When my ex and I were still together and fighting about religion, he said according to my atheism people can make up their own rules, therefore his immaterial words shouldn't hurt my feelings. After listening to an old podcast from Your Atheist Pastor I got to thinking and I just wanted to say in response to my ex's statement that I don't think I make up my own rules. I think that I learn from other people. I learn what works and what doesn't work in order to reach my goals. One goal I have is to feel like part of a community and you don't accomplish that by being a jerk. I want to be loved and respected so we respect each other because we get back what we put out. I don't need a bible to figure these things out. I call that common sense. These are just a couple things that immediately come to mind. Maybe some of you have even better responses to my ex's statement. I'd be interested to hear them.
Everyone "divines" codes of behavior from the social milieu informed by built in primate ethics.
Some conclusions can be more self serving than others.