The Bloody Handprint

 
Morals. We have them, but what are they? It is my understanding that a moral decision is based on what you feel to be the right thing to do. When we're raising our kids or training our dogs, we use reward and punishment respectively to encourage good behaviors, and quash bad ones. 


It's this bit of Reward versus Punishment concept that was brought to me via Penn Jillette of the popular and famous Penn & Teller comedy/illusionist duo. I'm going to cite his appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher as to give proper credit to Penn and his recent book, "God, no!"


When we make a decision based on our personal morals, we make that decision for a pure purpose. When we make a decision based on whether or not we will be punished or rewarded, that is not as clear; that decision is based on whether or not we want the reward or can bear the punishment - not on morals.


If I place a donut on the table in front of you and tell you that it's yours if you want it, you may or may not take it based on whether or not you want the donut. If I place a donut on the table and tell you to eat it and I'll give you a dollar, and if you don't, I'm gonna hit you with a baseball bat, you're very likely to eat the donut to avoid being hit with a bat. You've avoided punishment and received a reward. Was that a decision based on anything more than the comparison of reward versus punishment?

Let's take that same scenario and change it up a bit: If I lay a familiar book on the table in front of you and give you the choice of believing what is says, or not. This time the reward is everlasting life in a magical fairy land where you get everything you want, and the punishment is an eternity of burning alive, whips, and bee stings. What's the obvious answer?


I'm not out to offend any one, but I am out to demonstrate the scare tactics used by most mainstream religion. It is not wrong to believe in something because one's morals is the lead. I do feel it is not healthy to believe something because you've been bullied into wearing blinders.


YouTube Clip: http://youtu.be/XmiuYyQ3Xgo
Barnes and Noble; "God, no!": http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/god-no-penn-jillette/1100392611