If there is no god is everything permissible?

Answer 1

Perhaps, but...For many people, if there is no god, there is no good, so there is no evil, so everything is indeed permissible.

Some, though, have some concept of "right" and "wrong" apart from a god. In that case there may be some actions or thoughts that are considered inappropriate or unpermitted. Too often this concept focuses solely on oneself; for example, it might be permissible for me to cheat you, but not for you to cheat me. Some people consider this making oneself one's god.

On the other hand, many things the God of The Bible doesn't permit are actually harmful to us, which is why God doesn't permit them.

not permissiblebecause there's still the law of man to contend with.

really, the only law there is is do it if you can handle the consequences

This assertion is insulting to both sides of the argument. It implies that the atheist should be IMmoral, and that the believer should be operating on a very tenuous and questionable basis.

Another View:

Clearly atheists are capable of being moral. International crime statistics show that to be the case. Bill Gates, Al Greenspan, and Warren Buffet are the 3 most charitable people in the country, and they're atheists. Apologists are willing to acknowledge this by claiming that they're borrowing their morality from Christians, or that the moral intuition is inscribed in them by God. Apparently it's inscribed on people of other faiths as well. Here's the point that an atheist might make on morality: Can you name a moral, benevolent, or loving action that can be performed by a believer but not an unbeliever? I've yet to hear of a valid answer to this question, but it might not bother you. There's a follow-up. Name for me an immoral, evil, hateful action that can be performed by a theist, but not an atheist. This one is much easier to answer, isn't it? There are certain evil acts that REQUIRE the belief in divine warrant or command. There are things people would not do unless they believed they had divine permission. And people believe in all sorts of gods, so it's easy to imagine any sort of action performed by anyone with a certain idea of God. How would they know otherwise, if they truly believed that divine will instructed them? On what grounds can the theist tell a suicide bomber that the voice he hears, that he knows is coming from Allah, is not enough to justify pushing the detonator button on a schoolbus full of children?

Good news.

There is justification for morality without the supernatural. An atheist can condemn evil actions without appealing to divine authority. It's simple. Let's take for example murder. Would you want to live in a society (since we have no choice but to live in society, complete isolation is nearly impossible, you'll always affect someone) where murder is permissible? Would such a society last very long, where murder is OK, and is considered no more abhorrent than walking your dog or blowing your nose? Obviously not! The first of these two questions addresses WHY murder is immoral, and the second HOW it came to be innate in us. The same method can be applied to any action (especially including its specific context). We can create many universal rules regarding the morality of behavior in this manner, as certain actions are abhorrent to us by their very nature (nobody likes being robbed, nobody wants their friends and family murdered, etc). You may even look at it as selfish, but the ultimate goal is providing for the greatest amount of happiness, and the least amount of suffering. It HAS to be universal, because no one human being lacks the capacity for suffering or joy. No one can be exempt because we are all in the same existential darkness. By darkness I mean ignorance. We DO NOT know and CAN NOT know what the reason is the universe, and ultimately life, exists, or even whether there is any reason. All we know is that we have this mortal life. And that shouldn't be a disappointment, although unfortunately, the idea of being merely mortal is quite disappointing to anyone who has grown up being told that life is eternal (meaning spiritually). No one is exempt from their moral duty to their fellow living beings, because we cannot agree universally on any basis for such an exemption. We are morally equal because we are equally mortal.

If we aren't accountable to God, we are still accountable to each other, and to ourselves.

Think about it this way: can you name a moral action that does not decrease suffering and/or increase human well-being and happiness? Can you name an immoral action or choice that does not increase suffering and/or decrease human well-being and happiness?

Answer:

The question is quite insulting. There is a God the Bible explains what is permissable. One day we will all know the answer as we knell before the Judgment seat of Jesus Christ, being a Christian I believe this will happen.