From: SKEPTICMAG@aol.com
Because of the way I wrote the post about Dr. Laura's resignation and our
phone conversation, it was confusing to some people when she was speaking
and when I was speaking.
To make it clear, I believe it is not only possible to be a moral person
without a belief in God, it is observable everyday in most of the people I
know (and probably amongst those whom you all know on this list). It is Dr.
Laura (and most religous people, as you know), who believe it is not possible
to be moral without a belief in God. I wrote Laura a letter in which I asked
her the following question:
"Who would you rather marry? 1. A man who says he will love you, be
faithful to you, and be a good father and husband because the Bible says
he should and God will reward him if he does and punish him if he doesn't;
or 2. A man who says he will love you, be faithful to you, and be a good
father and husband because he loves you for your own sake, because he
promised he would in your marriage vows, and because he has the courage,
character, and conscious to live up to his promises and principles.
(I see #2 as a higher form of morality.)
If you choose #1 because religion provides a deeper commitment to moral
principles, then I would ask you: from your huge database of 20 years
of phone calls, don't you find religious people rationalizing their immoral
actions just as much as nonreligous people? If not, do you know of any
studies conducted to attempt to measure moral differences between believers
and nonbelievers?"
Her response, three words scribbled in the margin of my letter (faxed back
to me) was "not only choice." Does anyone out there know of any
studies comparing religious with nonreligious folks on morality, etc.?
Michael Shermer
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Subject: MORAL ? FOR DR. LAURA
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