Thanks Bill,

That was just what I was looking for.

Steve and Foolestroupe, I didn't know about the hand wringing. I am curious about the hand wringing. Did you study philosophy like Bill? Did you have to look at every aspect of life to come up with a guide for yourself. How much weight did you give to the various outside stakeholders, your family, your community, your country, the world? What I wanted to know is what process your hand wringing entailed.

Joe,

Thank you. It is interesting to see that your morality needs to go beyond its religious base. I have a hard time reconciling a lot of the bible in my moral code. In the Old Testament the genocides led by Joshua and some of the attitudes toward women by St. Paul are notable points of concern.

Amos, I didn't say that Bill and Steve and Foolestroupe COULD not be followers of Jesus' philosophy. What I meant to say was that from what they had written in this forum, that I didn't think that they were. I am pretty sure that none of them were offend by my saying that I did not believe that they could be followed of Jesus, even philosophically. I was talking about them, not people in generally. Certainly I believed it was possible to be Atheist and look to Jesus as a guide because I was and did.

One observation I will make from what I have read on this thread is that it seems much harder work to form one own morals based upon one's own thoughts than on instruction from religion. I imagine that for those with the time and the intellectual energy that is a good thing.