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clinquist said:
I am an atheist, and I choose to be - not because I have not been "exposed" to Christianity, but because I truly believe there is no God. I have read the Bible, and while I believe many of the stories, teachings, etc. are good, I cannot agree with many of the ideas it contains. The idea of "God" is not necessary for people to behave responsibly. When humanity first formed communities, they quickly realized that if stealing was OK, then no one would work - if wewe ever accumulated anything, your neighbor would take it from wewe - so why try. If lying and cheating were OK, then wewe could never believe anything anyone said, and contracts would be impossible. If adultery was OK, then no one would know who the father of any aliyopewa child was - and very few men would "own up" to the fact that they had any children at all. As a result, children would not be provided for. Many of the ideas presented in the ten commandments are good ideas - NECESSARY ideas if society is to function. Atheists realize this, and most are very "moral" - even in the Christian sense. So, are atheists sinners? I suppose that depends. Some will cheat, steal and commit adultery - just like many Christians do. Some will be very "moral" - from a Christian sense. The concept of "sin" came from the Bible, so if wewe do not believe in the Bible, wewe probably do not understand the word "sin", but wewe certainly would know the meaning of adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. and in all likelihood, wewe would consider all of them wrong.
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