Is Religion moral?

[rosscruz89]

Now with a question like this you can't really generalise so i'll be specific.

In Christianity and Islam (and possible judaism but im unsure about this) if you commit sins (murder, rape, theft etc) you are punished in the afterlife, if you follow the rules and "do good" you are rewared in the afterlife.

Now i understand that the picture is much more complicated that this, i.e. christian forgiveness etc.

i am only asking about the framework of reward/punishment in the afterlife for following the rules of religion. of course if there is something that justifies or mitigates this that is outside this framework then by all means explain it.

but my basic question is if an individual is "trained" to be a good person through the reward of heaven for those who are "good" and the threat of "hell" for those who are evil then how noble or morally admirable are their action if they are done in order to avoid punishment or to gain rewards?

in other words are his "moral" actions truely moral if he is compelled?

 

[Cordoba]

You mentioned the verb (trained), which is an excellent description as a believer is spiritually and morally trained in this life for following God's commands

God informs us what is moral and what is immoral, and though He forgives all sins when a believer repents, the reminder of the Hereafter is always a good motivation

After the first years of moral training, a believer acquires the virtues and morals which God wants, and with spiritual growth, these virtues become part of his charater

Hope that answers your question

All the best