How do we create symbolic virtue? We take the standards of morality that we have inherited from past generations. Then we "drain" away the idea of a just and holy God that was associated with that morality. We siphon off any notion of punishment for falling short of the standard. Then we redefine obligations to God to mean mutual obligations to each other as human beings. We focus on the positive, on a few actions that people can do, rather [than] on the many possible violations of the standard or on the common ways that we all fall short of the standard. Then we change the name from morality to ethics.