Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Conclusion
In principle, it would be entirely possible to replace religious-inspired morality with logically derived concepts of morality in human life. Generally little else would be required besides suspending religious teachings and substituting the rules of organized religion with very basic ideas such as "do no harm." In that regard, the commandment "do unto others" is a perfectly useful and easily understandable ethical principle that could be taught with much better results without the cloak of its religious context.
Instead of teaching that human beings are incapable of ascertaining what is right and what is wrong without divine help and that we are morally tarnished by our involuntary thoughts, we would learn that one ought not to treat other unfairly or cause them harm and that the worse our involuntary desires and thoughts, the more moral credit we deserve for resisting the impulse...
Ultimately, one of the saddest aspects of religious morality in human society is precisely how easily moral conduct could be taught but for the cultural brainwashing inherent in religious education.
References
Egner, R.E. And Denonn, L.E. (1992). The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell. London,
UK: Routledge.
Einstein, A. (1999). Ideas and Opinions. (Edited by Seelig, C.) New York: Crown.
Hawking, S. (2001). A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes.
The result is the problem: that humans loose the connection to what it means to be human. What is the end or goal of transformation? The end goal, regardless of ones religion, is happiness. However, the definition of happiness differs greatly from one religion to another. In religions such as the Lakota, happiness is found by making the gods happy, or Mother Earth, by learning to be one with nature. Other
Jesus Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz bridge a gap between trade book and scholarly discourse with their 642-page tome The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide. This joint effort by Theissen and Merz explores the subject matter of the historical Jesus in light of primary sources, especially relying on the Gospels, both canonical and apocryphal. The book is divided into four main sections, in addition to a meaty Introduction, a "Retrospect"
World Religions For many people, the diversity of world religions is a reminder of the vast differences between the different people of the world and their various cultural experiences. However, while many people focus on the differences between the world's religious traditions, what is more fascinating is the incredible overlap between the various world religions and the moral and ethical traditions that have developed under the auspices of those religions. Despite
Religious Traditions Global religions have blended practices with traditional or indigenous practices. Mainstream religious practices have elements of spiritual, religious, and cultural beliefs and practices adopted from native religious practices. For example, as Buddhism spread it adopted the customs and practices of local deities (Warren, 2012). This implies that to understand the different forms of religions requires the consideration of religious elements, which are manifested as seven dimensions of religious
Confucius, likewise, although scholars say that Confucianism is not a theistic religion, stresses the will or mandate of heaven having an influence upon the lives of all, but focuses on the obligations of individuals in a society, not upon isolated religious acts of goodness. Buddhism, another cross-national religion also focuses on acts, such as the importance of meditation, rather than individual spiritual perfection, but focuses on such acts in a
Some of the topics addressed by Einstein in his writings include his views on government, education, human morality and social ethics. One of the most interesting areas addressed by Einstein is his personal beliefs about the existence of God and the merits of theistic religion in human society. Besides the fact that his intellect alone makes his philosophical beliefs (about almost anything of consequence) relevant, the fact that Einstein's