Many of us regard the method of reward and punishment to be a valuable method of controlling people. Many religions employ this method. The reward for good behavior is Heaven, the punishment for bad conduct is Hell (or their equivalencies). The problem is the determination of what is good or bad or what is moral. The preacher who declared the recent murders in Florida were justified because it is moral to kill gays according to his interpretation of the bible, a sentiment echoed by Pat Robinson, would indicate that the murderers were actually agents of God to punish the sin of homosexuality? Does the murderer of an abortion doctor get awarded with eternal life in Heaven? Does a suicide bomber get awarded 72 virgins? Some other religious leaders even argued that 9/11 was God’s punishment for the sins of the American people. The method of reward and punishment to control people is a two edged sword. The argument that without religion we do not have morals, is a ridiculous argument. The opposite is actually the case. Morals must be adapted all the time to adjust to the circumstances we are living in. The ancient “morals” became written in stone and did not adapt to the evolving complex societies which developed after. We have to adapt and evolve to make it possible to live together in more and more complex and always changing environment.
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