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Originally Posted by Aigyptos
I have been wondering a long time about the morality of atheists (there is actually no such thing as a collective atheist morality, but still).
What would you (an atheist) do in the following cases?
[*]Someone threatens to kill you, unless you convert to his religion.
Depends on the religion, but most likely convert.
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[*]Someone will give you a million dollar, if you convert to his religion, and adhere to the principles of his religion etc.
Same answer as above. I should note that with most major religions I could be a sincere convert and remain an atheist.
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How important is atheism for you, as the truth?
It has important implications for how I live my life and how I understand the world. Speaking loosely, I believe that if my life is to have any meaning or purpose I must be involved in its construction. Thus, if I want to live an authentic or honest life, I must be conscious of how I construct this meaning or purpose instead of thinking it is imposed on me by God.
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Would you accept something which is a lie (to you) because you can get a reward?
Depends on the reward and what the lie is, but most likely not.
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What do you think of martyrs (the Christian definition of martyrs, not the Islamic)? Are they 'respectable' for dying for something which is (according to them) the truth? Or are they stupid for giving their life for morality?
I am not very familiar with the tradition of Christian martyrdom, but I can admire their courage in dying for their convictions. I don't always admire their convictions, and I sometimes think that they were acting foolish in so dying, but certainly in some cases I find Christians who give up their lives in service to others (MLK, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the ten Boom family are recent examples) very inspirational.