Where do you atheists get your morals?

[KansDem]

165. Your statement sums up my thoughts on "morality"

The other sources of morality are empathy and concern for the common good.

Atheists are concerned with the here and now. Theists concentrate on the "hereafter." I don't know how many times growing up I heard "If you sin, God will condemn you to Hell." It's almost like we were obsessed with earning a ticket to God's Kingdom by acting "morally" in this life.

As for "morality," perhaps we should—
•Ask the Catholic Church if it is "moral" to harbor pedophile priests;
•Ask conservative Muslim clerics if it is "moral" to throw acid into the faces of girls because they wanted to go to school;
•Ask conservative Mormons if it is "moral" to wed 12-year-old girls;
•Ask conservative Protestant ministers if it is “moral” to endorse political candidates as part of their sermons;
•Ask members of the Westboro Baptist Church (Wichita, Kansas) if it is "moral" to protest the funerals of gays and soldiers with signs that read “God Hates Fags.”
—and so on.

But we were living life based on religious authorities and holy books.

"Empathy and concern for the common good" in the here and now should provide the foundation of society. As a nonbeliever, I'm amused at the importance given the 10 Commandments in this country. Several years ago I read HWF Skaggs' book, "Civilisation before Greece and Rome." In his tome, he points out that laws forbidding murder, theft, and lying were already in existence long before the Christian world appeared. It seems reasonable considering such laws were necessary to maintain social order.

But let’s take a look at those commandments. Remember, violation of these “laws” means eternal damnation and, in some cultures, maiming and death—
1) You shall have no other gods before me—does not apply to the third largest (non-) belief system in the world;
2) You shall not make for yourself an idol—ditto, if this were enforced, the pop-culture industry would disappear overnight;
3) You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God—ditto. If you don’t believe in God, then how can you use His name wrongfully?
4) Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy—ditto. As a former bartender, it’s very difficult to keep the Sabbath holy when you get home from work at 4:00 o’clock on a Sunday morning;
5) Honor your father and mother—if this were enforced, just about every teenager in America would be in jail;
6) You shall not murder—okay, now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty. Civilizations before Judea-Christian heritage had laws forbidding this.
7) You shall not commit adultery—does this really need to be addressed?
8) You shall not steal—again, this predates the Judea-Christian heritage.
9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor—another that predates Judea-Christian heritage.
10) You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor—if this was really enforced, the entire marketing and advertising industry would crumble.

Let’s tally ‘em up—
•30% (nos. 6, 8, and 9) are found in civilizations before the “Judea-Christian” heritage, and are the bedrock of civilization. It stands to reason that writing laws and proscribing punishment for murder, perjury, and theft are necessary for the betterment and advancement of civilization;
•40% (nos. 1-4) are merely instructions on how to worship some other guy’s God;
•And 30% (nos. 5, 7, and 10) make up a "wish list."

So there you have it—and some folks think we'll be “better Americans” if these were posted on the walls of public institutions.