If your an atheist and you lead a good upstanding moral life, how are you different to?

Question

someone who believes in god?

FOOTPRINT why did you answer the question then?

Answer 1

Apparently a lack of faith will get you, no matter who you are or how good of a person you were, thrown into the fiery pit.

Answer 2

BELIEF and ACTION are two very, very different things. You can believe in God, but NOT lead a moral life. The difference is WHY you act morally. Christians act morally because we believe that's what God intended for us to do. Atheists may lead "moral" lives because they feel it's right to do good things, with no thought of what God wants. Who cares as long as we're achieving the same goal - living moral lives?

Answer 3

Not everyone that believes in God has a "good upstanding moral life". Each person has to live their lives using their free will the best loving way they know how.

Peace, Love, and Blessings
Greenwood

Answer 4

For one, I don't claim that serial child molesters should be kept out of prison because "we are all sinners," "all sins are equal in the eyes of God," and "Jesus forgives everyone."

Child molesters are a menace to society and they need to be removed from it. However, I have had so many "Christians" use the phrases above as their reason for wanting child molesters to remain out of jail that I have lost count (and I'm pretty good at counting).

If an atheist used either of those phrases, he would be universally ridiculed. When they come from Christians, for some mysterious reason they are usually accepted as reasonable.

For the life of me, I don't understand why. Even in the Bible, there are many people Jesus didn't forgive (the temple money-changers are just one example). And even if everyone does have imperfections, it is certainly not true that a child stealing a cookie is the same as an adult raping a child.

No idea should be beyond criticism just because people base it on their religion.

Answer 5

Maybe it's the motivation behind it. Some people live good upstanding moral lives because we know its the proper thing to do. Some others do it because of fear, or because that's the way they were told to act.

Answer 6

You lead a good upstanding moral life and you don't believe in god.

Just kidding - morality and immorality are not subject to religion or the lack thereof.

Answer 7

Not much difference. I simply don't believe in gods, I try to keep a skeptical view of the world, and I am concerned by religious fundamentalism.

P.S. I also think that my life is somewhat less restrictive.
I

Answer 8

We are different because we do it simply because we know it is the right thing to do. Not because we believe an invisible flying creature told a bunch of primitives thousands of years ago to.

There are far more examples of Theists behaving horrendously than Atheists, lately.

Answer 9

That's what bothers me about religion. Christians feel that ONLY Christians who accept Jesus into their hearts will go to heaven. Well what about all the other religions that feel the same way about their religion? Is every other religion wrong? I don't think so.... It's just a really horrible way of thinking... What ever happened to live and let live?

Answer 10

You are doing it because its right, not because a book or religion tells you you should. A moral life for an athiest is done out of good morals, not in a attempt to please a god or get to heaven, but because its right.. Thats it, do the right thing because its the right thing to do. Period

Answer 11

You don't believe in God! That is a big difference. What do you think happens when you die? People who believe in God generally believe they'll go to heaven. If there is no God then there can't be any heaven.