Yes, ultimately the only moral principle is to maximize the happiness and minimize the suffering in the world. Something the Bible doesn't talk about at all. According to biblical morality, the reason you should do good deeds is not because it will increase happiness or decrease suffering, but because it will get you brownie points with God and keep him from making your afterlife unpleasant. Ironically, the Christian religion has turned morality into a completely self-centered thing for a lot of people. They act morally not for the sake of doing the right thing, but because they think they are being threatened by the most powerful being in the universe with the most horrible punishment in the universe.

If a Christian thinks that's what it takes to make them act ethically to others, then that says a lot about how much they really esteem their fellow humans. I have a lot more respect for someone who does the right thing because it's the right thing to do, than someone who does the right thing just to avoid a horrible punishment like Hell or prison. Someone who doesn't murder only because a law prohibits them from murdering is not an ethical person.
Oneironaut Reviewed by Oneironaut on . Why no commandment against rape? What does the Bible say about rape? A lot of Christians don't read the Bible so they don't know, but they assume that somewhere in there is an explicit statement that rape is always immoral. And of course, if we do a little digging, we're bound to come up with something like that...right? The closest I could find was this passage from Deuteronomy 22, where God is laying out his laws to the Israelites and instructing them on how to deal with cases of rape. A few comments on this verse. Rating: 5