materialist. Something along those lines. I am not unclear on my own beliefs, but consistant definitions amongst people self-identifying as any of those things are very hard to come by.
Being one of those, I believe that everyone is equal. Not in the eyes of God and not for any spiritual reason. I believe everyone is equal because I see no ultimate reason or order to the universe. There is no one keeping score, so how could you argue that I am achieving on some level more than anyone else? Or better than a gnat for instance? I don't think I am more moral, or better, or more or less equal than a gnat. It has as much "right" to exist as I do. Even the concept of having "rights" outside of a human context is silly in my mind. Again, with no objective standard, the concept makes no sense. Since I have no God that can stand immovable against this universe's frame of reference, there is no standard against which I can judge the relative value of lives, or life vs. non-life for that matter.
Why am I moral at all? Because I was taught to be, and being taught to be something for a brain constructed like a primates' is reason enough, I guess. I would imagine that is not a satisfying answer, but it's the best I've come up with.
2 comments:
Jim: The question of why you are moral is a good one. The life that you lead, as well as the life many of my non-religious friends lead, would make it impossible for me to assert that Christianity, or religion, is the only path to happiness.
I do think, you would lead a better life (happier comes of too shallow, but that is the closest to what I really mean) if you could tune in to the things that are more than physical. But, you already do that in your valued personal relationships, your love of good beer, etc.
Do you quarrel with my personal assesment, and we know each other well enough that I think you are qualified to make the quarrel, that without my faith I would be less inclined to see people equally?
You did write this:
"Even the concept of having "rights" outside of a human context is silly in my mind. Again, with no objective standard, the concept makes no sense."
The best way to get that concept into the human mind is an important question about which I hope to write in the near future. You have been taught it. But how did that happen, and what methods does the world have to teach it?
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