The Golden Rule

An open letter to the Christians of Ray Comfort's blog who question my morality.

The rule of morality that I use is one that predates Christianity by thousands of years. It is simply the golden rule of 'do as you would be done by'. I am not violent, capricious or cruel, and I certainly don't want to destroy the planet. In return, I expect the same consideration from others. This is a rule that has benefits for all societies, and explains altruism as well - a co-operative society will do better than a selfish one. Jesus actually phrased the rule rather neatly as."Love your neighbour as yourself", but the idea did not originate with him by any means.

In contrast, your god is a violent bully who threatens the Israelites with destruction and gives them a huge list of arbitrary rules to follow. He demands sacrifices and military conquest and is only satisfied by grovelling obedience. The church through history (and I include Islam here too) has been violent, power hungry and cruel. This continues today with their vindictive treatment of gay people, to take just one example. You even have a presidential candidate who holds these views - how would it harm you if you allowed gay people the same rights to marry as everybody else?

If that's the source of your morality, then shame on you.