Religious and Atheist people - 2 Scenarios, who is the more genuine person?

Question

Theres been a road accident and a man has been minorly hurt.

Who is the most genuine person.

1. The Christian who goes to help because he HAS to. As the bible dictates. And then proceeds to try to tell you about jesus and how Gods looking out for you.

2. The Atheist who feels human emotion and instinctively goes to help and doesn't expect anything in return.

In my view religious people (of all faiths) tend to do good stuff because religion tells them they HAVE to, not neccessarily because they WANT to.

What do you all think?

Maybe it's just the religious people i've encountered but the opinion I get is that they are apparently better people for believing in God than others who do not.
And because they believe in religion they are above questioning and any negative human emotions.

Calling me an idiot for a hypothetical scenario is a bit strong isn't it? It is only a debate!!!

Answer 1

Helping without thought to any type of reward is more genuine.

Answer 2

First, a religious person is someone who practices something over and over. A spiritual person is someone who conforms to the image of something and lives it. The Pharisees in the bible were religious, Jesus Christ is spiritual. So, I am not sure if you want a religious Christian, or a spiritual person who believes in an follows after Christ to answer. A religious person may be someone who is caught up in ritual and doctrine and not conforming to the character of Christ. Anyway, my understanding of a genuine atheist is someone who considers themselves to have "no" God. God is non-existent to them. But everyone has someone or something that takes the place of God. Everyone has a God. Science can be a God, your husband, your wife, your child. Whatever a person puts their faith or trust in becomes his/her God.

Answer 3

2. The Atheist who feels human emotion and instinctively goes to help and doesn't expect anything in return.

Answer 4

"He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth, will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all." (Coleridge).

Answer 5

It is down to the definition really. Take this example. You know the truth about something and believe that you must always be truthful. To tell someone this would be an act of kindness for which you believe you will be rewarded in a spiritual sense. In doing so but you cause this person much heartache and difficulty or even worse. Is it kinder or more honest to say nothing at all ?

Answer 6

I think you are seeking an argument. Who can say who is genuinely compassionate except he see inside the mind and heart. Only Jesus can do that.

Answer 7

So your saying that a Christian is incapable of feeling for another human but is compelled only by God . Well Jesus says in the Bible if you do good because you have to and really don't want to it is for nothing for God knows your heart.

Answer 8

You are mistaken, at least about Christianity.

The goal of the Christian is to seek his/her Creator, the source of our human emotion and instinct for love, for compassion, for justice and for mercy. For if God is not behind these feelings, they are meaningless. If mindless evolution is the only thing behind the feelings, then you are a slave to instinct much as an insect is slave to an instinct.

You want to do good stuff because it makes you feel good inside but that good feeling is just the product of evolution which gives your brain a shot of feel-good drugs. The logic of a Godless worldview is that of drug addicts searching for their daily fix.

In the Christian understanding, the experience of seeking God changes who we are. While we still feel good when we do some good deed, we also have an obligation to maintain our relationship to our Father which means that we do our good deeds even when we don't feel like it.

Answer 9

does it really matter? both people helped, and the person involved would thank both.

I am atheist, but still think that many of the bibles teaching, be them religious or not, are useful for everyday lives. But you should not HAVE to follow them. a truly genuine person sees only for others never for themselves. and I've never seen one of those in my life.

Answer 10

Who says that Christians don't do things out of human emotion? To say that we don't do things genuinely is absurd! We don't do things just because we have to, that would be the same as not doing it, IMO. God looks at the hearts of his believers. Yes, there are things that we have to do, but we HAVE to *want* to do it.

I do stuff genuinely all the time. It feels good to do good unto others. We don't expect a reward. My reward is that is one more person that is made happy through the help of Jesus Christ.

No one is saying you are idiotic. But the idea that a believer does good things only out of obligation is ridiculous.