Golden Rules

Morality is one of those issues that often comes up when talking about religion or lack thereof. There seems to be a contention that concept of good and evil comes from god or a holy book. If you don't have these things in your life, you lack the capacity for morality.

This logic is fallacious and simply ridiculous. God and religion introduce "reward/punishment" into the realm of human ethics. People learn what is good and what it is evil and the consequences for such actions. If I firmly believe that doing ill will land me an eternal spot in hell, I naturally want to avoid the negative behavior and the subsequent endless agony. This is not morality in any sense of the word; it's hedonism. Do good, receive eternal rewards; do evil, be punished eternally. The choice is as simple as deciding whether or not to place your hand directly into fire for a length of time.

I submit that those lacking in religion have the capacity to be extremely moral human beings -- who often have a better sense of morality than their godly counterparts. It's as simple as this: As someone that believe in finite existence, I take the "they will die tomorrow approach." If you find out that your mother or someone close to you has only, say, 24 hours to live, you would (presumably) make all necessary amends and treat the time you have left with the utmost respect. In essence, you want the last hours of their life to be among the happiest they will every experience, not ones harrowed with anger, resentment and malicious acts. Simply, you understand how fragile and precious life is and treat it accordingly. This is how I try to live my life and treat my fellow citizens of earth. I do not need god to tell me that it is right for me to treat others with respect and try to increase their ability to enjoy their time on this planet.

It's as simply as that folks. I'm more likely to appreciate the time we have now, not look forward to the end of days and not act certain way solely because I have some sort interest in being rewarded eternally.