Where do atheists get their morals from?

[Razgovory]

You know Viking, it would help your arguments if you took the time to learn what Christians actually believer rather then confuse it with Jewish dietary law.

It's his stock-in-trade though.

He can't or won't argue with what people actually believe.  Instead he pretends every Christian is a biblical fundamentalist.

Or in this case, Siegebreaker.   I actually like Viking.  He's a smart guy, he's pretty good at science and stuff.  I respect that.  It's just he throws everything to the wind on the Athiest issue.   Why can't he be like DG, also an Athiest but not really a jerk about it and doesn't go on about pseudoscience which Viking really should know better about.

[Razgovory]

Of course, this raises the question as to why anyone would particularly want to be a Jew ... 

for the jokes.

And the Pussy.  I knew a Jewish chick back in high school.  What a little minx.  Shame she was dating a friend of mine.   I think she went off to join the chair force.

[Caliga]

I have had sex with Jews.

[mongers]

As a proposition that Christianity teaches to love all men, Christian and otherwise, I cited the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

It exists in the New Testament, and is amongst the most famous and most cited of Jesus' teachings.

I have no idea what you're talking about when you talk about 'a throwaway line in the hebrew bible that is never used'.

Is it possible you are unfamiliar with the story of the Good Samaritan?  If so...

25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;✡Deuteronomy 6:5 and your neighbor as yourself."✡Leviticus 19:18
28 He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
37 He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

http://www.ebible.org/web/LUK10.htm#V25

But it's telling that he's described as the "Good Samaritan", to differentiate him from the rest of Samaritans, who were regarded as a bad, untrustworthy people.

Iirc this was because they had a similar religion, but worshipped at a different rival temple and so were rivals to those based in Jerusalem ? 

[dps]

As a proposition that Christianity teaches to love all men, Christian and otherwise, I cited the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

It exists in the New Testament, and is amongst the most famous and most cited of Jesus' teachings.

I have no idea what you're talking about when you talk about 'a throwaway line in the hebrew bible that is never used'.

Is it possible you are unfamiliar with the story of the Good Samaritan?  If so...

25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;✡Deuteronomy 6:5 and your neighbor as yourself.”✡Leviticus 19:18
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

http://www.ebible.org/web/LUK10.htm#V25

But it's telling that he's described as the "Good Samaritan", to differentiate him from the rest of Samaritans, who were regarded as a bad, untrustworthy people.

Iirc this was because they had a similar religion, but worshipped at a different rival temple and so were rivals to those based in Jerusalem ? 

That's completely missing the point.  It wasn't that he was different from other Samaritans because he was a good guy;  it was that Samaritans weren't any different, morally, from Jews.

You are correct in that Samaritans were descendents of Isrealites who had left (perhaps involuntarily) Palestine, and who were differentiated from mainstream Jews in that they felt they could establish places of worship in the citites in which they lived instead of having to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.

[Admiral Yi]

Telling how mongers? 

[dps]

Of course, this raises the question as to why anyone would particularly want to be a Jew ... 

for the jokes.

Or so they can butcher animals in a cruel manner. 

[Valmy]

Of course, this raises the question as to why anyone would particularly want to be a Jew ... 

Because the yoke of heaven is the best kind of yoke?

[Valmy]

Of course, this raises the question as to why anyone would particularly want to be a Jew ... 

for the jokes.

Or so they can butcher animals in a cruel manner. 

So they can mutilate their infant sons in the proper American way despite living in Europe?

[Viking]

I came up with a new theory of morality during dinner: the root cause is the joy one feels when pointing out another's shortcomings.

from God is not great

Nothing proves the man-made character of religion as obviously as the sick mind that designed hell, unless it is the sorely limited mind that has failed to describe heaven — except as a place of either worldly comfort, eternal tedium, or (as Tertullian thought) continual relish in the torture of others. (p. 219)

[chipwich]

As a proposition that Christianity teaches to love all men, Christian and otherwise, I cited the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

It exists in the New Testament, and is amongst the most famous and most cited of Jesus' teachings.

I have no idea what you're talking about when you talk about 'a throwaway line in the hebrew bible that is never used'.

Is it possible you are unfamiliar with the story of the Good Samaritan?  If so...

25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;✡Deuteronomy 6:5 and your neighbor as yourself."✡Leviticus 19:18
28 He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
37 He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

http://www.ebible.org/web/LUK10.htm#V25

But it's telling that he's described as the "Good Samaritan", to differentiate him from the rest of Samaritans, who were regarded as a bad, untrustworthy people.

Iirc this was because they had a similar religion, but worshipped at a different rival temple and so were rivals to those based in Jerusalem ? 

The Samaritan is not described as good in the actual gospel.

[Viking]

You know Viking, it would help your arguments if you took the time to learn what Christians actually believer rather then confuse it with Jewish dietary law.

I'm chasing you down the god of the gaps or your shifting ground obfuscation. If what you believe is not christian dogma or conflicts with the bible (here my good lutheran bible study comes to full fruition) then you are going to have to chase me down and convince me that you know better than the pope or patriarch or bishop or pastor. It's not my job to read your mind when discussing christianity when the tradition, the dogma, the policies and the bible make it clear.

In fact the entire point I am trying to make in this thread is that most normal people (like the norwegian resistence) derive their moral views from their own natural moral sentiments and treat the bible as a buffet to find justifications for what they believe ipso facto. The dietary laws are the ridiculous ones that people happily ignore without explaining how and where these particular laws (as opposed to the ones they must still observe) got picked to be ignored.

It's his stock-in-trade though.

He can't or won't argue with what people actually believe.  Instead he pretends every Christian is a biblical fundamentalist.

I'm sorry but this is below you all. Given that you have made no attempt at either dealing with my arguments or explaining where you get the magical knowledge that tells you which part of the bible you get to ignore and which part you don't. The entire point of the thread is me making an argument trying to explain why you pick one part to ignore and one part not to.

If god did exist that would be the most important life changing and constant fact in the world. The fact that the creator of the world had created me personally as part of his plan for the continuation of the universe and had put down the information I needed to fulfill that role in a book and that my reward if I performed my part would be eternal happiness and my punishment if I failed would be eternal torment would be the most significant single fact in the universe rendering everything else irrelevant. What I cannot understand is how someone who actually believes there is a god cannot be a radical fundamentalist biblical literalist.

If someone can explain that to me I'd be eternally grateful; because until I get an explanation like that I can only conclude that professing believers are all lying amoral scumbags.

[Viking]

25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;✡Deuteronomy 6:5 and your neighbor as yourself."✡Leviticus 19:18
28 He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
37 He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

http://www.ebible.org/web/LUK10.htm#V25

I gotta point out that going by this story the "certain priest" and the "Levite" are not his Neighbor and excluded from the new universal in-group. Be moral to those who are moral to you? The parable is an answer to the question of "who is my neighbor", it's not the priest or the levite, it's the guy who earns it by behaving well. This is NOT creating a universal in-group. It is re-defining the in-group.

[Admiral Yi]

I gotta point out that going by this story the "certain priest" and the "Levite" are not his Neighbor and excluded from the new universal in-group. Be moral to those who are moral to you? The parable is an answer to the question of "who is my neighbor", it's not the priest or the levite, it's the guy who earns it by behaving well. This is NOT creating a universal in-group. It is re-defining the in-group.

Except that from the Samaritan's POV, the victim was not a member of any in-group.

[mongers]

I don't know, have you tried getting some clay, sand and water to go along with that; then you could build something really lasting. 

edit;
meant in reply to Viking's 2nd to last post, which I failed to quote.