Do Christians put God first, while atheists put people first? How does that shape our world?

Question

An earlier question (link on the way) asked to rank who/what you serve in order...most if not all christians ranked god first, followed by parents, people, the "religion", while atheists/agnostics ranked people first, obviously because god is of no concern to them. But as for #1 on their lists, God vs. People/Family, what does this say in general terms? How does it affect society as a whole? What's your take?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ajv8otbQXz4Da1i7X73Dx9Psy6IX?qid=20060809080842AAp5kTD

Answer 1

I am athiest and I put people first. I think that that shows how self-centered christians are. they think about the well being of themselves, so they put god first. not because they love god that much, but because they are afraid of what 'god' will do to them if they dont love him the most. I once heard(from a mormon) that god loves you more than your parents do. this was what made me dislike religion. I dont care about god because there is no evidence that he exists... so family and friends come first. as they shoudl for EVERYONE

Answer 2

In the final analysis, if evolution is true and the Bible is false, there would be no sin, since there would be no God, no Lawmaker, and no laws to break. It follows that, if there were no laws to break-and the Bible defines sin as "the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4)-there would be no sin. If there is no sin, we would not need a Savior to redeem us from the penalty of breaking those laws (Romans 6:23) and Christ would have died in vain. In short, evolution is a complete denial of everything the Bible stands for.
These are the inevitable conclusions that will flow in the wake of a society that rejects the basic teaching that God created the universe. The matter of origins is very important because society's behavior and destination depend upon it. In his book, Evolution or Creation? (page 2), Henry M. Morris, Ph.D., confirms this point. He writes:
"Each person needs, more than anything, a sense of his own identity and personal goals, and this is impossible without some sense of his origin. What a person comes to believe about his origin will inevitably condition what he believes about his destiny."
Lenin is quoted as saying that religion is the opiate of the people, but the truth is that evolution is the opiate of the atheist!

Answer 3

I don't know if that is entirely applicable to either side. Some christians undoubtedly put belief first, some don't. Some atheists put people first, some don't.

I cannot fathom putting an ideology before your fellow human beings. I want a better life for human beings and yes myself but my community as a whole. I don't have children but I still support the school systems, not only through my taxes but during fund raisers because it is right to help your neighbor. I personally think when the ideal is set before humanity that is lost sight of.

Answer 4

Well, first off, your excluding billions of people who are neither Christion nor atheist. There are many other religions and practices which put people and the present before spirituality, and vis versa. The way you phrased your question implies that you can only either be Christian or athiest, like there are no other religions in existence (or at least valid ones) which is completely ignorant and false.

As for how this effects society, those who put people and the present as a top priority are obviously going to better society than those who are too absorbed in their religion to care about anything else.

Answer 5

It seems that normal Christians put God first in more of a symbolic manner than actually neglecting people in favor of God. If all Christians followed the Bible's rule of love your neighbor as yourself...their placing God first would be at the same time placing people first. So, Christians and atheists do share the same goal of making this world a good place for people...we just might have different approaches and ideas of how to make the world better.

I think the problems with how the order of who comes first starts to cause issues whith how we shape our world is when the self is placed before others. This is what believers in a end times occuring in this life time, for example, are doing. It could even be argued that they are placing themselves before God by neglecting the state of God's creation (the world).

We pretty much know that global warming is occuring and that steps can be taken to help slow that process (maybe reverse it but we don't know how much is a natural cycle and how much is the fault of neglegent human action). Yet, those who think the event times is about to happen scoff at the need to do anything about the state of our home (earth) because they think everyone will be going to a new home (heaven) soon. So, by placing their religious beliefs and themselves in front of other people they are neglecting to look out for their fellow man. Someone who think they are going to be raptured very soon also might not care that much about dealing with other issues like world hunger because they are busy preparing spiritually.

I see this sort of placing god/religion before people (in my view placing the self before people) as detrimental to the health and well being of future generations. Also, if a person thinks they will be raptured soon then they don't have much reason to pursue an education when that won't do them much good in heave. A person who has this belief will just spend most of their time trying to convince others the end is near. It's good that most people don't seem to believe the end times are near, otherwise society in general could fall apart.

Aside from the issues with what I stated above. I really can't imagine ever placing a deity over my family. My family and friends have always been there for me when I need them...we have a real relationship. People have faith that God is there for them and that a relationship exists in a spiritual manner, but it's really not the same sort of personal support one can get from family. When it gets right down to it, when we need help it is people who are there to support us, even the words of a spiritual text are that of people. By making a list of what is more important and placing God above family...that's essentially saying that if God told you to abandon your family you'd have no issues doing so. Placing them on the same level of importance, that I can understand, but not placing God above family.

Answer 6

Atheists placed themselves first, no person else. Christians placed God first after which human beings, that's what makes them so distinctive from the international. it rather is the Atheists who're inflicting the decline of society with their over inflated ego's and love of themselves. something actual, attractive, organic and healthful has been replaced with lust, ego, self-friendly and materialism.

Answer 7

If you believe in God, then you must put Him first because He is the supreme being.
If you don't belive in God then you must put people first because without a God to take care of them (?) it is up to us.
Care of the people, and all living things, is the first duty of every rational being.

P.S. Ann, I like you. You are my kind of person!

Answer 8

It's real simple. Religious people put God first. They're smart.
Atheists put people and only tangible things they can actually see first - not God. They're stupid.

The Earth is full of stupid people. Atheists just add more to the mix.

Answer 9

Putting God first means putting people first. We love God by loving people.

Answer 10

I think athiests put self first. If not self than government. Athiests seem to be the most religious people I know. They just worship government, or some other thing. It's not like they are non religious, they just have 'alternative' religions.