Am I More Moral Than God?

[retrorich]

Since I am an atheist, the following comments are hypothetical.

This morning I rescued a creepy-crawley bug (It had way to many legs to be classified as an insect) on the carpet of my apartment. Instead of killing it, I managed to get it to crawl onto a paper towel and released it out on my balcony. I cared enough about that bug to save its life. Did God care about it at all? I doubt it. Does God care about any of the creatures he allegedly created? I doubt it.

Many people consider atheists to be immoral people. I know that isn't true.

My question is: Am I more moral than God?

 

[GreyHam]

im sure im going to cause offense but please dont, anyone. i dont find atheists immoral at all, i find them to be stubbornly rejecting a viable alternative to creation, life the universe and everything.

depending on how you view God, yes, he did care about the bug. if god is omnipotent and omnipresent, he knew what was going on. but the bugs dilemma gave you two options. to squish it, or to rescue it. and you doing the latter is arguably the most moral thing to do. you could argue that was just a test.

 

[Mister Emu]

Am I More Moral Than God?

:no::sorry1:

 

[retrorich]

im sure im going to cause offense but please dont, anyone. i dont find atheists immoral at all, i find them to be stubbornly rejecting a viable alternative to creation, life the universe and everything.

depending on how you view God, yes, he did care about the bug. if god is omnipotent and omnipresent, he knew what was going on. but the bugs dilemma gave you two options. to squish it, or to rescue it. and you doing the latter is arguably the most moral thing to do. you could argue that was just a test.

What viable alternative am I rejecting? What evidence do you have that God cared about the bug?

 

[retrorich]

:no::sorry1:

Can you support your answer?

 

[d.]

My question is: Am I more moral than God?

i don't know where you get the idea that the christian god would be kind, loving or 'moral'. read the old testament lately?

 

[GreyHam]

What viable alternative am I rejecting? What evidence do you have that God cared about the bug?

atheists refute the existence of a divine power. yet there is not enough evidence either to prove or deny that a divine power exists, so the hard rejection of it is quite stubborn in my opinion

and, the bible

 

[Sunstone]

Nature itself is amoral, Rich. So, in one sense, we are all more moral than nature to the extent that we are moral at all. If deity created nature, why wouldn't nature reflect the morals of deity? Or, more precisely, the lack of any morals of deity? Just a thought.

More to your point, you are certainly more moral than many gods. Zeus, for instance, went around raping women. The god of the OT slaughtered all of humanity except for Noah and his family. The Sun God of the Aztecs demanded butchery on a scale that was only surpassed in the concentration camps of WWII. So, there is a little evidence that you are more moral than the gods, unless you have been up to those things yourself.

 

[Mister Emu]

1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character: moral scrutiny; a moral quandary.
2. Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior: a moral lesson.
3. Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous: a moral life.

1. Leaving out the word "human" in the first definiton...

God is the ultimate standard of goodness and what is right and just... thus whatever He wishes done, and whatever He does is moral... thus unless you do, think, and want everything God wants you to do, you cannot be as, much less more, moral than God.

Edit: definitions from www.dictionary.com

 

[Mr. Hair]

Am I More Moral Than God?

Since 'morality' is a human invention, why not?

@GreyHam: Atheistic and theistic viewpoints concern themselves with matters of faith, they do not require scientific evidence to back them up.

 

[michel]

Since I am an atheist, the following comments are hypothetical.

This morning I rescued a creepy-crawley bug (It had way to many legs to be classified as an insect) on the carpet of my apartment. Instead of killing it, I managed to get it to crawl onto a paper towel and released it out on my balcony. I cared enough about that bug to save its life. Did God care about it at all? I doubt it. Does God care about any of the creatures he allegedly created? I doubt it.

Many people consider atheists to be immoral people. I know that isn't true.

My question is: Am I more moral than God?

Firstly;

Many people consider atheists to be immoral people. I know that isn't true.

As do I, that is an absurd generalization.

The crux of your argument seems to stem from

I cared enough about that bug to save its life. Did God care about it at all? I doubt it. Does God care about any of the creatures he allegedly created? I doubt it.

I don't know why you should think that God didn't care "about the creatures he allegedly created", because I think he probably does.

The point is, you are looking at this whole thing from a subjective point of view of God (in whom you don't believe), the creature and you.

Everyday, animals die as part of the whole food chain; does that mean that God doesn't care about the ones that get eaten ?

To understand God is impossible; the point which may be the pivotal one is the afterlife (which you wouldn't believe in). I get the impression a lot of times that the pain of dying would be well worth the benefit of going into a new life...........

 

[retrorich]

atheists refute the existence of a divine power. yet there is not enough evidence either to prove or deny that a divine power exists, so the hard rejection of it is quite stubborn in my opinion

and, the bible

You said atheists reject an alternative to creationism. Isn't the belief in a devine power part of the theory of creationism, not an alternative to it?

 

[retrorich]

i don't know where you get the idea that the christian god would be kind, loving or 'moral'. read the old testament lately?

I consider the Bible to be a boring, mythical work of fiction--so I don't read either testament. I'll leave that to the theists.

 

[d.]

and, the bible

and the bible what?

 

[retrorich]

Nature itself is amoral, Rich. So, in one sense, we are all more moral than nature to the extent that we are moral at all. If deity created nature, why wouldn't nature reflect the morals of deity? Or, more precisely, the lack of any morals of deity? Just a thought.

More to your point, you are certainly more moral than many gods. Zeus, for instance, went around raping women. The god of the OT slaughtered all of humanity except for Noah and his family. The Sun God of the Aztecs demanded butchery on a scale that was only surpassed in the concentration camps of WWII. So, there is a little evidence that you are more moral than the gods, unless you have been up to those things yourself.

My question referred to God, not "Nature."

 

[Sunstone]

My question referred to God, not "Nature."

According to theists, nature is the handiwork of God. Therefore, why doesn't nature reflect God's morality as professed in the Bible? That was the question I was getting at, Rich, in my post.

 

[retrorich]

According to theists, nature is the handiwork of God. Therefore, why doesn't nature reflect God's morality as professed in the Bible? That was the question I was getting at, Rich, in my post.

Good question!

 

[michel]

According to theists, nature is the handiwork of God. Therefore, why doesn't nature reflect God's morality as professed in the Bible? That was the question I was getting at, Rich, in my post.

I'm being slow here, as usual, I am not sure what you mean, Sunstone; could you elaborate?

 

[jeffrey]

i don't know where you get the idea that the christian god would be kind, loving or 'moral'. read the old testament lately?

Beat me to it. The OT God, as depicted by man, had not many morals, or equal to the morals of the men that wrote it. I'm sure the real God, who wrote the kook on morals, is more moral then anyone that has ever lived, bar Christ himself, which some say is God anyways.

 

[Sunstone]

I'm being slow here, as usual, I am not sure what you mean, Sunstone; could you elaborate?

When I intentionally create something, I want that thing to be compatible with my values. So, if God intentionally created nature, why isn't nature in line with his values (his values as professed by the OT)? It seems to me that nature is amoral, while God is moral (or, God is moral according to the values of God). Help me out if I haven't elaborated well, and I'll try again. I need more coffee this morning!