Oddbean new post about login | logout Complex topic for sure... I think it comes down to a couple things: a) Changes in society - people no longer really fear God (or live by His rules) so murder, rape, etc. are perfectly acceptable behaviors for those people b) Given the above, then each person must weigh their options -- if you're comfortable protecting yourself, then rural / individual life makes sense. If however you're not, then being around others (i.e. city life) makes sense as you have to rely on them to protect you in the event of any attack. Sad, but the real issue here is (a) and not (b)...
number one self defense is flight
At some point it comes down to whether you'd rather die than live under tyrrany--only then will people truly take action. Venezuela may be at that point...
if enough people leave the neighbours will send help for the rest
I don't fear god and don't even believe in one, yet I don't think rape and murder are acceptable. One doesn't need to completely sell out intellectually to be moral.
No, in fact selling out intellectually would preclude moral perfection as failure to employ the faculty of reason where appropriate would be an abuse. You do, however, imply that fearing or believing in God would be selling out intellectually. I see no reason to make that conclusion. That you personally have not seen compelling evidence for God is not a proof that others have not either and are behaving irrationally.
Oh agree completely--threre are indeed some sane atheists--and yet those that DO feel that it's ok to "murder death kill" (with apologies to Simon Phoenix) almost without exception do not believe in a higher authority...
What are you basing this on? You're making the claim as if it's fact, but haven't cited any evidence. Studies of inmates in the US, for example, disagree. Most of them are not atheists.
Prima facie - and people in prison often come to change their outlooks. If you believe in God, then you know murder is wrong. You can (of course) choose to go against God's word... But if you do not believe in God, then there is nothing holding you back...the only person you answer to is yourself...and you may in fact give yourself permission to kill...
Your belief about atheists is actually a pretty well studied bias, by the way. Here is just one example: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0151 And you also say 'God' and 'His rules' as if that is some clear definition or morality. Which god? There are thousands. Which rules? There are many different rules, even amongst the Abrahamic religions alone. Much rape and murder has been committed in the name of god. There are examples explicitly in the Christian Bible saying it is okay to kill people for reasons I and many Atheists would say is wrong. I think you're just biased like most people. You also say there are some sane atheists, as if sanity is at play. Do you also think most Atheists are insane? I haven't seen any evidence suggesting that Atheisism or religion is an indicator of sanity. Insanity doesn't really accommodate things like morality, religion, or reason. You can't really measure the beliefs of an insane person due to the detachment from reality.
You seem to feel I'm predjudiced against atheists...I'm not. I'm simply saying that there are 10 Commandments to live by--anyone can choose to follow them or not. Atheists decide what is right based on their own personal views, and therefore atheists can give themselves permissions to do whatever they'd like without consequences. Christians (and many other religions) do not condone murder, and there are consequences for those that choose to ignore God's guidance and go their own path. And those consequences do indeed serve as a deterrent. You may (of course) be able to find and serve outliers as examples, but that doesn't change the fact that those believing in God (and living by HIs words) are less likely to commit crimes than those that only have to listen to themselves to determine what is right. Individual moral relativism is not the answer...
I think it because you have made it clear with your own statements.
Logic is not prejudice... Life is a cost-benefit analysis (for everything). If you believe the costs are low, and the benefit is high, you'll do it. If the costs are high and overwhelm the benefits received, you won't. When God is involved the costs go up. Without God, the costs are what each person personally determines them to be. Simple...cost benefit
Another aspect is, as we've grown more isolated, we've stopped trusting strangers. In most cases, this distrust is entirely unfounded. But no one talks to strangers, so who would know? A confident child is actually at much lower risk than a timid one. Timidity is a vulnerability, and predators prey on the vulnerable. Most kids in most places would, I think, be safe if they're with one or two siblings or friends, and if they know how and when to approach adults to ask for help.
Yeah, my kids travel all over the place, together and with a group of friends. They've always been relatively free-range. People raise their kids to be completely paranoid, rather than savvy and alert. The parents hardly leave the house, either, so that's probably the underlying issue. The kids aren't learning by observing their parents walking and biking and bussing around in public.