The question is, does nature provide one with a moral framework?

Anon #1

What if God created nature? Then you’d just be worshipping His creation rather than Him.

Anon #1

There you go. The individual god, the self. It’s not nature that you worship Anon 1, it’s yourself.

“Others worship a false and evil god by slaughtering women and children.” Also a learned position, although the words false and evil are your assessment.

The teachings that you follow, in this instance, are good. The other teachings are bad. Both are “in the name of God”. I do not believe the God in the second case is bad. The adherents are making the rules.
Men. Evil men. If the adherents of that faith were not instructed to behave in this way by other men, their God may be the same God that you worship. I do not believe that any God is capable of evil per se.

Matt – “Some religious traditions have taught that one can burn widows alive at the death of their husbands. If all people should be allowed to follow” [those teachings in the name of] “their own God these people should be permitted to murder others. But thats absurd.”

“Second, there are some religious faiths which deny that people should be “permitted to follow their own God” if “Each person should be permitted to follow their own God” a contradiction looms these people will be permitted to not permit you to follow your God.”

The individual needs to be answerable to the individual’s own God, not the teachings of the mob in the name of “a” God. Otherwise the individual is submitting to a supreme law of another man’s making.

My God is Nature. I cannot defy gravity. Things grow according to the season. Procreation takes place between the male and the female of each species. Live and let live. I do not need to tell others how to live. People learn best what they learn themselves. Consult widely, and make your own decisions. Each person’s life is an indivual thing, not owned by others.
Nature has prevailed for ever, and does not succumb to the will of man.

I hope I have provided a little clarity.

Anon #1

Let me say two things in response to your comments.

1. You state that “all religions and faiths” are “a learned position”. I am not sure that this proves what you think it does. After all my belief that the world is round is a learned position, as is my belief that their once was a civilisation called ancient Rome, as is my belief that racism is wrong. If I had been brought up and educated in different cultures I may not believe any of these things. Yet this fact does not entail that these positions are irrational or arbitrary or that the denials of each of them is equally valid as affirming them.

2. You say “Each person should be permitted to follow their own God.” This sounds nice and tolerant the problem is it’s hard to defend rationally or sensibly. I’ll sketch a couple of problems. First, some people believe that their God commands them to kill the infidel wherever they find them. Some religious traditions have taught that one can burn widows alive at the death of their husbands. If all people should be allowed to follow their own God these people should be permitted to murder others. But thats absurd.

Second, there are some religious faiths which deny that people should be “permitted to follow their own God” if “Each person should be permitted to follow their own God” a contradiction looms these people will be permitted to not permit you to follow your God.

Other worship a false and evil god by slaughtering women and children.

But I guess I’m just intolerant that way. I can’t wait for Nature to evolve a wiser path while the blood of innocents runs in the streets.