Way of the Mind

Think of two children. One “behaves” because he was properly raised, because he really cares about doing the right thing, because he has moral principles. The second “behaves” only because he’s afraid of being spanked. Which one do you think is the “better” child? The most moral one?

There are many possible reasons to care for other people. Empathy, for instance. Cooperation. Community. Belief in other people. Love. Respect. A sense of justice, of fairness. Wanting to make the world a better place. Does one really need a threat of eternal punishment as well?

In fact, when you say that “without fear of hell, people would kill, rape, steal, and so on”, aren’t you, in effect, saying that you would do exactly that if you didn’t believe you’d go to hell for it? That you, yourself, don’t see any other reasons not to kill, rape or steal?

(Note: please keep any comments related to the above question / answer, and not to other subjects, such as whether God exists or not. Thanks.)