Give me one secular reason why I should care about anyone else, except for how they can benefit me...
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Has this person never had a friend, parent, child, etc. whom they loved? Wow. It IS possible to care about people apart from religion, lady.
If you ask anyone that does care about other people if they'd prefer to lose that, they'd all say no. It's a rich experience which rides atop a real social-pragmatic foundation and universal principles. It seems you don't have the benefit of the full human experience and I'm sorry for you. Your betters will try to keep you from doing things which, if you weren't so sadly ignorant, you'd regret.
I am sure that the average Christian does not behave morally out of fear of hell, any more then average athiest is only kept in check out fear of prison; but these fringe people must seriously be sociopaths deep down. Maybe it's good that they're just ramming their religion down our throats and not rampaging through the streets.
...because selfishness is one particularly egregious moral flaw, and if everyone engaged in it, the world would be a far colder place. Helping others makes it so those that -cannot- help themselves aren't left to suffer.
A "secular" reason, ok. Because you choose to care, because if others lead happy lives then this ONE chance to be conscious of your own existence has achieved something better than to simply increase the total entropy of our universe.
Now a "religious" reason: Skydad told me to care or He'll fucking send me to Hell for all Eternity, isn't that right?
This is why religion disgusts me.
Here's a little story. After the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, my Catholic high school had a relief fund. The Christians in the school gave only spare change and then talked about how good of a deed it was on thier part.
I'm a Pagan, and gave 20 dollars, not because I wanted any rewards or to brag about it, but because it disgusted me to see how these kids are donating petty change, which although our currency is worth more there, is still not enough. I gave that much because it was the right thing to do, not because I wanted to go around bragging my ass off or thinking it would get me "points".
I see this more frequently. Non Christians helping others and loving one another for the sake of humanity, while the Xians do it only if it can help them .
Nearly every good reason to help other people can be interpreted selfishly. Unfortunately for Sparklecat, "because it makes the pie bigger for everyone" or "because I don't want to feel like a selfish idiot" are still better reasons to care about others than "because Invisible Skydaddy will smite me."
Because it's what good humans, regardless of creed, colour, sexuality, gender, age, anything do.
because kindness and helping other people is good. everyone has felt pain and sadness, and they know that it sucks. concern for their fellow humans motivates people to try to relieve them of their suffering, because they don't want anyone else to feel pain. it's as simple as that. kindness is not created by god.
Christians would murder without religion, I FIGURED IT OUT! Christians don't think for themselves, meaning that they could do whatever they want without guilt, but their collective imaginary friend wouldn't like it very much.
Because Jesus (ya know, that guy) preached THE EXACT FUCKING OPPOSITE!
Instead of saying you believe in Jesus, try heeding his moral message, and act accordingly. Much better than waiting idly to be whisked away to Paradise.
Hume, I think, called it the "social contract", upon which all human societies are based. As secular as it gets.
Apart from that, the GOP, which you support as part of your religious worldview, uses your statement as a campaign platform plank. Their motto should be "I got mine!"
"Give me one secular reason why I should care about anyone else, except for how they can benefit me..."
1- Commit an act of gratuitous kindness
2- That person feels good
3- You feel even better
4- That person commits an act of gratuitous kindness to someone else
5- That person commits an act of gratuitous kindness to someone else, etc etc
6- More people feel better
7- When an emergency arises in the future, one or more of those people may help you out.
8- ?????
9- PROFIT!
It's called the Pragmatic Social Imperative. We are by definition, social animals. We congregate for protection, and have a sense of self-worth by being part of a community, and said community is strengthened by co-operation and helping each other in any way. It's a genetic (& a neuropsychological) trait - thus a pragmatic social imperative (especially when one human meets another for companionship, and when a male & female have sex, they pass on their genes to the next generation. A form of immortality, if you will). What does religion have to do with any of this? Two Words: BUGGER ALL.
tl;dr: Be good for goodness' sake. Commit acts of gratuitous kindness. It's the Humanist way.
Now give me one good right-wing Fundamental ist Christian reason why I should become one of you fundies? I'll give you one reason why I shouldn't:
Timothy McVeigh.
A right-wing Fundamental ist Christian (with the emphasis on Mental ) who had a Christian reason why he didn't care about those he murdered in that terrorist attack. 168 people. Including 19 children.
Because it feels good, because it makes them help you back (thus benefiting you), because it's encoded on our genes (for most of us anyway), ...
and I will pray to a big god
as I kneel in the big church
big time
I'm on my way-I'm making it
big time big time
I've got to make it show yeah
big time
so much larger than life
big time
I'm going to watch it growing
big time
(edit)
and my heaven will be a big heaven
and I will walk through the front door
Peter Gabriel
Big Time
Your not living your life to benefit yourself at all. Riiiight. Gabriel got your number.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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