Do we need religion to be good people?
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i think the main reason god sent his messengers was to inform people that there is god and the day of judgement. even this is up to the people to believe it not.
other things that follow, such as rituals and religious laws, are optional and suggestion. i think they have nothing to do with the belief of god itself, but it's more to the benefits of human beings themselves.
like the case with alcohol, god suggests in his book not to take it, but it's up to the people too. if they want to drink it then they will of course have to take all the responsibilities and consequences.
and i think god has given us a tool to know what is wright or wrong, which is our heart and mind. we can acknowledge god and morality through journey of life and observing the nature, which is actually what islam is all about, finding god and doing good deeds in life. -
peace
Religion is out of question as there is no religion. Regarding the Quran and whats init needed to be uphold for human existance, otherwise we will destroy ourselves.
yes for the first part, for the second part we need what is in quran, yes, but it can also be found outside. one does not necessarily have to believe in god in order to behave in a moral manner - and unfortunetely the opposite is true as well!
elke
Salam Elke,
Things can be found outside the Quran but there is a tendency that the guidance outside to get corrupted because it is not protected by God. Regarding one who does not believe in God is OK, but if one still does not believe in God after knowledge and guidance than I think is ignorance and immoral, immoral in a sense that the individual does not reason. Hence in the long run this individual might do wrong without even knowing. Gods revalation is needed, because he sent it to human.
Peace
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Peace be upon you all,
If the Quran were to be disproven through contradictions, I would become an immoral person. Why? Because I'd generally look at this world as a game; whoever is on top (financially) is the winner. Being evil is a lot easier than being good; for me at least.Without a Good God would there be any intrinsic reward for being a good person? I doubt that there is any. The only reason I do good deeds is because I feel I'm going to be either rewarded or punished in this life as well as the next, based on these actions. This, I agree is a pretty selfish motive, but when is a Good deed not selfish? Even if you do a good deed to get that little feeling inside that says "way to Go, you've done a good thing", you're still in my opinion being selfish, because you did it for that feeling it gives you.
I know some of you will say that means I'm evil deep down anyway, and I'm just masking it or being a hypocrite. Maybe I am. Thank God though I still believe that the Quran is the word of God, or else I see myself as trying to conquer the world.
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Peace be upon you Enquirer,
I have been on many informative sites recently which have caused me to think a lot on things we might take for granted. I will now ask two questions; a) as people with relatively 'free-minds' how would our view of life be affected if the quran was found to have contradictions in it?
Not much, I do not rely on "Koran", I rely on "quran", which comes from Universal Law.
I nourish myself from several teachings, but al they can do it point you right back to the universal laws
b)If somebody proved that god did not exist in reality?
The mathematics behind creation would not allow for such.
For myself i say that my behaviour to other people would not change drastically and in fact might improve by being less dogmatic and more humane. Are god and the quran needed for ethics and morality? Or are they just a part of moral knowledge? Can an atheist or a person without a 'recognised' religion be a moral person?
Yes, an atheist can be a moral person because universal law will beat them upside the head as it does all humans. D We can call each other any title we want, but we are still under the same system, same divine order.
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Peace be upon you Idolfree,
What do you mean by Universal Law? Where do you derive this law from? Do you find out how to live by observing the Universe?I think I have a simple understanding of where you get this law from, like saying, if you touch fire you get burned. So I guess in your universal law you would say, if you do evil, you also will get burned (metaphorically of course). However, when I observe the universe, I see that those who do good usually end up dead. While those who do evil, usually end up on top. Take for example all the Good people who spoke out against evil; Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur, Ghandi, and so on. They all ended up dead, no? Now look at Bush, Donald Trump, and all the CEO's that squander money. Furthermore, observing the laws of the universe does not tell us that there will be a judgement after we die, and that there will be rewards and punishment. So how do you deduce that Universal law tells us to be good people, instead of bad people?
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Peace
Yes some people live in luxury who are good and who are not good, etc. The reading, being the blueprint to reality points this out . There is a statement, "As above, so below" which would answer your inquery below.
