Don't you think that Atheists are the really good people in the world because?

Question

They know that there is no heaven but behave like good people because it is the right thing to do whereas Christians are so scared of hell that they behave themeselves, does that make any sense?

Answer 1

Good point. If hell wasn't a punishment (which it isn't. It doesn't exist), christians would become mass murderers. Makes you think.

Answer 2

Well I do not know the stats on how many Atheists (by the way there are way more Agnostics than Atheists anyway) are 'good people' but who decides what is right and what is wrong! Hmmm let me think...would most of the laws and morals we conduct ourselves by be handed down from the Bible? If they do not believe in the God then why do they believe in His word. Common sense says that killing is not good, stealing also a no no but to say that a society has decided these things without a general consensus seem naive. I know many agnostics that are law abiding citizens but they acknowledge that all the laws they know of stem from Judea-Christian beliefs.
AND Christians do not do what is right in fear of HELL silly! They do it because it is right!!! Just like the Atheists!

Answer 3

It amazes me how many people really think that being a Christian is all about acting like a good person and behaving themselves. That's so wrong! Christians are sinners just like everyone else on the face of the earth, the difference is they are repentent of their sins and forgiven. When you describe Christianity in the way you do, you're just describing the outer appearance of Christians as you see them. You don't speak from direct experience so you don't understand the change that happens inside.

Answer 4

I am glad your a good person and have good morals.

Christians are not scared of hell. I am not. scared of death yes because I am human. Jesus was scared of death so much he sweated blood. (This is common on death row just before execution.)

The ten commandments are like a guide to make sure you don t hurt yourself. Divorce hurts, envy distroys lives, wanting your freinds wife as your own is a very painful thing.

The point is I am forgiven for all the bad stuff I do and God knows if I mean it or not! I can t fool him he knows my motives. If I am being Christian only to avoid hell then guess what ? I go to Hell anyway.

Answer 5

You have hit on a very interesting point. Why is it that people have to be threatened with going to hell because their religion pushes that at them as a scare tecnique. What is the most important here is what is in ones heart. When behaviour is dictated I always question the sincerity of the actions. I guess some people believe that they can fake their way into their heaven.

Answer 6

I am an agnostic. I don't know if there is a supreme being. Neither do I care.

I try to be a good and generous person because that is the sort of world that I want to live in. If I want the world to be a place where if I am hurt someone asks if they can help me, then I must ask if I can help someone else who is hurt.

I don't care whether people believe in religions or not, so long as they do not use their religious beliefs as an excuse to hurt or discriminate against those who do not share those beliefs. Atheists who belittle Christians are as bad as Christians who belittle Muslims.

Answer 7

At least christians have some basis to live thier life. Athiests are not necessarily bad people, but they are not particularly good people. They don't go out of thier way to make people's lives better. They just worry about thier own well-being. How many athiest charity events do you ever see, or athiests doing things just to make the world a better place.

Answer 8

Sure its very noble to be good for humanitarian reasons. Although Christ said the only way to salvation is through Him, I have to admit that the notion that such people won't get to heaven seems unfair to me. I think most Christians are prepared to accept they will.

Answer 9

It seems that in every country where atheists rulled -- the USSR, Communist China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, etc. -- mass killings, mass famines, brutal dictatorships, and supression of all free thought was the end result.

So how are atheists more moral than anyone else?

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Atheistic Goodness Revisited: A Personal Reply to Michael Martin

...Yes, you are right that Charles Taliaferro points out that the ideal observer theory (IO) is compatible with atheism, but he also points out that "one can be a moral skeptic and hold the theory" as well! This shows my point precisely: To talk at the epistemological level about moral knowledge and ethical decision-making still does not address how intrinsically valuable moral beings come to exist—the deeper ontic level. The IO simply does not bring us that far. So to claim that the good is that which is met with feelings of approval by an ideal observer may be useful at an epistemological level to guide us in making ethical decisions, but such approval is contingent upon the deeper intrinsic dignity of persons—the very point in question...

...At what precise stage does the "is" become "ought"? After all, what if we had developed in a dramatically different manner and had come to esteem highly common beliefs about morality opposed to what we presently do?

For example, what if rape could be shown to be beneficial for the survival of the human species such that women, who may not like it, come to see it (whether consciously or not) as part of their obligation to their species and self-sacrificially "do their duty"? This seems perfectly plausible, as there is no necessary reason we have come to approve one set of moral beliefs as opposed to another. (Our "happening" to develop the "right" morality is another one of those brute facts or conundrums of which theism can make the best sense.) But, as I argue below, this raises questions of arbitrary ethics for the naturalist. Furthermore, as much as we laud self-sacrifice, naturalism renders irrational the laying down one’s life for a family member or friend. Why should I give up the few short years of existence that I have? How does the obligation of self-sacrifice make any sense at all in this scenario? Or, furthermore, why should I be moral when it conflicts with my self-interest?......

...In fact, the sexual predator and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer "placed the blame for [his] murders on his atheistic beliefs and the theory of evolution." He could not bridge the is-ought gap within a naturalistic worldview, as he found no basis for affirming intrinsic human dignity. His father Lionel Dahmer expressed Jeffrey’s rationale: "If it all happens naturalistically, what’s the need for a God? Can’t I set my own rules? Who owns me? I own myself." Perhaps theism has more ontological holding power than naturalism after all to undergird objective morality...

Answer 10

Well, I'm of the knowledge that the Xian religion is full of mythology but even though they preach of a 'Hell', I think a lot of them avoid murder and such b/c of their make-up. I think they see Hell as a good scare tactic for children and others (not them, of course). But, I know there are a few who use it to keep themselves straight. I guess those people need religion :-)

Answer 11

I get your point, but there are too manyt bad Atheists and good-intentioned Christians to generalise.

I would say that atheism as a _concept_ implies more moral behaviour than Christianity as a _concept_, but I wouldn't want to make the discussion too personal.