Blankman

Morality is just a term. To me it is a term which describes a behavior which is beneficial to survival. That is for example, in "cave man" days, belonging to a group meant a better chance at survival. In order to be accepted and helped by that group, an individual had to be "moral" according to that society. Just as today, in order to be accepted and keep relationships with other people, a person must remain "moral" according to our society, or suffer the consequences at the hand of our society.

As far as morality coming from the bible or religion having a "monopoly" on morality, that is just not true. I see it the same way I see truth. The bible claims to be the "truth". So, what is "true" in one part of the world should be "true" in any part of the world, if the bible is in fact the truth. So, if morality comes from religion (ie., the bible), then what is moral in one place should be moral anywhere. However, just like religious truth, morality varies greatly from one society to another. What is "moral" here in the U.S. is not moral, say, in the middle east. Therefore, morality is a function of society.

I don't think the idea of an afterlife should have anything to do with being moral, it is more of a survival thing. After all, even animals (of the same species) typically treat each other in a way that promotes survival. Why shouldn't we? The only difference is that we are conscious of our mortality. In the "cave man" days, your friend would be out on his ass to fend for himself, or have a stone ax in the back of his head!


Poorly expressed but I hope you get my meaning?

Theli

Unfortunally, along with the pure morality that benefits the society and the people living in it, alot of crap gets included along the way. The morality in our societies all over the world is largelly superficial and hypocritical.
I for one tends to get suspicious at anyone who frequently uses the word.