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Question: My debate, i guess on philosophy of religion, what do you believe!?
Okay so i was having this debate!.

My headteacher argued that when someone does something wrong they have a voice in their head, their conscience ( the voice of god perhaps!? ) making them feel bad!.
I disagreed and argued that our body was created with our frontal lobe enabling us to determine right from wrong
Sir argued then that God created us with a frontal lobe
i then went on to argue

If god managed to create something out of nothing then why is it not in his power to stop a perfectly normal human being to bang his head severly, damage his frontal lobe, warp his interpretation of right and wrong and continue his life as a seriel killer!?

What are your thoughts!?
By the way, if i seem ignorant i apologise haha bear in mind im 16!.

Thank you!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Logic applies to the philosophy of religion as well as it does to any other type of thinking!. If God created us with a frontal lobe enabling us to know right from wrong, then why does God create sociopaths!? These people have that part of the brain that deals with empathy damaged or unavailable!. Since these people create an awful lot of the suffering in the world, why didn't God do a better job on their brains!?
It's not necessary to hypothesize that the conscience is the voice of God!. This is almost entirely determined by culture, and the voice of conscience is the voice of society talking to you!. At least, this is what psychologists and anthropologists say!.
You do not seem ignorant at all!. You're pondering deep things!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

My philosophy teacher said that it is unfair to use logic in religion because it is faith based!. When you use logic, religion becomes nonsense!. You have to reason from a the view point of faith!. I won kudos in my class because I gave them the term "logic of emotions"!. How emotions interact and effects of the logical concepts of emotion!. Guilt leading to anger leading to bigotry leading to action leading to social disruption as one possible path!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Your teacher is an idiot, to put it bluntly!. What subject is he teaching!? I sure hope it is not science!. I agree with you, btw!. The development of a conscience can be explained by evolution!. A conscience has helped us to survive as a species!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Where to start!.!.!. from a religious point of view, God does not stop the person from injuring his frontal lobe and becoming a serial killer because most religions support a God who has granted free will!.

Is the conscience the voice of God!? I would argue that it is probably not!. If you are basing your argument that the voice of God is your conscience, then you must address why when certain acts are committed, the act will riddle one person with negative feelings, and another will not suffer any guilt!. For instance, a man from a farm will kill a chicken and not feel guilty because he see's it as sustenance!. On the other hand, the prim and proper lady from the city might be overcome with guilt and other negative feelings from doing the same act!. If God's voice is your conscience, would His code of ethics vary from one person to the next!?

More likely, you conscience is developed by external influences, such as the belief system of your parents, friends, religious upbringing and other respected individuals!.

Good luck in your class!. Although I am a person of faith, I think it is dangerous to explain away the unknown by saying the it is because it is the way God would want it - I suspect that your teacher is playing the devil's advocate, and really wants someone to challenge his statement!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Well first off, I think you treacher was playing the devil's advocate!. As for creation, and how our minds work!. Well that would be left up to evolution!. Religious institutions tend to use fear for many things, including social behavior and morality!. You constantly hear morality thrown around by many people of faith, as a means to justify their point of view!.

The problem comes when they actually have to have facts to back up their statements!. Morality is not a religious perspective, it's a question of what will help, or harm, humanity!.

But, to answer your question, there is no god!. There is the here and now!. There is life, and all the beauty and splendor that we witness!. The many conditions and diseases that humans have to deal with are biological abnormalities!. That isn't to say, they are good, or bad!. Just different!.
We control what we think, we learn to speak, talk, read, and all the other things that we do, because of evolution!. We had the capacity to do so for many thousands of years!.

Hope this bakes your noodle a bit =)Www@QuestionHome@Com

To answer all of your questions, simply put, God does not dabble in human affairs!. Ever since Eden, or whatever event in whichever religion you subscribe to!.!.!. Pandora, perhaps!. From that moment on, humans made the decisions for themselves, and suffering is a consequence of our reality/sin!. God does not manipulate free will!. That would be a violation of Gods intentions, and goes against any religion that preaches free-will!. Anyone has every right to murder, sanely or not!. Everyone has every right to bash their brains in, become retarded or a sociopath, and be a murder!. That doesnt make their decision morally-right!. Nor does it necessarily mean they will be held spiritually responsible for those decisions!. You arent respecting the religion in context!. You cannot argue against a religion unless you understand what youre arguing against!. Your argument doesnt take dogma into consideration, which by the way perfectly answers your question!. As for people born retarded, its because mommy took too many drugs, exposed herself to too much tanning salon radiation, or whatever else!. Once again, the consequence of human action!. Not Gods!.Www@QuestionHome@Com