Morality

It's time for a new morality in the United States. Now, whenever someone says this, oftentimes the rallying cry sparks a revolution that ends up creating something worse than what existed before it. But it is not the case here.

What many do not seem to understand that NEVER is there a higher standard than human beings. Whenever one cites pleasing "God," it is quite often at the expense of quality of human life and human lives qua life, existence itself. Examples, if needed, are Ayatollah Khomeini, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, the Crusades, the US gov't/Catholic Church policy towards Africa and AIDS, and finally the Religious Conservative Movement in the United States.

There are two standards of "good" among people, religious and not.

One standard is God, as defined by the square root of -1, a fittingly irrational number. (gV-1)
The other is human beings.

God's status of "good" permits "him" to commit horrendous atrocities (commanding Abraham to kill his son, drowning all but two people, allowing his only son to be murdered by manipulating and self-satisfying religious authorities (how ironic!), allowing Job to be tormented by his brother Satan, having no regard whatsoever for the quality of life for roughly half of the population (female), and commanding horrific punishments for disproportionate crimes) and still be looked upon as "good."

If Genesis were "good", microorganisms that kill large organisms, disastrous storms, and predatory animals would alse have to be "good," and thus the misery by default of the first human beings according to the Bible must also by default be "good."

When human beings attempt to emulate God's Good (gV-1), they cause moral and political anomalies that destroy human existence and diminish the quality of human life.

One might say that that is the whole point, but what then is the purpose does it serve to worship or love something that is completely destructive? Fear? That is equivalent to superstition, and God does not have a secret police anymore (Spanish Inquisition). There is no reasonable case for worshipping or even qualifying God as "good" when he clearly is not.

What I propose is that human beings only do what is best for them. Public policy should never, ever be based upon "pleasing God." Human beings need to learn to care for themselves and others without the notion of "God."

For example, Global Warming. Many RW Christians have begun to believe in it. But why does it matter what Genesis says? Why is it not enough of a reason that WE LIVE HERE?

And why does what two people do in their own beds matter? Why is/are contraception, stem cell research, abortion, women's equality, recreational sexual activity, and homosexuality "bad"? If I could get an objective, non-theological answer to any of these, I'd be very pleased.

Recommended texts: The Science of Good & Evil by Michael Shermer, End of Faith by Sam Harris, The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand