The real question is: if you knew there was a god, would you behave any differently? And if the answer is yes, then perhaps you should assume there is.
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives.
Very old fashioned to say that they will be well behaved but I think it's very important.
A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.
If my children do not behave according to Islam, if they do not pray for instance, I will punish them.
A decent man who doesn't consider himself a bigot can indeed be trained to behave like a bigot if he welcomes feedback exclusively from those who consider bigotry no big deal or, indeed, an attribute to be admired.
Kids are naturally curious about what they don't know, or don't understand, or what is foreign to them. They only learn to be frightened of those differences when an adult influences them to behave that way and censors that natural curiosity.
Oh, I'm a psychology nerd; I love to learn about why people behave the way they do, how experiences influence us.
When you loot or behave violently, you give grounds to those that try to justify illegal police abuse. You become the poster child for them to say, 'See, we have no choice but to shoot and kill, or use a chokehold, because just look at the way they behave.'
