I make an honest effort to put others before myself. This doesn’t come from my nature, it comes from my faith. I think that if I were an atheist I would live a life of complete and utter selfishness. What prevents all atheists from doing this?
2007-08-14 09:46:42 · 18 answers · asked by Prokofiev 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I've been very judgmental, I apologize, and I seek forgiveness from all who I may have offended.
I am going to proclaim Herodotus as the best answer, not because of his post necessarily (I cannot agree that God is a myth), but because of the link to his question. It has given me much insight into the atheist/humanist perspective, which is what I wanted, but I should not have asked so arrogantly.
2007-08-15 04:04:42 · update #1
Compassion. I don't need to believe I a myth to feel that. Please read:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Av75_8xFU_5z7LmPJTUDDl7sy6IX?qid=20070813131741AAr8uE6
2007-08-14 09:53:10 · answer #1 · answered by Herodotus 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because I understand my responsibility to give selflessly to my family, to be kind to others, and be the best person I can be so that at the end of my I can reflect on it with satisfaction rather than regret. It's called 'seflish altruism', in that I am happy when I make someone else feel good.
Empathy, compassion, and wisdom are very good things that bring good results and come from within, not from a deity.
If you require the threat of eternal suffering to care about others, you are very sick and need help.
2007-08-14 10:06:30 · answer #2 · answered by KC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, there is the purpose of "others", particularly family and close friends. The desire to do well by those close to us is an evolutionarily derived behavioral trait which comes from a greater reproductive rate amongst our hominid ancestors who lived in cooperative groups.
This innate drive to do well by others can extend to our community at large through values of altruism passed on from generation to generation and strengthened by experience that if I do well by others, they are more likely to do well by me. This is a harder step for everyone. Even religion does not help very much because it can become a divisive thing rather than a uniting force. It is one more thing that people use to distinguish their clan from other competitors that they want to defeat.
2007-08-14 09:59:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you do for others you are really doing for yourself. If you didn't enjoy helping others you wouldn't do it. There is a reason why good people do good and evil people do evil. They like it. Evil people don't do good because that isn't their nature to do them. If you do good things it has NOTHING to do with your 'Faith'. That's an excuse you are using. If you really don't want to do something you're not going to do it. THAT'S Human Nature.
Guess what. If you were an atheist you'd do exactly what you're doing now. Why? Because that's who you are, and if you are doing things that are against who you are you will grow to resent it and eventually stop no matter your reasons for doing it. THAT to is Human Nature.
2007-08-14 10:07:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Putting others before yourself IS selfish because it makes you feel like a good person and a good little Christian for doing so. Everything everyone does is selfish and it comes from our nature.
The question is whether our selfishness hurts others, helps them or is neutral. We should avoid selfishness that hurts others.
2007-08-14 09:53:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not religious and I don't think I'm selfish. We have morals whatever we believe. We all have morals, well most of us anyway.We wouldn't manage very well at all without them. If you only do good for fear of what may happen if you don't you're not a very nice person and will surely go to Hell!!
2007-08-14 09:57:29 · answer #6 · answered by Louise 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's because our actions have an effect on society. If everyone was selfish, the world would be a very bad place to live.
2007-08-14 09:50:45 · answer #7 · answered by Incoherent Fool 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I'm not a selfish person. I care about other people, and recognize that they are just as important in the grand scheme of things as I am.
If you're honestly only kind to others because of your religion, please maintain your religion. We don't need anymore selfish jerks running around.
2007-08-14 10:00:10 · answer #8 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Our conscience. I wouldn't want to be selfish because I would feel bad about doing bad things to other people. I suppose if I didn't have a conscience I would need fear or faith.
2007-08-14 09:53:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Read up on secular humanism. Being without religion doesn't mean one is without philosophy.
Let me add that you are clearly very simple and self-centered if you need arbitrary rules spelled out for you in order to care about others.
2007-08-14 09:51:19 · answer #10 · answered by ms_coktoasten 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I call it self-preservation; I like to be considerate of others, but if it came to my life or theirs', I know exactly whose I'm choosing to protect.
However, for as long as it was good to help others as well, nature makes me do it; we all have a drive to protect our species.
2007-08-14 09:53:54 · answer #11 · answered by Devolution 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