Christians: Do you believe a person can be non Christian and Moral?

Question

I know this sort of question has been asked before, but I had a conversation on this topic the other day, and am curious what your thoughts are.

Basically, it seems that many Christians (if not most/all) feel that God is the source of morality, thus without God, there is no morality. Thus, non Christians cannot Truly be moral. I may be mistaken in this conclusion, but I've heard it said many times.

Personally, I've become far more moral since leaving the Christian faith. It's easier to focus on being good when I'm not spending my thoughts trying to figure out inconsistancies and hypocrisies.

I can't say I'm "better or more moral than Christ" since, Christ is supposed to be without sin, and I've undeniably failed before! However, I do feel i am more moral than most Christians. The basis of that is Christians that I have met.

Wbusykat:

Ah, to clarify that, it was more that I personally, not everyone in the faith, was having difficulty reconciling certain things within the bible. With my focus on that, I wasn't trying to change my lifestyle. Now that my focus is purely on spirituality, I'm able to live and be as moral as I please.

Again, not really meant as a cut to the faith so much as it was my own, personal problem that hindered me

Answer 1

Although I am atheist (raised in an Evangelical protestant church however), I can't resist answering this question because I feel like I have met many people from different traditions and from my personal experience I can offer some insight.

Most Christians would say yes. A non-Christian can be moral and non-Christian. But for most Christians that is irrelevant to the question of salvation. According to many doctrines, a Christian may sin many times but as long as they genuinely repent of those sins, and acknowledge that they are redeemed from those sins by Christ's death and resurrection, they have gained entrance into heaven. However, an atheist may live a nearly perfect moral life (and according to the Christian doctrine of original sin, no one lives a perfect moral life) but as long as they don't acknowledge that they are a sinner, and accept that Jesus is the son of God and his death redeemed them of theirs sins, then they are on the path to hell. (Their are all kinds of various compexities and variations on these doctrines that you could right a book on. More liberal denominations may even say hell isn't really a literal physical place but merely a place of estrangement from god.).

Basically, the Christian view of morality is otherwordly. It is oriented towards the attainment of heaven. The secular humanist view of morality is oriented to the only world it can recognize, this one (morality more as an end in itself).

This I why I think Christians can view non-Christians as moral (that is unless they violate some specific Christian doctrine) and yet still "deficient".

Answer 2

I believe a person can be moral without being a Christian however I don't think they know or have a basis for that morality. People may refuse to do bad behaviours because they make them feel uncomfortable but that is no basis for saying something is good or bad. I may not feel comfortable about working in a slaughter house but that doesn't mean it is evil it just means I am uncomfortable. So feeling badly about something doesn't necessarily make it good or bad. Someone may say I won't steal because it is against the law. But we all know that laws can change and they vary from country to country. At one time slavery was legal does that make it good? Another may say it goes against common sense. Yet we find other countries that practise other beliefs that is the prevailing common sense of those people. Example the Nazi's common sense allowed them to say Jews were inferior and deserving of death. So if we disagree we have a conflict of different groups common sense. So then who is to say which groups common sense is correct and who's isn't. The theist on the other hand can say it is wrong because God said it is wrong and it is against is nature. The non-theist can only say how he feels but has no authoritative voice to say this is how others should behave.

Answer 3

Morality is not exclusive to being a christian. Perhaps if you would have focused on being good when you were still apart of the christian faith, instead of focusing on inconsistantcies and hypocrisy, you would not have left. Since each of us answers to God, it is our own faults we should be looking at, not that of others. It seems inherent to organized religion to want to point a finger at all other religions and pick apart their faults, just as many christians do those who are not apart of their particular faith. It is a real turn off, and it is wrong. I do not believe God ment for his believers to behave like that.

Answer 4

I don't think religion/faith has anything with being moral. I consider myself Christian and moral but as two separate things. I just don't believe that you can really be right with God without being a Christian. This is just my opinion-which is what you asked for. It's not meant to upset anyone.

Answer 5

Yes because even Jesus said that those who do good works cannot get to heaven by those good works alone. They can be moral and do the right thing without believing in Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way to heaven.
And I aslo wanted to say that the only inconsistencies I've found are with MEN not with God's word. If you base your beliefs on what SOME GUY is telling you and not on what the Holy Spirit is telling you, you're right, it probably is easier to be good without them. But if you loved Jesus, you wouldn't really have to work as hard to BE good, because when Jesus is in your life you find that you don't WANT to sin. Yes it happens because we are only human, but all he asks is that you love Him. And what's really cool is that when you do screw up, He's still right there with his hands out ready to take you back in. EVEN NOW!!

Answer 6

There is no basis for morals if a deity does not exist. I will add 3 points. Your upbringing may have contained moral concepts which cause you to believe in and act on them. Your survival instinct informs you to fear retaliation and not to take more than you need. Your phych may come pre programed with guilt for acting unmoraly if the message of a deity existing is true.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Answer 7

Of course! A non-Christian can most certainly be a moral person! I'm glad you are able to focus on being a good person now.

But I don't think that any religion can be blamed for us NOT focusing on being good just because of "inconsistencies and hypocricies". Those are just weak excuses....Be Blessed!

Answer 8

The first thing you need to do is define "morality". Every culture has a standard of conduct which includes dos and don'ts. These standards of conduct differ from culture to culture is specifics, but generally boil down to Confucius' "Golden Rule". "Do not do to others what you would not want done to you." This is the "spirit" of morality. Now the question is, "Does morality ONLY come from God? It occurs to me that to believe that it does, only come from God, renders freewill meaningless. Why would God give us the gift of freewill, but not let us use it? If we are dependent upon God to make the right choice, then it is not a freewill choice. If morality is dependent upon God, then it is God's, and not my fault, if I am immoral, because God didn't give me the morality. In my opinion this is simply illogical. Whether or not I am moral depends upon whether or not I choose to be moral at any given moment. One day I can't choose to be moral, and the very next day I can choose to be immoral with equal ease. If my morality can be changable, how can it be based in God? This would be to imply that God also was changable. No, I believe that morality comes from man's freewill choice to be moral. God encourages us to be moral. God has left remarkable consistent instructions on morality with every culture, but ultimately he/she leaves it up to us to make those choices.

Answer 9

everyone can be moral. everyone is brought a certain way and taught certain things. so, if someone is not christan then of course they can have morals. and obviously they dont believe in God or any religion, so to them they are being moral. i used to be a very strong christian, but i'm not anymore. and im the same person. im much happier. and im still have morals. and its not because of christianity. its because i had people teach me and raise me the right way.

Answer 10

Yes, a person who does not acknowledge God can be moral, however nation that does not acknowledge God cannot. Unless there is a set of laws written in stone as it were, then the land will be lead by the "golden rule". Meaning he who has the gold makes the rules.
Most nations have taken this path, and sooner or later they all fall to their own folly.