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imho, not because you are an atheist it doesn't mean that you don't have a soul or the consciousness that comes with it, just because you don't believe on it doesn't means that yours vanishes.
and it is this soul or higher self, God's image speaks to you and convinces you to do good, opposed to ego or lower self who just wants to do things that are on their own benefit, there are atheists with strong souls and religious people with strong egos, that's what inclines you to do evil or good imho.
I will give you the first part, I think that there is something innate in human beings that wants us to do good. I think after that is where we differ. I don't think that it has anything to do with God and I don't call it a soul. I think the real main argument between the religious and the non-religious (atheist in this case) is that we both agree that there is something that drives us to behave in a moral way, but what it is and where it came from seems to be the grey area.
I have read this thread with great interest. In a nutshell, I strongly believe that people who are inspired to do good things come from all walks of life. Those that are christian or any other religion may attribute their good deeds to being inspired by their God. Those who are not religious (such as myself) can and may attribute their good deeds to a variety of other inspirations, such as the beauty of nature, wildlife, art, music, etc. etc. Something touches an individual, be it a starving puppy with sad eyes, a mal nourished child, an elderly person who can't fend for themselves, and/or a variety of other situations. Each person who does something good for others, this world, or planet, justifies their good deeds based on their own views of how they see things that need to be taken care of. Religion and God (IMHO) has no bearing (one way or another) on the proportion of people who do (or don't do) good. And I also wonder about the 90% of those in prison who believe in a higher being, as GSTroop stated, makes one think...... (excellent observation!)....Thanks for listening
Personally I find it offensive that anyone would think that I'm not an honest, trustworthy, generous person because I'm not religious. That's not a very Christian attitude.
If a person is not active in a religion, and professes no religious belief; then I do not see where that would give you any basis to determine anything about their honesty, trustworthiness, or generosity.
I also do not see where any of that has any connection to being 'Christian'.
There's nothing mysterious about "good" actions/behavior.
Contrary to what Travelling fella implied, good behavior is a product of the ego. Being social creatures, good behavior is necessary for self-preservation.
Our tendancy to form groups is also because of our social nature. This is where altruism originates. All social species exhibit altruism in varying degrees. A most illustrative example would be a colony of bees, where the individuals instinctively sacrifice their lives to preserve the hive.
The forming of clans, the rise of human society, the self-preservation instinct and the group-preservation instinct are all well understood by antropologists and biologists. These phenomena can be explained by said disciplines, without the need to refer to the supernatural.
If a person is not active in a religion, and professes no religious belief; then I do not see where that would give you any basis to determine anything about their honesty, trustworthiness, or generosity.
I also do not see where any of that has any connection to being 'Christian'.
???
Hmmmm.... some of us just aren't that shallow I suppose? Ever think that perhaps we just want to do something good other than the subliminally intent purpose of trying to make an invisible man in the sky happy?
You do understand that there are exceptions to every rule? Gates is one of them. While he may be doing some good things (but I think it's limited when compared to his vast wealth) the numbers still show that atheists are less likely to "do good".
You do understand that there are exceptions to every rule? Gates is one of them. While he may be doing some good things (but I think it's limited when compared to his vast wealth) the numbers still show that atheists are less likely to "do good".
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Is it necessary to believe in God in order to have solid personal values? A new survey seems to answer that question with a "yes."
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