I am pretty much an athiest or at least an agnostic. People ask me how I can be moral if I dont' believe in God. Every time I am asked this, I am offended and stunned.
Compassion and empathy are qualities that my parents nurtured in me since I was very young. They raised me to feel sad for those less fortunate than I, and to help those in need. I remember in first grade the behaviorally disturbed boy that no one liked was having a birthday party. Many kids parents allowed them to not go. My mother just asked me "how would YOU feel if you had a birthday party and no one showed up?", bought me a present and took me to the party. I was taught to stick up for the underdog and to protect kids who were getting picked on. Basically, I was often asked "How would you feel if..." a million times, and expected to treat others how I would like to be treated. I was brought up to help others when they need it, to speak up against injustice and protect people who cant' protect themselves. All without FEAR, all without GOD. So when folks say that taking GOD out of schools is the problem I feel sad that they feel people cant' be GOOD without FEAR and without GOD. The problem has nothing to do with folks being afraid of God, it has to do with raising kids to have no compassion, no empathy - it has to do with raising selfish kids who think its ok to make fun of the retarded kid down the street, or to beat up the wimpy little boy next door and take his lunch money. And quite frankly some of the nastiest kids in my neighborhood came from practicing, religious families. So if you need FEAR and GOD in your life to be a good person, dont' assume that everyone else does too. Some of us are good people with neither. Its interesting Judith - the reason my mother decided she was an athiest is because she felt the Jewish God ruled via fear and intimidation and she felt that wasnt' a god she could believe in. So she decided at age 12 that there was no God. And I can assure you my mother is truly a kind and compassionate person - with strong morals. I remember as a kid her teaching me about the jewish value of tzedukah (charity for those of you who don't know) and how wonderful it is that charity is a part of our culture (note, not religion). My parents proudly taught us that the jewish people stuck up for the opressed of the world - the NAACP is a great example - and how this was a jewish value as well. Values CAN be part of ones life without fear of God - if one has a conscience. --Beth, Pseudo usenet cop Merlin MTB, BikeE AT, RANS gliss, Trek R200, Kickbike Owned by Kavik (Samoyed Boy) and Toklat (Keeshond Boy) Anchorage, Alaska ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judith Dinowitz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:27 PM Subject: Re: I'm speechless ... > It does have to do with moral relativism. Simply put, this woman had no > fear of G-d. > > If she feared G-d more than she feared man (what the world would think of > her DUI), she would never have stood by while he bled to death. True fear > of G-d means that every action you do has to be weighed morally. You're > always looking over your shoulder, and you know that He is always watching. > > But yes, the whole thing is horrible. I can't stop thinking of that poor man. > > Judith > > >Like there weren't morally bankrupt people before? > >And I dont' think our schools teach moral relativism at all - > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 6:05 PM > >Subject: RE: I'm speechless ... > > > > > > > Do you think, maybe, that this is what decades of our public schools > > > teaching moral relativism has wrought? > > > > > > H. > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
