Some words I am having difficulties with as there are so many definitions, if you would not mind please supply your personal definitions for the following.
1) God. An almost certainly non-existing being who knows everything and can do anything except get things right. 2) Sin. Something God dont like. 3) Moral. Doing what god tells you do (eg: killing witches) 4) Atheist. Someone who do not believe in: God, Sin and that kind of moral behavior
Ancient man determined there are mysterious powerful (supernatural) forces to cause natural phenomena such as earthquakes, lightning, thunder et al. Next step was to imagine there must be God persons as the mind/brain controlling those forces and the gods might be worshipped and prayed to and sacrifices made to try make them more mankind friendly. Eventually the multiple gods concept was reduced to just being one all powerful creator God
Moral: doing what is some various opinions of mankind that should please God.
Sin: doing what is some mankind's opinion that might displease God.
Atheist: person who thinks things through in a reasonable way and concludes that gods were an invention by ancient man.
Sin... that's something defined by a religion or religions OR by *society* as something that is wrong in the eyes of God/society. That's not to say though that everyone has the same definition or belief.. so what is a sin to one person may not be so to another.
Moral and morality doesn't have to be connected with religion.. it can be connected to society but I see it as more individual; my morals are strong but they are very, very, very different to most other peoples.. I operate within my own moral code and rarely break it.. but I am certain many others would not approve and equally I don't always approve of other people's choices.. I am a LOT more broadminded and open re sex but strongly moral on things like lying, stealing, treating others badly..
Athiest.. easiest one - phew thanks for ending on a nice easy one.. An athiest is someone who doesn't believe in God or generally speaking religion.
GOD, a conception of a creator and ruler of the universe as a Supreme Being. SIN, - transgression against other humans, animals, property of others as well as your own. MORAL, - principles of right conduct ATHEIST, - A human who acknowledges that a Sin is equal to a crime and having Morals is equal to having the right behavior and doesn't need God for instructions.
It is answers like this that start confusion as not all gods fit into ' a creator and ruler of the universe as a Supreme Being''
You have simply replaced the word sin with 'transgression', for example, in some faiths it would be considered a sin not to be circumcised yet in others it would be seen as a transgression to carry out the act of circumcision.
Moral is a funny one as it "right conduct' changes from religion to religion and from society to society.
A crime is a crime and a sin is pie in the sky, I feel very sorry for humanity if it needs a god to issue instructions as to what is 'right behavior'.
Thanks for trying but as you can see there are major problems in trying to find definitions that everyone can agree on.
Actually morality does not change all that much from culture to culture, what mostly change is specific instances: - how to treat a homosexual man. - what a woman should do when being raped. - what to do about gypsies/foreigners/freemasons/...
But the basics are the same everywhere, being kind and helpfull, helping the poor (the current US idea about "deserving poor" is an oddity. found in only a few other cultures), avoiding violence, raising kids with love and tolerance.
No, pay attention to your question showing interest in personal definitions for GOD, SIN, MORAL and ATHEIST. So, I gave you my personal definition, nothing thinking I would be judged on. When you judge someone after asking them for their personal definition or opinion, you become a hypocrite looking for strife.
The first thing you are confused with, is that I was not referring to "all gods" fitting into the role of a creator and ruler. I was referring to GOD, as you indicated in your question.
Since SIN and MORALS also seem to confuse the shit out of you, let's just stick with instructions from GOD (like I mentioned in my answer), as you seem to lack from your confusion. If GOD really interests you that much and you feel a need to search for his instructions, here's one I prefer to live by: Proverbs 20: 3 Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.
I do not see why you think you are being 'judged' when I simply point out some of the flaws that I perceive in your reply compared to what others may think, if it were straight forward then I would not have posed the question in the first place. I get the feeling you are talking about your god, which even if it is the majority god worshiped, it still is only worshiped by approx one third of the worlds population, leaving possibly two thirds with different understanding of the words in question. Unlike religion I am not trying to divide people, I am trying to find common factors that we can all work from when discussing things and unless we have common definitions then such discussions are not possible. I accept that you gave you personal definition and again I thank you for that but I would point out that after me writing 'Thanks for trying but as you can see there are major problems in trying to find definitions that everyone can agree on.' in no way can this be seen as argumentative/quarrelsome so you appear to be the one not following proverbs 20:3, hypocrisy or what?
1- In the chain of cause and effect every cause is an effect of the cause above it. GOD is the ultimate cause on the very top of this chain and is by definition not an effect of any cause above it.
2- A MORAL code is one that categorises actions into "good" and "bad". The former are commendable and rewarded while the latter are condemnable and punished. MORALS are subjective if ascribed to man and are therefore very difficult to agree on across the board. They are more amenable to acceptance by different peoples if they are ascribed to God.
3- A SIN is any action categorised as "bad" in a MORAL code ascribed to GOD
4- A good genuine ATHEIST is someone who has not come across any argument that has persuaded him to believe in God but is nevertheless genuinely open minded about the possibility of there being a God of some description somewhere. If only all theists were to embrace these three qualities of a good ATHEIST, a] genuine open mindedness, b] rationality and c] rejection of what has been conclusively proven as false, then religion might stand a chance of being taken more seriously. A bad hopeless ATHEIST is someone who has taken up a position insisting that there is no God of any description anywhere. Such a person is totally oblivious of the undeniable fact that we know that there can never, and therefore will never, be any evidence to support his position. There is ample evidence that good ATHEISTS are genuinely open minded. The American mathematics professor in the video below is an example of a genuinely open minded ATHEIST. One evening having nothing else to read he was forced to look at a scripture and in the video he expresses his anger at what he found in that religious book.
ATHEIST does not accept the existence of any gods. MORAL is behaving properly by some criteria. SIN is breaking rules made by gods. GOD is an alleged being of far more than human abilities and powers.
God: The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the master and creator of the world Sin: Violation of God's law Moral: Doing what is right Atheist: Someone who does not believe in God or gods.
This post was edited by my2cents at August 16, 2017 7:24 AM MDT