Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot  Actually I can think of many more possible choices, such as
"God has flexible moral standards, which can differ greatly from person to person, depending on a wide range of factors, such as the person's individual personality, talents, opportunities, cultural background, social conditioning, and previous life experiences." |
Sounds unfair. My moral standards shouldn't be higher than anyone else's, from the perspective of God. Morality doesn't depend on personality, talent, etc. Morality is universal. I don't want an unfair God.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot "God has moral standards, but failure to reach those standards doesn't necessarily lead to punishment, since God represents ultimate love, forgiveness etc" |
I don't want an unjust God. I think we all like to think murderers and other people who commit such horrible crimes, are of course disapproved of by God and maybe will receive some divine retribution. If God has moral standards, I should think He would want His creation to follow those standards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot "God, being whole, perfect and complete unto itself, expects, and requires nothing from anyone else, and therefore does not prescribe moral standards. We have free will to choose our own moral standards and free will to punish ourselves for failure to meet those standards". |
God created the universe. It's only natural that He would have moral standards for his creation. After all, if he does have those standards, who else could it be but for us? You are arguing an impersonal God. My three statements assumed a personal God.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot "God is the ultimate mystery and as God is unknowable, we would not be able to know what standards, if any, he has prescribed for us." |
Again, we assume a personal God. A personal God would not be unknowable, and would want to reveal Himself. Also, a caring God would want to reveal Himself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot Etc etc etc.
IMO, it's also rather irrelevant to go down this route: |
I don't see it as irrelevant, since we were discussing morality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot .... since atheists generally would also have strong objections to murder. You don't need to believe in the existence of God to be horrified by the act of murder. |
I didn't say people wouldn't be horrified by murder. I said God should be horrified by murder, too. After all, why else would we have those moral standards if they didn't come from somewhere? We know what is right and wrong, but who has set these standards? Most of these standards are universal, across cultures.