//congratulations Toni I am sure your mum is so proud of you.//

I'm sure she's as proud as yours is when you insult people, runner.

Ian – you say that there are such things as “correct decisions” when it comes to making moral choices. What makes any moral decision a “correct” one? Is a correct one, simply one that conforms to what you think the Buddha thought was correct? But how did the Buddha know what was correct anyway since he was just a human being like the rest of us? And correct against what standard? Why is the morality that Buddha made up “right” while Hitler’s morality, presumably, is “wrong”? Who has the authority to say so?

Remember that you emphasise that each of us has the personal responsibility to decide for ourselves what is ethical and moral. If that is so then presumably the morality that Hitler has decided upon is as valid as Buddha’s. If not, why not?

Sorry, but I just don't understand this article:

The author's religion, Buddhism, does not utilise a belief in deities, whereas other religions do.
Both types of religions are valid and suit different kinds of people, so what's the fuss about?

JP – I feel that you want to tie me into an continuing debate about the rationale of Buddhist practice. Rather than continue to help you understand this lifestyle, I would be a little more caring by suggesting that you check out the wealth of information on the web. Beginning with a simple search of ‘Buddhism” you could progress as far as you wish in learning a little of this so-called religion. The historical truth you’d discover very early is that although the Buddha was an ordinary human, he gained complete enlightenment about every aspect of life, after which he spent the rest of his own life passing on the knowledge, and explaining how to learn. I think it's a bit unreasonable to compare his morality with that of Hitler. As I said in a previous post, a key element of morality is whether or not any living being is harmed. The purpose of my original article was to put forward my opinions on the fallibility of believing in some mythical deity, thus if your doing a little research helps you to understand where I'm coming from, then go for it, and best wishes. Ian

Dear Ponder,

«The purpose of my original article was to put forward my opinions on the fallibility of believing in some mythical deity»

This seems to address my question, thank you!

Well, the question of fallibility of a given belief is quite different from the question whether or not the content of that belief is consistent with the observable/objective reality.

For example, telling a child that if they steal, their deceased grandfather is sitting on a cloud and seeing it all, is not fallible - it helps to reduce harm!

Well done Ian Nance. Keep up the good work. Thanks very much for responding to the queries in your comments as well.