would a person be a Good person if they did not have a religion to follow?

Question

I often wonder if a good person is really good because they have to be or because they just are. For instance born agains, they do some of the worst things you can imagine, but then they utter the magic words, and plop, a ticket to heaven. Yet, I who am an atheist, but live a christian life will be going to hell.

Its funny how the conscious please a small role in how you end up, but just how you feel towards the end. And I dont believe in heaven but its just so funny to me.

Answer 1

Religion is merely a tool that helps people reach spiritual goals. Like all tools it can be used either to help or to harm. Or in the words of folksinger Ani DiFranco "every tool is a weapon if you hold it right."

A person can be a good person and follow no religion. A person can be a bad person and follow a religion. Good and bad are not determined by one's religion, good and bad are determined by one's actions and words. If their actions and words are good, they are good. If their actions and words are bad, they are bad. I believe the Bible says "and you shall know them by their fruit" (i.e. by their actions and words...or the stuff that comes from us just as fruit comes from the plant).

A Hindu teacher once said that even if a person has no religion and is not religious, but devotes themselves to others, or just to one other person, like say their child or spouse, and in their devotion it is equal to the same devotion that one would direct towards God; Since everything manifested out of God and thus maintains it's divine spark of creation, then that person, too, through devotion, can also achieve the same results that the person using religion desires. (I'm paraphrasing...he used more elaborate speech, but the same message). Thus, religious or not is not the key, instead it is a matter of spirituality. Spirituality is the realization that we are interconnected and that the way I treat you is ultimately a reflection on how I treat myself (and, if you are religious..how I treat God). The person who treats others the way they'd treat God (whether they believe in God or not is what the Hindu teacher was saying) is able to achieve the same results as the religious person.

Since I am a Hindu and since I have friends of other religions as well as friends who are Agnostic and Atheist and I see how they interact and treat others, I can definately say that I do see how the friends who have great care towards others, who treat them with great respect and so on, how similar we seem to be on our spiritual journeys and those who are selfish and self-centered (ego minded) how dissimilar we seem to be spiritually.

Hope that all made sense.

Peace be with you.

Answer 2

Absolutely! If you do good you are a good person regardless what is your belief. Going to heaven is a different thing. Good and right are not necessarily same thing. For example if you are a Juror and you let somebody go after stealing just because he was very poor, this is the goodness of your heart but then you are not right. As far as Heaven is concern, you know this is matter of believe as there is no material evidence except for three holy books of Jews, Christian and Muslims, provided if you believe in those books. Important thing is that all faith ask to do good things in life which you already want to do. If you did not get a good explanation of God in one place it does not mean that you stop your search. These questions can be searched by broadening your scope and vision. What if there is really a life after death? What if there is really a Heaven? Do not you want to know for sure? After all this is the only life you have got. Peace

Answer 3

You hit the nail on the head! You are correct so don't worry about it.
Someone called Jesus a good man once and he replyed "there is no good man"
Some of the nastyest people walking this Earth are so called Christians, many of them use Christ to hide behind thinking they can do whatever they want to thier neighbors wife or whatever and then use Jesus for a mat to clean thier shoes off on.
Oh there might be a house for em but it will never be his house!
In fact they probably wont even have a roof maybe just a whole in the ground.
Speaking of wich did you see that http:// www.bottomlesspit.net?
By the way i can be e-mailed useing the name of a creature Jurassic Park came up with when they crossed a teronasauras with a chicken resulting in a male offspring: a chicken that fights
@sbcglobal.net

Answer 4

I think that all people have both some of what we call "good" and some of what we call "bad" in them, irrespective of religion. Also irrespective of religion, each person has a tendency to lean more in one direction than in the other. I have found that balancing those sides as best I can is the best way for me to truly be good as often as I want to be without going completely crazy. I think the people who drive themselves crazy trying to be good are the ones who actually lean more towards the bad side, but they've been brainwashed, one way or another, into thinking that if they're not good then "incredibly terrible awful things" will happen to them, either in this life or whatever comes after.

So, no, I don't think that religion is a requirement to be a "good" person, anymore than lack of religion means that you're a "bad" person. It's all subjective, anyway, dependent on what culture you're from, what culture you're living among, etc.

Answer 5

There is only One True Religion which is Christianity so the answer is no. As far as magic words in Christianity to mock God, there is no fooling God. There will be many so called Christians who say Lord we did this and that and God will say "I never knew you workers of iniquity. Jesus said narrow is the way to life. You have to make the effort by God's power to obey the Law of the New Covenant or you don't make it to heaven. You can't be an athiest and live a Christian life because an athiest doesn't believe in God who is Jesus. There is no such thing as an athiest and God has made sure of that. Athiesm is a futile game to avoid God. Nothing in life is worth giving up God for eternity.

Answer 6

I don't have a religion nor am I curious about one or another. I've tried to be a "good" person. I don't steal or murder or gossip or cause harm or bear false witness... etc. I've risked my life trying to save others (physically disarming a killer, prevented someone from being electrocuted, etc). I have helped other people's children grow up in a sound environment, helped many get an education, donated blood for many years, too. But... that's all personal and I do it for a most selfish reason: it makes ME feel good, not because it's gong to assure me a more comfortable cloud in heaven but for the mere sake of being a better person to my fellow beings, regardless of background or beliefs or political beliefs or gender or orientation or WHATEVER. All I ask is that they do not say, "Thank you" more than once.

I am highly offended when people say that I am very Christian-like... no! I am not! I am simply ME, ME, ME!

Answer 7

Fundamentally human beings are good and are moved to help others when they see pain, distress and suffering. Religion does not furnish a person with ethics, rather ethics is the betterment of the human person while religion is the attempt to better the soul. I believe the two are related but never linked. For example, I studied in London with a chap who cheated in an ethics exam and graduated to become one of the best rabbis I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Atheists can be ethical and good while Jews can be ethically void and evil and the reverse can also be true.

Answer 8

The Bible says that you don't need religion if you're righteous this means that if you are good in everything you'll be saved, of course being conscious that there is God in your life you don't need religion, BUT, who's righteous in the whole extent of the word? We need guidance in a time of our life and love and the only way we can know real love is through Jesus Christ because he died to show us how big can be loved. Let's say do you love someone? how much? we cannot compare. Religion was founded to perpetuate knowledge about God. Imogen no more religion, no people telling you that you should do or not to do. OK by now you know what is goo or not, how about your kids, grand kids, are you sure you're going to be there to tell them about that or you're sure they will teach their kids something probably they never learned? Religion also teach compassion, hope, are the laws from the government going to tell you don't kill because you have to have compassion, no, they are going to say don't kill because if you do, you pay the consequences. Anyway while you believe you will resurrect in a new body, call it reincarnation, if you die, you'll die forever.

Answer 9

I believe people can be good even when they don't practice a religion. and it can be the other way around too.... people can practice a religion and not be good. I believe in God, but I also believe a person can have good deeds despite of whether they believe in God or not. An atheist can be very respectfull of other people. Not ever harming them, not stealing from them and in the contrary they can lend a helping hand when it is needed...In other words, the person's actions speak for the person, not what they believe or not believe in.

Answer 10

You know, I asked this very same question, except I asked if the only way to heaven was to believe in Jesus. Most said that you could be a morally good person your whole life, but if you don't believe in jesus, you don't get into heaven. Kind of unfair, would you not agree?