Just for the record....Neither Curdog, nor his son, have a wife at the present time. The Lady mentioned is my son's ex-wife and, I'll repeat myself, she is a GOOD woman.
Being an Atheist doesn't preclude being a good person when judging by the world's standard. And THAT is the only standard available to me.
"For who can know the heart of a man......... " ?
That is very true. There will be a lot of good people go to hell though, unfortunately.
You admit your religions calls for good people to suffer an eternity of torment.
How is this moral?
In order to call something or someone "good" there has to be an absolute standard. Without an absolute standard, no one or nothing is either good or bad.
In the same sense, to conclude something as moral or immoral, one has to have an absolute standard. Without an absolute standard, there is no way to conclude there is any differnec in an eternity in torment or an eternity of bliss.
This is just not true. A discussion of morality does not require an absolute standard, just that it is defined. As an example we could agree that any Parado Improvement, i.e. any action that makes at least one person better off, without making anyone worse off, as a moral action.
Like wise Curdog could conclude that his Mark V Weatherby .257 suit his purposes better then anything else for the same money. Likewise I could conclude that for my different conditions, I would like it with a different scope, or different caliber. In each case we may both be making the best decision available to us, and as our technology and resources change, (hey with these new bonded bullets, I DON'T need something bigger that recoils more then a .257), our understanding of "good" may change. If this wasn't the case, there would be one and only one standard for firearms, and no need for internet hunting forums.
Of course the unspoken part of your argument is that God is part of this absolute standard, and you cannot introduce God into the definition of Good or Moral without creating a circular argument, thereby invalidating your whole point. If by contrast you introduce a definition that does not include God, God is not necessary, and again, you invalidate your argument.
As for Curdog's .257 Bee, I'm confident it's a fine rifle. It makes him happy, an to me, that's is a good thing.
