Are atheists selfish?

Question

Support your answer.

So Christians are taught to put others before oneself and God before oneself. Atheists are taught to analyze oneself and explore the world and sift it thru one's personal value system.

Which one's better?

Does it mean that Christians are generally unintelligent for not understanding the world around them due to them placing their religious identity before personal identity?

Does it mean generally, atheists are much more awesome?

>>Not for essay

Answer 1

Atheists are more awesome. There's nothing more selfish than a Christian wrapped up in their own salvation...except maybe a Christian who is delighted that you won't be there with them and will be spinning on a spit in hell (they think).

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AD

Answer 2

haha im assuming ur an atheist. i dont believe in god, but i didn't know that atheists are taught to analyze oneself and explore the world and sift thru ones personal value system. i thought u wouldn't follow a set of beliefs like these and be "taught" to, it sounds religious. i don't think people are selfish if they are atheists. there are probably selfish people who happen to be atheists, but the atheism is probably not a connection. there are selfish christians too. u don't have to be taught by the bible to put others before oneself to be an emphathetic, generous, unselfish person. u can learn this urself from urself and the world around u. that being said, christians shouldnt be catagorized as being unintelligent b/c they place religious identity before personal identity and thus dont understand the world around them, plenty of christians understand the world around them, and it depends on the degree of religion too, but also just other priorities of the person. u can be a christian and still place personal identity over religious identity and understand the world around u.
lastly, no one religion is better than another. i know u were just joking around, but i had to say it:)
interesting question! star for u!

EDIT;
john d ayer, what an a**hole! ATHEISTS ARE NOT UNEDUCATED AND ILLITERATE! you are uneducated and a bastard for saying that!!! and if christians are taught to be respectful and kind to everyone, then what the h*ll are you doing bashing other peoples' beliefs! atheists do know what proof and the scientific method is, and most dont believe that what happens defines their life...where did u get that idiotic idea from? next time you want to bash someone, actually KNOW something about the people you are bashing, you dimwit!

Answer 3

To be honest being an Athiest (not conforming to a Theism of some sort) does not mean that you take up being selfish. Yourtime spent on your observation was clearly a waste of your time. When you could have planned to perform good deeds, such as give some money to a homeless man, to council a wife who has beaten by her violent husband to to help troubled children. You seriously need to act mature, if you play the part well on Yahoo answers. Furthermore give up immature fault-finding.

I understand the concept of the self, being 'God',as if your being and existence is so arround 'God'. I used to a Christian, but 'fell from grace' several years ago.

Looking into yourself is not entirely selfish, because it will depend on the INTENT and the way that you are looking within yourself. A relative stated that to focus on the self is a selfish act and yet this individual then put themselves first in the line for a treat, making their point illogical and them double-minded (say one thing and do another, plan to open a tin of beans and then decide not to open the tin of beans).

I sit down and make final decisions, which I know that I wil never go back on. If you have a problem with that, thats fine with me. I wil still be okay with you, even if it means I have not my name in the acclaimed 'book of life'.

By placing religious identity (a good phaseology to use) before personal indentity I would think that a Christian will begin to put other Christians and 'God' before his or herself. However, with the emphasis on the 'invisible, incomprehensible, and other Christians will lead to being made astranged from society and will be intolerant of non-Christians and those of different faiths.

Kind Regards

Answer 4

Being an atheist would not inevitably advise one would be selfish purely because of the fact there is not any enormous deity there to choose you. Philosophers have created different strategies to evaluate morals and proper from incorrect by using structures alongside with deontology, utilitarianism, distinctive function ethics, and so on. that place self belief in reason and logic to opt for proper from incorrect without in accordance with some fictional greater authority.

Answer 5

Depends on which side of Christianity you're talking about. Contradicting ideas are the foundation and weakness of any popular religion because it allows people to support and/or promote their religion and/or agendas from whatever position they choose. Atheism on the other hand does not have a code or any form of rule. It's simply a state of not believing in the existence of god(s). Some, such as myself, might even argue that Buddhists are atheists since they don't have a central omnipotent/omniscient/omnipresent being or beings to worship. Most atheists, if not all, infer "morals" and "values" from their surroundings rather than a strict religious code. For those who are not to familiar with the rule-of-thumb, it's simply any rule or code developed through common sense. It's my belief that certain people underestimate the capacity of the human mind, therefore branding us, atheists, as "immoral" beings with no beliefs whatsoever. Well, I'm afraid that's not true because as far as I'm concerned, I don't see my atheist friends killing their neighbors for copies of Darwin's "Origin of Species" unlike some hardcore religious people, such as members of the Lord's Resistance Army, Crusades or Al-Qaeda who slay others in the name of their religion. Not to mention those who use religion to obtain power and justify their actions. Some examples would be the divine right, manifest destiny and Salem witch trials.

