Is Guilt and Love Evidence of a Creator?

[ElCodeMonkey]

Sometimes we feel guilty if we do something that we ourselves might rationalize as okay and even not expect to be caught having done it. Why the guilt? Sometimes we can do something self-sacrificing and it brings us joy despite doing nothing for us. Why the joy?

Are such things evidence that something or someone somewhere is monitoring our behavior or perhaps they built-in some kind of moral mechanism or compass to teach us right from wrong?

[Mithrae]

[Replying to post 1 by ElCodeMonkey]

Some people (ie. sociopaths) don't have those traits, and researchers suggest that about half of that variability can be considered genetic. Some animals show altruistic behaviour even at their own expense (eg. a monkey will share its food and go hungry if another monkey in an adjacent cage is being starved). Traits such as altruism and guilt usually help with groups' cohesion and wellbeing, conveying an obvious evolutionary advantage to intelligent social primates. Seems a more likely explanation than divinely-imparted conscience. Perhaps instead god is learning good from evil through us.

[Jagella]

Sometimes we feel guilty if we do something that we ourselves might rationalize as okay and even not expect to be caught having done it. Why the guilt? Sometimes we can do something self-sacrificing and it brings us joy despite doing nothing for us. Why the joy?

Are such things evidence that something or someone somewhere is monitoring our behavior or perhaps they built-in some kind of moral mechanism or compass to teach us right from wrong?

If you want to know why we may feel guilt or joy regarding our actions, studying modern psychology is a good place to start. Evolutionary psychology may be particularly helpful in explaining why we react the way we do to our own actions. It seems to me that if we didn't react the way we do to the way we treat others, then the survival of our species would be jeopardized. If we hurt other people guilt free, then as individuals we may incur their wrath and need to endure their vengeance possibly resulting in our own deaths.

So there is an evolutionary basis for our behavior and the way we feel about what we do. These feeling should make our survival and reproduction more probable. There is no need to invoke any gods to explain these feelings.

[ttruscott]

Sometimes we feel guilty if we do something that we ourselves might rationalize as okay and even not expect to be caught having done it. Why the guilt? Sometimes we can do something self-sacrificing and it brings us joy despite doing nothing for us. Why the joy?

Are such things evidence that something or someone somewhere is monitoring our behavior or perhaps they built-in some kind of moral mechanism or compass to teach us right from wrong?

Do you think Heb 12:5-11 might apply?

[Divine Insight]

Are such things evidence that something or someone somewhere is monitoring our behavior or perhaps they built-in some kind of moral mechanism or compass to teach us right from wrong?

The problem with that idea should be obvious. Not everyone feels guilty about the same things. Not everyone feels joy for having done the same things either.

So clearly all of these feelings belong to the person who feels them. Why even bother proposing that some other entity would have anything to do with it? What sense does that even make?

Think about it. Using the reasoning you have proposed we should then conclude that if there exists another entity that is either pleased or displeased with our actions and behaviors, then that entity must have been designed that way, or have yet another entity watching over it to make it feel good or bad about something.

It doesn't even propose a meaningful situation. If any entity can feel good or bad about something then why can't that entity be the entity that has those feelings?

In other words, humans are sufficient explanation for their own feelings. No additional imaginary entities need to be proposed. It doesn't do any good to propose their existence anyway, because that would then only lead to the question of why those entities feel they way they do. It's doesn't resolve anything.