If we assume that God does not exist then nothing in this thread matters. In fact neither you nor I matter, neither does anything else in the universe. Might be wise to have an open mind.
Why in the world would you say such a thing?
The happiness of my spouse and family very much matters. My reputation as honest and trustworthy very much matters. My kids and grandchildren growing up to be happy and productive matters. The nation and world we leave behind for our grandchildren and great grandchildren to live in very much matters.
These things matter all the more, because that is all there is to matter.
Why? It would make no difference. Why not do whatever makes you happy and when life gets hard, poof, you cease to exist. In other words what's the point of living, particularly when things get unpleasant. This "philosophy" seems to be playig out in the news lately.
Well I suppose, if one does not have the innate moral character to do what is right.
I have had just such conversations with several staunch "Christians" who stated: "If I did not think I would go to hell, I would be out there screwing anything with a skirt." And then guess what, one of the jackasses is in the middle of a nasty divorce because he was caught cheating on his wife.
Christians have no corner on the market when it comes to morality. Nor do non Christians have a corner on immorality. The only difference is that Christians often think they have a "get out of jail free card" tucked in their wallet. All they have to do is repent.
Me, I know that if I wrong someone, they are wronged forever. I expect no forgiveness.
We do what we need to do to minimize harm to our loved ones, and to our society in general.
You are right that all of us are prone to failure and none of us should degrade another as though we are inherently better than them. Whether we are Christians or not we need moral boundaries and whether we are Christians or not we can respect and should observe moral boundaries. We shouldn't be living moral lives just for an eternal carrot--because they aren't given out anyway for morality. Faith and forgiveness are about what we all need as humans--the ability to make wrong things right and the confidence for a fresh start and a reset when we fall short.
