"Why Believe in God" ad campaign

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by David E

That may be hedonistic, but its certainly not rational: I was talking about what is good and you wrote "what feels good" as being the basis for most morality. Big difference; they are almost always the opposite! Examples: 1) Tagging feels good, but is not good. 2) Stealing something when no one is looking feels good and is easier than working for it but is not good. (In fact, many thieves steel not for gain, but because it does feel good to them.) 3) Heroin feels good, but is not good.

Things are not done in a vacuum. There are consequences for doing things. Tagging, for instance - If you damage my property, I might kick your ass, or call the law and have them kick your ass. I like having property, as it makes me feel good, and has nothing to do with the existence of a God. If you make me feel ungood by messing with it, I will make you feel ungood too, thereby making tagging NOT feel good to you. Societal pressures are just as valid as internal pressures. This works again for stealing.

As for heroin, well, there are plenty of ex-addicts who will tell you that heroin is not good, that they do not want to be the people they become when they are on it.

Here is a nice god-independent lesson I learned as a kid. Butterscotch candy made me happy. One Halloween, it seemed every other house was giving it out. When I got home, I took all the butterscotch and put it in a big pile, and then ate one after the other after the other. Needless to say, after 15 or so I felt ill. It took me a few years to look at butterscotch again, and now I can eat it - but only ONE in a sitting. One butterscotch feels good.

I see a few comments from others too who maybe got confused by what I wrote: I didn’t say “what feels good”, I wrote that I fear “what each person feels is good”, which the suicide bomber is an example of.

The suicide bomber is also a good example why learning what is right and wrong from religion isn't more intelligent than learning right and wrong from life experience and preservationist instinct.