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Maybe Jeff is posting simply to get attention and to be criticised so he can feel persecuted and attacked?
Jeff: any possibility that you could be wrong and the OP did it for the same reason as a Christian would do it, to be a good neighbour, a good human being and to protect the life and safety of the dog?
The real question is would you have still done all those things if your neighbor was mean and a total prick to you? I believe atheists are certainly capable of doing nice things, but deep down, there is a self serving motive involved.
So let me see if I have this right.
As a godless pagan who believes in unconditional love, if I do something nice for someone without being asked, I am doing it out some deeply hidden self serving expectation?
And if I knew that the person was a jerk, I would not lift a finger?
Nice of you fishbrains...it's the 'normal, nice thing' anybody would do, imo...
(I don't hang out with selfish jerks, nor open to their thinking.)
If I had a choice of an atheist mechanic or one with a fish?
Atheist every time.
And, you know, I adore God.
Wish you were my neighbor!
And I never do nice things thinking I'll go to Heaven...I just do them, like you did.
And if the person was a creep...I'd be doing it for the dog anyway.
I am sure that you do not mean that as an insult simply the truth that you are vastly superior to all atheists. You are basically telling the OP that the only reason he did it was for selfish reasons whereas if you had done the exact same thing it would have been for unselfish pure reasons. The OP must of been mean spirited doing that good deed simply because he is an atheist? Sucks to be a bigot and that is exactly what you demonstrate with the above post. Would you have stated the same thing if the OP was Muslim, Jew or Black? You are not superior in morals, kindness and certainly not in politeness compared to any of those of us who are not Bible Believing Christians no matter how much you claim you are. Insulting someone who did a good deed is just wrong.
Your post is dripping with irony and hypocrisy. I don't see myself as superior. I'm a sinner in need of a savior just as much as the next person. What I am saying is that I have a different perspective on morality. When you are born again and can have spiritual perspective, you learn that God's way is always the right way even when we don't want to do it. When people have wronged us, our flesh wants to hurt them back. Our flesh desires revenge. But a Christian is called to forgive.
OTOH, you set yourself up as superior to me with condescending terms like bigot. Sorry, but I don't see a non-believer gladly and eagerly willing to help out a neighbor who has wronged them. Even if you do and view it as an act of pure unselfish good will, you are still being steered by your emotions and unlikely to do things that result in negative emotions.
Your post is dripping with irony and hypocrisy. I don't see myself as superior. I'm a sinner in need of a savior just as much as the next person. What I am saying is that I have a different perspective on morality. When you are born again and can have spiritual perspective, you learn that God's way is always the right way even when we don't want to do it. When people have wronged us, our flesh wants to hurt them back. Our flesh desires revenge. But a Christian is called to forgive.
OTOH, you set yourself up as superior to me with condescending terms like bigot. Sorry, but I don't see a non-believer gladly and eagerly willing to help out a neighbor who has wronged them. Even if you do and view it as an act of pure unselfish good will, you are still being steered by your emotions and unlikely to do things that result in negative emotions.
You post is the one "dripping with irony and hypocrisy". The only reason you would do anything nice for someone is because you think you will get a reward when you die..... In other words...
Atheists do something nice expecting nothing in return
Christians do something nice because they expect a reward when they die.
Sorry, but I don't see a non-believer gladly and eagerly willing to help out a neighbor who has wronged them. Even if you do and view it as an act of pure unselfish good will, you are still being steered by your emotions and unlikely to do things that result in negative emotions.
Jeff, you are moving goalposts.
Vizio isn't posting about Christians doing wonderful things for people who have wronged them, and neither am I. Your assertion that atheists would not do anything to benefit them, while implying that Christians would, is completely unsupported.
My only point was that Vizio is posting rather mundane anecdotes that can be easily matched by atheists.
The real question is would you have still done all those things if your neighbor was mean and a total prick to you? I believe atheists are certainly capable of doing nice things, but deep down, there is a self serving motive involved.
It is not about the neighbor. It is about the dog.
I have had prickly neighbors, but I love dogs. I know the name of every dog in the neighborhood. If the dog of a total arse escaped, I would help them find the dog.
I firmly believe you cannot be a total arse, and love dogs. Once we find common ground, in this case dogs, there must be other things we have in common. If it is just the love of dogs, that is okay too.
A dog down the street escaped from the back yard because a latch on the fence broke. The dog was playing in my front yard, so I grabbed a leash and walked him home, only to discover the broken fence. Back to my house, grabbed a latch I happened to have in the garage, a driver and some screws. Back to the neighbor's house, fixed the fence, topped off the water bowl, secured the dog, and came home.
Don't get me wrong. I considered all my options first. I thought about the overall futility of life without the fear of damnation/promise of paradise, and almost dropped into a nihilistic funk. I considered the hedonistic option of porn, sex and alcohol, but I would have had to make a beer run. Meh, too much effort. The possibility of breaking into my neighbor's house, stealing all his good stuff, and pooping on his kitchen table crossed my mind. It was tempting, as I have no morals of course, but I decided against it as I don't think his kitchen table would have supported my weight.
So I walked his dog and fixed his fence instead. Haven't even mentioned it, because I haven't seen the guy in a week. Does this mean that I need to become a Christian pastor? I am obviously Moderator cut: bleep up this atheist thing.
Of course, if Jeff had been my neighbor, I would have been mean and oppressed him first. A man's got to do what a man's got to do.
OK? And your point?
Do you realize no one is posting 2-3 posts a day to suggest that atheists are incapable of doing good things?
It is not about the neighbor. It is about the dog.
I have had prickly neighbors, but I love dogs. I know the name of every dog in the neighborhood. If the dog of a total arse escaped, I would help them find the dog.
I firmly believe you cannot be a total arse, and love dogs. Once we find common ground, in this case dogs, there must be other things we have in common. If it is just the love of dogs, that is okay too.
Loving dogs is my self serving motive.
I have to admit ... if you have a dog who is reasonably nourished and provided for by a human on the other end of its leash ... it seems likely at least that there has to be some redeeming characteristics that are discoverable about said human.
That said, more than one dude has bought a dog precisely because it's a chick magnet, and that he is not cruel enough to actively and overtly mistreat it says nothing about other forms of douchebaggery he might engage in. There is always a chance, in other words, that a dog is a prop.
Heck ... my stepchildren's step mother had dogs euthanized for things like not matching the living room furniture color or having a persistent skin condition -- yet I suspect the surviving dogs that she walked to the local park might have argued well (and misleadingly) for her humanity.
Appearances can be deceiving ...
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