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Morality: a central component of humanity
Q: Is there good without God? Can people be good without God? How can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some sort of belief in a being which is greater than they are? Where do concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, come from if not from religion? From where do you get your sense of good and evil, right and wrong?
When I first began to study Islam, one of the teachings that resonated with me was the belief that every human being is born with an internal compass. This compass consists of several components... a sense of right and wrong (our conscience) and the desire to do right (i.e. humans are fundamentally good), the yearning toward something greater than our own selves and the recognition of the unity of that greater thing -- the striving of the heart toward the Divine as I like to phrase it.
A second teaching that appealed greatly to me, was the constant call in the Qur'an for mankind to use our wondrous brains -- to contemplate, to analyze, to reason, to ponder.
Within this world view, it is quite clear that morality does not flow from religion, but from human nature itself. Yes, revelation gives moral guidance, but even without any Divine help, we know it is wrong to kill innocent people, to steal out of greed, to lie and to cheat. Divine guidance reminds us to listen to our heart, and to think about how we would want to be treated and to then treat others that way, to use our intellect for good, rather than for selfish ends. It also gives direction where reason and emotion may conflict, or where reason may provide competing answers to the question "Which is the best path?" or "Which is the good path?"
By
Pamela K. Taylor
|
October 30, 2009; 1:11 AM ET
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Posted by: abhab1 | November 1, 2009 11:30 PM
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Fortunately for the world, science has successfully undermined the simpleminded religions - the Abrahamic cults, mainly Christianity and Islam.
Christianity and Islam have had a good 2000 year run preying on ignorance and the ignorant. This ended for Christianity in Europe with the development of science. It is now looking for the ignorant and uneducated in Africa and South America.
Islam - a strange combination of ignorance and intolerance - has been picking the lowest lying fruit for a 1000 years as apparent in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Now is the time for science, logic, and deeper & truer spirituality - not supremacist, intolerant cults like Christianity and Islam that proselytize and force their views on others. This results in conflict, violence, and suffering.
Now is the time for Vedanta & Hinduism. After 1000 years of anti-Hindu propaganda, many are not prepared to hear the wisdom or absorb the deep & complex monistic philosophy which is consistent with science. Now is a good time to start; at least some will benefit.
A new age of rational spirituality is again arriving, and Hinduism and Vedanta will lead the way again.
Posted by: clearthinking1 | November 1, 2009 1:26 AM
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Ms Taylor's talk of “conscience”, “internal compass” and the golden rule as an integral part of Muslim theology is absolutely not true . Muslims believe goodness to be what their prophet said is good and evil is what he deemed be evil. If Muslims believed in the Golden Rule, for example, they would not be treating women and non-Muslims as outcasts.