I am a good person and I don't need a god for that

In Utilitarianism, I think he attributes the history of his moral philosophy to Epicurus (it may have been his mentor Bentham who did that, but I know one of them did so). Which would make sense since they were both hedonist in their ethical philosophies, but neither were egoists about their hedonism.

Fun fact: you can go meet Bentham today. His head is preserved on a fake body at UCL.

 

I don't think you've read Mill's mind.....the thief knows theft is morally wrong, because he would feel morally wronged if someone stole from him. Either the thief lacks empathy or the reward vs risk overwhelms empathy.

 

You've never heard that "there is no honor among thieves"?

 

Like with murder. One might say- "I don't murder because I don't like to be killed". At the same time another might say- "I don't like being killed either. That's why I kill".

 

The later is talking about self defense, which I hope we can agree is different from murder.

 

No, just general killing. Just in case everybody agrees that killing ensures survival. It certainly ensures a source of loot which is also beneficial for survival.

Ain't that the Athiests #1 dogma? - "Survival"

 

Oof, if you want to go down that route we have a lot to cover. Pro-social behavior is great for survival, by the way. And, no, not every instance of killing ensures survival.

 

Sorry, spelling issue, that was two upquarks and a down quark.So, tell me, what are quarks composed of?

 

Great question! And do the components have mass or not? I've got a buddy of mine from college who is a quantum physicist. I'll pick his brain about it.

 

I lived with a people in the Amazonmthatmdidn't have the same notion of theft as many in the 'civilized' world. Need an axe, as you know who has one, you get it and use it. It's why many visitors complain about ramant theft. if you leave equipment laying around, someone may pilfer it. Many times it is outmofmsimple curiosity, not someone wantingbto possess what was pilfered.
After, I wss with them, I reluzed communal harmony wss more important than claims of personal ownership, beside which, if someone took somethjng of another for thir use, you could simply retrieve it when needed, or in most cases walk out into the jungle an get themmaterials to make another. In the vilkage, they had a very small number of single shot shotguns, obtained through trading. Everyone knew where they were, and if needed, you would just go get one.
In their case, ammunition was scarce so the shotguns were almost necer used for hunting expending precious ammunition, rather most hunting was done with traditional weapons that worked just fine. Shotgus were primarily used to deter other clans from raiding the village.
These folk, didn't ascribe to the bible, but followed the norms of morality that had been observed by their amcestors for arguably thousands of years. In many ways I found the morality and hospitality they exhibited very admirable.a couple months after I arrived, I got disentary, my stupidity, and I was too sick ti effectively care for my self. Several of the men took me partially by litter, partially by canoe about a 150 miles doen the Orinoco to the Amazon, then to a river settlement where there was a clinic so I could be treated. If not for them, I have no doubt what my fate would have been.most people arguing here are doing so from the context of Christianity, but have zero knowlege or experience beyond their couches and keyboards.

 

Ask him for the prevailing spevulations., I.e.string theory, QFD, manfort's computational space model, etc. To experimentally probe quark composition, it is likely we would need to generate far more energy than is don at Cern and to improve our ability to detect and measure quantum phenomena than currently exists.

 

I'll do so. I KNOW he isn't a string theory fan, but that's more of a gut thing for him than based on evidence, and he's admitted it. He just hates how popular it is in the public and feels it hasn't been born out yet

 

I've heard many banalities.

 

Do you also find yourself repeating them?

 

Says the guy who just repeated one.

 

I've been known to repeat myself.

 

Fair enough.

 

Yes, up quarks and down quarks have mass. They are the lightest of the six flavors of quarks, however.

 

That's why you'll be driven outside God's realm.
The big picture is, God built (or will build) an eternal for humans and angels to live together with a sin-incompatible God forever. God thus set up rules to identify who are qualified to live in such a realm. Those who pass the Final Judgment will enter such an eternity we call Heaven. Those who failed will have to live outside of God's dwelling realm. Whether you deem yourself as 'good' or not is irrelevant. At the end, the most capable and most evil will rule in a place outside of God's realm. So it's predicted that Satan will rule outside of God's realm. You may thus need to make the same claim that "you are good" in front of him to see what would happen.

So if God calls you good, you live with Him in a realm He built. Otherwise, you are a free man to call yourself whatever, as long as the god in your own realm allows. It happens that your god will have to be Satan, as Satan has all the will and all the power to stay as your god. It's natural and logical that such a figure with power and evilness will finally rule in a realm outside of God.