Furthermore, observing the laws of the universe does not tell us that there will be a judgement after we die, and that there will be rewards and punishment.
Joe
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Salam,
For me all scriptures are just 'maps' from the God to show us the best way how to reach the right destination. So, its up to us whether we want to take a look at them or not. If you are sure u can reach the destination without the directions then so be it, you are on your own. (Even those who read the 'maps' still get lost Lol lol )
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Peace,
My personal thoughts reveal that one must step outside of their ?prejudice? religious doctrines and vision, reflect and act upon their natural course of ways and paths to experience peace, i.e. Universal Observance. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly can be distinguished and tackled with proper understanding and mindset. Anyone can live their fullest lives by reason, logic and experiment. Every individual has its own ways of living their lives and each excel in their time, but in what depth each perceives and how far each outreaches, determines its outcome in every circumstance.
The Quran is a book to be read, ?a setting? (guidance) in which to understand, reflect and picture its historicity in order to obey, commit and fulfill our duties and obligations to live a purposeful and righteous life in our own natural system. I don?t ?worship? GOD but believe in HIM by ?serving out? HIS commands as Natural as it gets, in MY own path and reality. That by itself is serving and remembering GOD for which HE has ordained upon humankind and by no means an easy task to accomplish.
Revering buildings, walls, crosses, sculptures, portraits, humans, animals and the likes are simply an excuse and venues for admission to reach GOD whence these very admissions are the causes for chaos and confusion leading to condemnation; idols and idol-worshipping acts created by men molded into religions for the sheer merit of creed, greed and violence.
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Peace Peace
you said above
I know some of you will say that means I'm evil deep down anyway, and I'm just masking it or being a hypocrite. Maybe I am.i'd rather say u are the contrary of a hypocrite ! I have the same position and i know that deep down inside each good action i do is good for me as well as the others.
lk
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Hello enquirer,
a) as people with relatively 'free-minds' how would our view of life be affected if the quran was found to have contradictions in it?
For me all Scriptures are A TRUTH and not the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. All Scriptures are A GUIDE to spirituality.
b)If somebody proved that god did not exist in reality?
I think there can be no logical proof of God.
For myself i say that my behaviour to other people would not change drastically and in fact might improve by being less dogmatic and more humane.
Communism was a Godless system. Did human beings behaved any differently in that system than the rest of the world? I think they just behaved like human beings -Good and Bad.
Are god and the quran needed for ethics and morality?
Application of our God-given Reason can lead to the development of Ethics and Morality.
Can an atheist or a person without a 'recognised' religion be a moral person?
Peace all.Absolutely and I have met a few through the course of my life.
Regards,
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peace lote-tree and all. Very insightful and honest post. Thanks! Do you think that an atheist can be a successful spiritual person and achieve success after death, as long as he is moral? I believe they can.
Peace. -
Can an atheist or a person without a 'recognised' religion be a moral person? .
I don't think an atheist (with a tendency of knowledge ignorance) can be moral.
Then you are saying that man MUST get all his morals only from religious knowledge and blind faith in god. therefore man has absolutely NO inner knowledge of right and or OR the intelligence to figure that out?
I have to disagree there. man CAN know right from wrong without belief in god or teachings from anywhere else. Even feral children have been observed to show compassion, love and empathy towards their pack. They may fear humans, but that is a learned response due to neglect and abuse, but they show love to their pack beyond that of an animal.
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Peace bmbmm and all. What about an atheist who is rational and not 'ignorant',and is very good with people?
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peace sawtooth and all. Agree whole-heartedly sawtooth. We can learn morality from our experience of life,without direct knowledge of texts or faith in god.
Peace all. -
Hello enquirer,
Do you think that an atheist can be a successful spiritual person
Is there a such thing as a Spiritual Atheist? -)
What does Atheist mean?
Denial of God?
But people that have been dubbed Atheist they are not atheist at all. They just reject current concept of Divinity. The great Greek Philosopher Socrates was called a Atheist but he was not. He just rejected the God of his contemporaries.and achieve success after death, as long as he is moral? I believe they can. Peace.
There are many paths to God as there are stars in the Universe.
Regards,