I’m a big Bill Maher fan, so I’ll take a page from him. “New Rule: you can’t say that God created all the good things in the world and all the bad things were created by Man.” Science tells us that Good & Evil are human, conscious constructs and the Universe doesn’t have an opinion. “Why are there bad people in the world”, “Why does God allow all this suffering”, “How could they change the original Chex Mix recipe”. These are all questions that people ask in an attempt to understand “the mind of God”. In doing so, you assume that God has a conscious mind and made things the way they are for a conscious reason. But in answering these questions from a religious point of view and within the bounds of western religious teachings, one is forced to take on the position that God made good things and men made the evil things - which is just silly.

God made everything
And just why are there bad people in the world? I don’t know and I’m not going to address it in the scope of this article, I just want to make the point that God - or nature or whatever you want to call it - made everything. God made murderers, thieves, rapists, bitches and assholes, just as much as he made Tom Hanks and ice cream. And that the labels Good and Bad are something we define based on what we want and what we do not want as a society - not as characteristics inherent to a thing regardless of whether humans are around or not. Murder was not Evil in the time of the dinosaurs. Murder is not evil today when a lion kills a zebra - even if it’s a baby zebra who was just born and is still too weak to stand and whose mommy had a really rough pregnancy and the father left her for a younger, more attractive zebra. It only becomes evil when humans are observing. OK, murder only applies to humans, but you get the point.

The Evolution of Good & Evil
Yes, even morality evolved - that’s how powerful and all-encompassing evolution is. Religious pundits often balk at the idea that morality is just a set of rules we all put together for society to function properly. The argument is mistaken in thinking that these rules were set up consciously. I agree with the priests that a group of people did not sit down one day and brainstorm over a list of rules. Rather, these rules are built into us as much as our desire to eat. A long, long time ago before humans, even before cavemen, you could pretty much do anything you wanted. But at some point creatures started teaming up in the ever increasingly competitive environment. As we know from game theory and systems theory, any cooperation or organization needs rules - it’s inherent in the very definition of these two constructs. So, rules were set up on a subconscious level. And by that, I mean that evolution, through trial and error, subconsciously puts systems in place which allow our genes to be passed on - so morality was just another evolutionary adaptation to help us proliferate. This is why morality has been around long before religion and the most atheistic people can still be morally superior to religious zealots. Think of it this way: a tribe of people with no rules will prosper and proliferate less than a tribe of people with a set of rules which better enable them to work together and take on their surroundings. Rules like “let’s not kill each other” - simple things which can lead to big gains in the gene pool. A cheetah also developed a flexible spine to be able to run faster - the difference here is that cultural evolution is happening across a set of individuals instead of within an individual.

Your conscience and You
The built-in mechanism for morality is indeed your conscience. Freudians call it the super ego and Pinocchio calls it Jiminy Cricket. And now you know where it came from - it’s an adaptation nature created so you already know how to play the game and what the rules are. It’s stronger and more effective in some than in others just like some people are physically stronger or smarter than others. But just as any adaptation, the better it is the better you should help you fare in life. Just like working out or brain puzzles, you can develop your conscience as well. Start by listening to it.

No absolute truths? What do we do now?  
So there are no absolute truths. But this need not worry you. This is not a call to throw morality out the window - I just want a proper definition of what morality is. So what if God didn’t invent the labels Good & Evil, that people did, and that it’s no longer holy? It still makes for a good working society and nature did a good job of creating Good & Evil to support human proliferation. Not as magical as the 10 Commandments, but isn’t it like 1000 times more real and impressive? And there is rationality behind the morality - not just someone telling you not to have sex with no real explanation why. And let’s not call them Laws or Commandments, call them guidelines. If life is a game, these guidelines will not tell you how to win the game (cause life is not a competition), only how to have the most pleasant, fulfilling experiences. “Don’t have promiscuous sex” becomes “Having promiscuous sex may be fun on one level, but empty on another. Scientists and psychologists show that the most sexually fulfilled people are those in a monogamous, loving relationship. And indeed, a fulfilling sex life is an important part of a healthy, balanced life. But if you feel like you need to hump a lot to get some stuff out of your system, go right ahead. I’m not mad at ya. At least now, you’re making an informed decision.” The second example just feels better, right?

Embracing morality
Let us embrace the morality that living in societies has made for us. Not because it’s written in scriptures, but because we’ll have a better life for it.

• No killing - it just doesn’t make for pleasant living. Ever want to kill someone? It’s not a nice feeling. I can’t even imagine how bad it would feel if you actually killed someone.
• No lying - it may get you want you want in the short term but long term, the weight on your conscience is enough to give you a hump back by the time you’re 40. And your reputation usually suffers beyond any short term gain. Be honest for a good night’s sleep.
• No stealing - ok, so you stole a tube of toothpaste, but how do you feel about yourself right now? Like “I can’t believe I just stole a tube of toothpaste. I’m a horrible human being”. Getting a job to pay for the toothpaste may be a pain in the ass, but you’ll feel fulfilled on another level and you can begin the process of working for more money and finding nicer jobs.
• Be nice to people - being a dick makes you feel like a dick. Nature has ensured that the nice people, in general, get good standing in a community. You may say “it’s better to be rich and powerful” and I won’t argue that right now, but being poor and nice gets you more points than being poor and nasty.
• Don’t be such a slut/male whore - aside from genital delight, sex often gives people a sense of acceptance. If you’re a bottomless pit of low self-esteem, you’ve probably realized that promiscuous sex is not solving that issue. Find another way. And note that nature made love, commitment and honesty feel naturally good too… Otherwise, have fun.
• Drugs are bad - and drugs are everywhere, from TV to pure heroine. Anything which takes away from your ability to contribute positively to the gene pool has been deemed as unacceptable and is punishable by societal isolation and severe feelings of guilt. But who doesn’t love to get high on occasion…
• Get to work - again with the contributing. Laziness just feels bad. Sure, you may not know what to do and hate doing things you don’t like, but for total bliss see “working hard at something you love”.
• Get a God - you thought I was dissing the notion, but quite the contrary. Find a definition of God that you’re comfortable with and feel the sense of oneness - whether you define it as Jesus, Allah, Buddha, nature, physics, the global consciousness, etc. Studies do show that people who feel part of something bigger lead more fulfilling and happy lives. Doesn’t mean you need to be a Christian or a Jew or part of some major religion, but just try finding something that’s “bigger” than you and adorning it with a sense of wonderment and humility. Feels nice.

And that was it. It’s quite common to feel torn by conflicting thoughts like “I think morality is good” and “I don’t like what religions are saying about morality”.  So I hope this article leaves you with a possibly new perspective with no conflicting ideas.

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