Moral is a Pagan Word
June 2nd 2010 15:01
Moral is a Pagan Word
I came across a rather disturbing question on Yahoo Answers that expressed a belief held by fundamentalists and other Christians that atheists and others could not be moral persons or develop morality without Bible study.
The bible does not have a monopoly on morality. The very words moral and morality are attempts to translate into English and Latin Greek concepts of ethics.
The first people to speculate about and ask what morals are rather then just create laws and rules were the pagan Greek philosphers and since their writings predate the creation of the Bible into its modern form it could be said pagans created the concept of morality.
The Old Testament wasnt translated into Greek and hence available beyond the Near East until nearly half a millenium later thna the time of the first Greek philosophers.
Diogenes Laertius describes Thales ( 585 bce Ionia) as the first philosopher.
On ethics Thales is said to be have stated:
Choose one good hen ti kendon hairou
On the divine he said:
the eldest of all things that are the divine is for the divine is uncreated
the most beatiful thing created is the universe for the divine created it.
The Prophets of the Bible who wrote Proverbs and the Laws and other sections of the Old Testament never claimed to have a monopoly on morality.
I wish a certain kind of Christian would not make such claims.
No one has a monopoly on morality and practising morals.
How to practise morals whther you're a pagna or atheist or Christian or of other beliefs.
Strive to do good. Avoid evil. Value Compassion and wisdom.
Most great philosophers and theologians agree on that?
I came across a rather disturbing question on Yahoo Answers that expressed a belief held by fundamentalists and other Christians that atheists and others could not be moral persons or develop morality without Bible study.
The bible does not have a monopoly on morality. The very words moral and morality are attempts to translate into English and Latin Greek concepts of ethics.
The first people to speculate about and ask what morals are rather then just create laws and rules were the pagan Greek philosphers and since their writings predate the creation of the Bible into its modern form it could be said pagans created the concept of morality.
The Old Testament wasnt translated into Greek and hence available beyond the Near East until nearly half a millenium later thna the time of the first Greek philosophers.
Diogenes Laertius describes Thales ( 585 bce Ionia) as the first philosopher.
On ethics Thales is said to be have stated:
Choose one good hen ti kendon hairou
On the divine he said:
the eldest of all things that are the divine is for the divine is uncreated
the most beatiful thing created is the universe for the divine created it.
The Prophets of the Bible who wrote Proverbs and the Laws and other sections of the Old Testament never claimed to have a monopoly on morality.
I wish a certain kind of Christian would not make such claims.
No one has a monopoly on morality and practising morals.
How to practise morals whther you're a pagna or atheist or Christian or of other beliefs.
Strive to do good. Avoid evil. Value Compassion and wisdom.
Most great philosophers and theologians agree on that?
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