This doesn't quite make sense to me?

Question

This quote is from an answer given elsewhere:

"The difference between Christian morals and others may be that Christian morals are selfless and others may be for more selfish reasons."

I don't get this. If I am an atheist, and I do not believe in an afterlife, what (aside from obvious legal repercussions) is stopping me from doing whatever makes me happy? Why not embezzle money and kill anyone who bugs me? There's no heaven to reward me and no hell to punish me--so why not?

If I am a Christian, and I believe I will be rewarded in the afterlife for my good deeds, why wouldn't I work my butt off to accumulate more good standing with God?

Why would a Christian have morals?
Why would an atheist have morals?
Is it more commendable to do what is right because you are being rewarded for it, or to do it because of your own decision?

Answer 1

your right it does not make since. morals are the same no matter what your beliefs.
anything else is a lack of morals.

Answer 2

That was my answer and I will try to elaborate on what I meant to say. Selfless morals: If a Christian is a true Christian, then you don't do good deeds for the reward you will get, you do them because you truly love God and are very grateful to Him. You stop just "believing" the things you learned about God and start "knowing" them with every fiber in you. You do these things out of pure unconditional love for God. Someone who does not have these morals has somewhat selfish morals at times.

Hope I cleared up my view on that a little.

Answer 3

Yes, it seems to me that Christian morals are anything but selfless. They are good so they will go to Heaven(or avoid Hell). An atheist, on the other hand, will try to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, not because he/she expects to be either rewarded or punished by God.

If you do something---anything---only because you expect to receive some sort of reward, you are not being selfless.

Answer 4

It makes perfect sense to me; in fact I've mentioned this before. When an atheist lives a moral life, he does it without expectation of reward or punishment after he dies. So in essense, he does what's right just because it's right. A Christian accepts Jesus and lives a moral life in large part because to do otherwise would result in going to hell after death. To live an immoral life would also possibly result in the punishment of himself or those he loves in this life. So a Christian lives a moral life out of fear of punishment.
To me, it is betterto do what is right because of your own decision. Not only do you feel better about your decisions and are able to take credit for your own life, you have strong moral ground to stand on if the rug gets yanked out from under you, so to speak. If you are in the habit of doing what is right fr the right reasons, you will continue to do so no matter what.

Answer 5

I like that reward thing but I'm realistic enough not to expect anything from anyone ever, particularly when good deeds and morality are on the agenda. Commendations are just so much fluff, if You want to do the right thing then You do the right thing; simple really.

Answer 6

Besides that, Buddhists would be the most selfless since they seem to be focused on eliminating ego from oneself.

The moral codes of religions are an articulation of the neuroligical programming that evolved over time. Cooperation aids genetic replication so it will be selected for, and this happens on all levels of the biological scale. If a reader doesn't think that this isn't so, because "cooperation is complex", please read the selection below. I don't have time to rewrite what has already been written again and again and again.

Sociobiology, by E. O. WIlson
The Evolution of Cooperation, by Robert Axelrod

Answer 7

I believe that all people, whether Christian, Atheist, or whatever, should do good NOT for the sake of reward, but because it is the right thing to do, and out of love for fellow beings. If we are only doing good for reward, then we are selfish, and not really good in our hearts.

Answer 8

"For by grace we have been saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Basically, at least on the last question, we don't get to heaven because of what we have done. Yes, we do get blessed when we please God, but it does not get to heaven faster, does not get us more glory, and does not get us into a higher level. But if you do something good because of your own decision and not because of any benefits you might receive from it, that is definitely more commendable. Doing something good for the sake of doing good is worth more than doing something because you know you will get a prize out of it

Answer 9

It is a good question! With Christians it isn't the big reward we are after but because of our love for God we want to please Him. Like a child who likes to please their parents we are like that with God. Of course no one wants to go to hell and all want to go to Heavan but that's just a bonus to us. We also know God will walk with us and keep us by doing what He knows is best for us. As for the atheist he may be a good person and just chooses to be or he doesn't want the consequesnces of his/her actions to deal with. It is more commendable even in God's Eyes to do what is right cause we desire to and not for the reward.

Answer 10

Well, I don't think you can accumulate points with God. I believe that you are not saved by your works. That person you're quoting doesn't make sense.I guess they could mean that if you believe that God loves you so much, you should show others through your actions of His presence in your life.

Answer 11

You do good deeds to thank God for your salvation,not to get salvation.On top of that ,there are some rewards for good deeds in heaven.