Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
Is there a difference in religious/spiritual morality and non spiritual/religioiues morality?
What does it mean to be a morally good to you?
What does it mean to be a morally good to you?
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What is the difference?
- Thread starter Spirit of Light
- Start date
Religious morality comes from outside - scriptures and religious leaders.
Spiritual morality comes from inside - automatic response to Divinity's nature.
Other morality can come from ethical humanist sources or from the study of psychology and the consequences of certain behavior on the individual or society.
Spiritual morality comes from inside - automatic response to Divinity's nature.
Other morality can come from ethical humanist sources or from the study of psychology and the consequences of certain behavior on the individual or society.
McBell
mantra-chanting henotheistic snake handler
Seems to me the only purpose in creating a bunch of separate categories is to be able to arbitrarily assign arbitrary attributes to morality in a sad attempt at making bold empty claims of superior morality.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
My question was if there is a difference, not if one is superior to the other.
Tambourine
Well-Known Member
I don't think there is a fundamental difference in principle.
Nimos
Well-Known Member
There is differences, but it depends...
Take this one for instant:
At Karni Mata temple in Rajasthan, rats aren't shooed away — they're worshipped. Thousands of the rodents scurry across the temple's checkerboard floors, getting tangled in each other's tails and fighting for access to huge saucers of milk. Far from being regarded as vermin, the rats are venerated as the holy descendants of Karni Mata, who was worshipped as an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga during the 15th century.
The story of how Karni Mata's offspring took the form of rodents has a few variations, but the most common version begins with her asking Yoma, the god of death, to revive a storyteller's drowned son. After first resisting, Yoma gave in, promising that the boy and all of Karni Mata's male descendants would be reincarnated as rats.
Temple rules state that if you accidentally step on one of the animals and kill it, you must replace it with a rat made of solid gold.
I mean you can probably find secular people that wouldn't harm rats either, but I doubt they would "worship" them and apply rules or punishment for killing them.
Just as you might find secular people that see nothing wrong in hurting somebody that have harmed you or someone you loved, very much, whereas some religious people might choose to forgive instead, because that is what their religion have taught them.
But for the most part, I think you are more likely to find secular/common morality in religious people, than you are to find religious motivated moralities in a secular person, purely because such morality wouldn't make a lot of sense obviously, like with the rat example above.
To me being morally good, just means to not cause harm (physical and psychological) to other humans and to treat other living beings respectfully. But it is a complex question, but overall without to many details, I would say that covers most of it.
Thief
Rogue Theologian
the motivation
If I do so ....expecting return in like manner
I might be self seeking
If I do so....hoping to be a reflection of heaven
I would be seeking entry into the kingdom
If I do so....for your sake
I do so for love
the motivation.....marks your spirit
Thief
Rogue Theologian
of course....the difference will make a difference
The way I see it is that there are good humanitarians who are not remotely interested in God, but are decent human beings with good intentions towards their fellow humans. Their morality however, might be very different to one who is motivated by a love for a God who has rules....especially pertaining to matters of sex.
The moon reflects light from the sun. That's religious morality. Spiritual morality is like light from the sun and less abundant than we'd all like, because it is night time.
I think morals are more a product of society than religion/non-religion.
Morals, in my experience, are associated with ego, and very few religions include ego management in their teachings.
Tambourine
Well-Known Member
You can be atheist and follow a deontological moral system.
You could also believe in a god, and still follow a consequentialist moral system.
Roguish
Member
Oh yes, huge difference.
Non-spiritual morality is the morality of "let us all try to get along". From this follows the rejection of any "holy battles", either inside one's own heart or out in the world. Everything is reduced to "personal preference", and one's moral duties are reduced to (1) being normal and (2) not criticizing anything or anyone.
Spiritual morality is the morality of "let us defend what is Holy, at any cost". It is not based not the idea of "getting along", but on the radical distinction between Good and evil. From that follows the validity and necessity of "holy battle", to the bitter end. Duty consists in waging that battle in a way that suits one's character and station in life.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
Isn't the spiritual battle only within our self?
To me spiritual morality is truthfulness, compassion and forbearance in every aspect of our life.
I think there is. I see morality as the catalyst that drives social behaviour and hence civilisation. Without morality, without the trust that other humans hold similar moral values as yourself, us apes would not have climbed down from the trees.
Fast forward a few hundred thousand years. Religion develops from the civilisation morality has helped to develop, takes morality, remodels it to exclude those not in their club. And goes to war against those of their civilisation whom they have driven out. True religious morality in action.
To be moral is knowing what is accepted as good and what is not in the society you live, be it family, local, national or worldwide. Holding to the principles of what is acceptable in tjos the society's
Quite true, but the religious often defer to the rule book when making moral decisions, rather than analyzing the actual effects a given decision might have on others.
Case in point: anti LGBT attitudes.
syo
Well-Known Member
In my opinion, secular morality does not exist. Morality is one and it is religious.
Moraly good is someone who chooses the path of goodness, instead of evilness.
In my religion, there is the story of Hercules standing in front of two paths. The Goddess of Good and the Goddess of Evil tell him to follow their paths. And this is where we make a choice like Hercules does.
Roguish
Member
A fair question, but no. I truly wish it was that easy, but it isn't.
The thing is, if you truly believe X to be the right thing, but don't act that belief out in the world (or out of the world), then you're creating a conflict inside yourself. You're betraying yourself, in a sense, because you believe one thing but act on other things (e.g. a sense of civility or reasonableness) in order to maintain "good relations" with the world. So you reject the burden that would follow from acting out your beliefs. But suffering that burden is precisely the thing you need to burn your karma. (I trust you understand that remaining karma is the thing that "blocks" your Salvation. There is no other obstacle.)
Some will argue that spiritual truths have no bearing on the world, but that's a deception. The world is the arena for the spiritual battle. (What else could be the arena? The mind? For thinking creatures, the world is in the mind, and therefore one's behavior in the world reflects one's true beliefs.)
Well yes. But again, you must act those things out. Where are you going to be truthful, compassionate, and forbearing? These qualities only mean something in the world, and the world we find ourselves in is a hostile one. Your truthfulness, compassion, and forbearing, will rarely be met with appreciation; usually they'll be met with lack of comprehension, or worse, with condemnation.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
Yes we will act those moral ethics out when we can follow them from within, become fully moral being
