wasn't the good samaritan an atheist?

Question

(don't know if i spelled it correctly) but didn't religious men pass him by, and it was an atheist who stopped and helped. what did jesus say about that?

Answer 1

No,he was a rabbi. Very good question.
I am a Christian. It proves all people can be good and bad no matter what you believe.

Answer 2

No, it wasn't an atheist. Samaritans believed in the same God the Jews did. The history is long and rather complicated...but did you know that Jesus also visited a town in Samaria called Sychar, where He spoke with a woman who had come to draw water at a well called "Jacob's Well", and who recognized Him as the Messiah? That story is in John 4.
Jesus told the story of a man who had been victimized by bandits while traveling along the road to Jericho. These brutal men had beaten him severely, taken everything he had, and left him for dead. A priest came along, saw the man lying there, and passed on the other side of the road. Likewise a Levite. These were men who were the religious leaders of their day. The point Jesus was making was that they were not very good religious leaders.
Then, Jesus comes to the "Good Samaritan". His listeners would have groaned, because the Jews and the Samaritans were not friendly towards one another...as I mentioned, the history is rather complicated, but if you have access to a Bible that contains the Apocrypha (a Catholic Bible), you can get an idea from 1 and 2 Macabees.
Anyway, it was the Samaritan, a man who had faith in God, who stopped and helped the man who had been beset by bandits.
The point? "Love thy neighbor" doesn't just mean people who agree with you. The Samaritan was showing the faith and love God looks for, while the Priest and the Levite, who ought to have done so, were not.

Christians (and atheists as well) can learn much from that story today...

Answer 3

Actually, the guy was from Samaria and practiced Judaism. Samaritans were hated by Jews. This is why it's amazing that he stopped to help the guy on the road. Samaritans were not seen as pure blooded Jews. They were half-breeds and hated. The religious leaders didn't stop because if they guy was dead and they touched him they would then be unclean to perform any duties in the temple. To say that he was an atheist, isn't accurate at all. Christ was making the point that no matter who someone is, they can help.

Answer 4

Samaritans were half jewish they were a mixed race and did not live among the Jews nor were they respected by them. They were like social outcast this doesn't mean they were atheist.

The samaritan woman said to Jesus in John 4, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."
Sounds like she believed in the promises of scripture. A definite believer in the almighty God not an atheist.

There are no stories of atheist. There is a parable Jesus told about a samaritan who stopped and helped a man that a priest and a Jew had just walked by. The message of the parable was love others as you love yourself. Jesus message is about love not religous rules, rituals, laws, or race. The focus is not on who is an atheist or who is a jew. The focus is returning to the conscience of God and being a part of his glory. God is love. God is good.

Answer 5

The difference between the Samaritan and the men who walked on by was not a religious difference. They worshiped the same God.

The difference was an ethnic one. Problem was the pious ones looked down on the ethnically different Samaritans like they were half-breeds.

The contrast is the point of the parable. The ones who thought they were superior were the ones rejected by God.

So atheists please be careful.

Answer 6

The good Samaritan was not an atheist, he was a Samaritan, which was an Israelite sect that was not exactly on speaking terms with the Jews (they did not get along). This story was to illustrate, among other things, that to love your neighbor is not just to love those who are close to you (geographically or otherwise). No matter what someones believes or is, a Christian must be like Christ to them.
Hope this helps!
God bless.

Answer 7

There is absolutely nothing in the Gospel that even comes close to saying that the Good Samaritan was an atheist.

Atheism was not a common attribute among the people of the Middle East at that time, including the Samaritans. Like the Israelites, they were very much a God-believing people.

Nice try to score points for atheism and against Christianity -- actually, it wasn't a nice try. It was a lame attempt to build up atheism by tearing Christianity down. Typical and pathetic.

.

Answer 8

There was a split in the Jewish community at that time. There were the Jews that thought the main city of worship was to be in Jerusalem and then there were those who believed it to be in Samaria, just across the sea. The samaritan was not an athiest. One of the lessons this parable is meant to teach us is that: Faith and religion are relative, we are all capable of soing good deeds for the betterment of others, not just the believers.

Answer 9

If you want a good parallel to modern times, think of the Samaritan as a ***** or Muslim who helped "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothing, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." while the Christian white guys passed by other side.
Samaritans were looked down on by Jews as being below them.

Answer 10

Jesus was answering a question from someone in the crowd. They asked "who is my neighbor". He gave the example of the good samaritan. Yes, men of the cloth passed him by. position doesn't matter in Christ, but your heart followed by action does.

Answer 11

I don't recall Atheists being mentioned but I do recall the religious men ignoring him. The Samaritan was this man's enemy.