If you ask me whether atheists are better than Christians as people, I'd say no. If you ask me whether I believe atheists have a better understanding of how things really are in the universe, then yes. In addition, it is my opinion that homophobes, whether theist or not, are bigots. There's a lot of messages in the Bible and Qur'an that most people nowadays would disagree with and reject, even though they still brand themselves as a member of that religious sect.

I'm not branding all Christians to be supporters of creationism/intelligent design, misoginy, homophobia or hatred towards the mentally/physically disabled but the fact remains that Christians tend to contradict themselves often and avoid anything that poses a threat to their belief even though they know that it's true.

I do, however, acknowledge the fact that not all atheists can actually elaborate on why the big bang theory is more rational than say, "intelligent design." And to me, that's alright as long as the person doesn't act like he or she's better than people who believe in the Bible. I think it's alright for them not to know everything because I find it absurd that at this point in time, we atheists still have to defend our beliefs, or lack thereof, simply because we don't agree with the majority of the world. If you ask most Christians why they think that creationism is true, they simply say "because according to the Genesis it is and that's that" and everything is alright and the answer is considered to be legitimate and free of any criticism (at least according to some people). But if you ask an atheist why they think the big bang theory is true and they don't elaborate on the entire thing for say, an hour or two (covering up every single thing using facts), they're automatically wrong and suddenly god is real and we're told to repent.

Answer 6

Being taught and doing it are two different things. I can cite thousands of selfish examples by Christians, both public and private citizens, and so can you.

Atheists teach themselves. Morality and ethics intrude upon us as we realize we are responsible for our actions and that laws are neccessary.

Many selfless actions are taken by atheists, just because it's the right thing to do, not for reward or attention.

But I can't paint all Christians with a broad brush. The ones who default to the Bible, I just dismiss as selfish. The ones who are in the steets, helping the needy, I'm usually alongside or applauding.

Nobody is awesome. We are just people, all of us.

Answer 7

Hm? let me try this...there is a seed, one of a kind, sitting in a museum. Now we see its potential as a seed, a single seed only. If it is never allowed to germinate then its real potential is never to be known. In walks a old, kindly Master Farmer that recognises the seed has need and convinces the museum authorities that he can make it grow down on his farm. He takes out a moist napkin and wraps the seed up before leaving the Museum. A short time passes and the Master Farmer is back with a seedling that has roots to which the real potential can now be proposed by most scholars. The single seed is man,alone, without GOD, where the seedling represents Man and GOD bound in a benevolent relationship...growing together, even maturing like old friends!

Answer 8

I don't think it's a matter of assigning values. Beliefs are beliefs. An atheist, and I am one, can not answer the 'big' questions with any more confidence than a religious person. Although a religious person feels confidence that his/her answers are right. Blind faith. . . . got to love it.

Answer 9

Neither! An atheist can be spiritual and use common sense to know what's wrong and what's right.

Just because someone is Christian does not mean they don't have an open mind. I don't think or there is such thing as 100% christian, even if they claim to be 99.9%, that does not equal 100%. Therefore there may be time that the ultimate decision is theirs!

Answer 10

the fact that someone is atheist, does not make him a selfish bastard. just as a religious man is not always so giving and caring... think of all the people who were burnt, killed, hanged, slaved, etc... religion does not make a man necessarily good.
behavior is a complex matter that involves way too many things besides religion.

Answer 11

Atheists are anything but selfish.
If you ask me, christians and their like are encouraged to be kind to others as it will help them get a comfortable afterlife. Is that the hallmark of selflessness? Christians do good, but it's not necessarily for the good of others. If you do a good deed and are expecting a reward, is that really generosity, or is it greed?
Atheists, when they do good, do good for the good of others as they value human life on the principle that humans have only one life to live. This also makes them less likely to waste their lives in pointless servitude and more likely to celebrate life. Secular humanist funerals are among the most eloquent and life-affirming around, centering on the person's achievements more than where they're going next.