To think of God as whether He is a
determinant of morality or not in its very sense is to question His role in our
lives- whether I believe in Him or not. The statement in discussion cites a
situation where majority of people believe God as the source of Morality.
Terming this a modern discussion- for more and more people are expected to be
atheists in future-it could have been an abomination to raise such a question some
years ago when every happening was related to a supernatural cause. This
article is of the view that God is not the determinant of morality.
If a child was raised in a vacuum of
religeous identities, the child would grow up knowing what is wrong and good
alike. Long before children begin to understand meanings in words, they are
already introduced to the world of cry (bad) and laugh (good). If an elder
shows symptoms of discontention before a child, the child will retrieve from an
activity with the sense that it is bad because my mother (that elder person)
sees it so. A child only comes to know of God sometimes after such experiences
when some questions seem to lack answers.
The belief in God as the Moral being raises
questions to some of historical injustices that were speared in the name of
Holiness. This contradicts the nature of the supposed God- of no evil. The
Bible and Quran among other tales speak of killings, slavery and suffering as
God sent. It is of no use therefore to say one is morally right because he
believes in God for the very God may be harmful to another.
A God who does not change in Principles and
ideas assumes that everything is predetermined and set for eternal. We live in
a changing world of changing views. What was termed as wrong can be justified
and be right. An instance to this was the traditional subordination of women.
Bible writes that the man is the sole authority bread winner. Present times
disaprove subordination as descrimination and equality as morally fair.
Clinging to the past in the name of God would therefore be disastrous to such
people and societies in adapting to changing times.
The inefficiency in God’s act and
application to overall human activities creates spaces that are prone to human
understanding and interpretation. Holy writings have been identified ideological and in some
instances philosophical- depending on you and how you understand. The contradiction in God’s view of loving everyone and still inducing judgement to
wrong doers lets human to do what fits for them.
As the idea of an existence of God may be
shared among many people, the idea of Him as the source of morality is prone to
debate. The understanding of God that varies from one person to another can
also be the interpretation of whom He is. Leaving the idea at the mercy of Him
as a source of morality may be harmful to progressive universal understanding
of the chaging times.
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