Funny thing about ethics - people tend to share basic components of them, no matter what mystical beings they believe in. Generally, the world over, people's ethics and moral codes seem to be guided by some variation of the Golden Rule. It seems that this capacity for sympathy (and/or empathy) is a genetic trait that helps human survival overall...
Furthermore, I doubt you will find many (if any) atheists/agnostics/nonbelievers who have personal ethics that state it's peachy-keen to kill, rape, and pillage. Personally I've found that nonbelievers of all stripes tend to have more advanced ethics. They tend to want more equality, peace and opportunity for all.
The problem with your ethics, deadbrain, is that they are immutable. If your sky fairy does indeed say it is okay to kill, rape, and pillage (and if you are a Christian, he most certainly does) then you have been given free license to do so.
On the other hand, because of my lovely evolutionary qualities, I can look at a similar situation and say, "Gee, I really don't think I'd like to be killed for that - it seems excessive," or, "Huh, homosexuals don't hurt anyone by 'practicing' their homosexuality, they are doing good things for themselves (by forming romantic partnerships between adults - this generally makes all people happier and more stable, IMO), and are happy. Huh. Marriage is a legal (i.e. formalized by the state) contract - so why shouldn't homosexuals be able to participate in that aspect with another consenting adult (who happens to be of the same gender)? Seems silly. Churches are private entities, and if they choose to they can be bigoted and deny homosexuals the religious rites of marriage - but there is no reason why, considering that we have separation of church and state, religious traditions should have any bearing on modern-day legal contracts between two consenting adults." The best you can do, because your sky daddy says teh buttsehx is wrong, is say, "God says homosexuality is a sin and so we should outlaw it."
I can also conclude that rape is wrong because it violates another person's person. All you can say is that now the rapist must marry the woman, because that's what sky daddy says is honorable.
Yes, I realize that last paragraph could be taken as a straw-man because that is not what modern-day Christians generally think about rape. However, you've got to consider that rape, according to the Wholly Babble, is not a sin. It is not mentioned as such. Christians clearly do not have this modern-day view of rape because of their holy book. ...I'm sorry, what was that you implied about morals coming from a higher responsibility?
