What good is atheism?

1. 60

   jcnasiaposted 13 years ago

   What good is atheism?
   
   Atheists do good things.  They care about their communities, and they want to make the world a better place.  I'm wondering whether this 'good' behavior is a logical response to the belief that god doesn't exist or whether it is the result of being influenced by a culture that is deeply ingrained with religious thought.

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2. 59

   nightwork4posted 13 years ago

   i think it is just how some athiests are. we don't need a god to do good things but more like compassion and common sense. the best thing about athiests is we take the blame when we do good or bad and don't act like we were influenced by some devil or some god. it's what i call true free will.

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3. 70

   Mr. Happyposted 13 years ago

   Atheism was an important step for me to take: to clear my mind in order to find my truthful path. One does not have to be religious to live a rightful life.
   I live my life according to principles (truth, love, logic, reason, compassion) which I hold dear without belonging to any religion.

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4. 60

   Merlin Fraserposted 13 years ago

   You might as well ask what good is Belief in a God or Gods ?
   
   Neither belief or lack of it determines who a person is or how that person will react in society.
   
   First you have to accept that mankind is just another animal species on the face of the planet and as such we are predominantly a herd or social animal who have a need to live in family or other social groups.  We do this for protection and other social needs.
   
   Most civilised society’s demand of their resident’s obedience to certain rules and a general acceptance of this leads most of us to behave in a social manner towards one another.  Certain human traits like, greed, selfishness and jealousy make this social tolerance more difficult.  Add in religious intolerance and you can add in mistrust and hatred to the mix.
   
   How many true atheists do you suppose are involved with Jews and Palestinian’s killing one another, or Christians versus Islamists.  Even in today’s news we have a bomb in Northern Ireland.... where we have Roman Catholic killing Protestants.... although this time I think the RC lunatics managed to kill one of their own just because he was a serving policeman !
   
   I am a Pagan.... I have never once heard another Pagan claim my Sun is better than your Sun and gone on a killing spree !
   
   Good people are good because that is how they are and how they want to be treated, it is how they were brought up by good parents to be good and constructive members of society.   Religion only confuses that, it wants to take credit for it.... but it can’t... Religion preaches only ever taught one thing.... Acceptance or Death !

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5. 60

   kessposted 13 years ago

   Because of  knowledge of  God all men understand the concept and benefits of being good.
   
   Because of ignorance of god men also do the opposite of what they know to be good...thus we see those hiprocrisy of men...
   
   They know to do right but does it not...true about both the atheist and religionist.
   
   Bu So as to blind their own ignorant eyes, they see their own faults in the other ..rather than themselves...perpetuating their constant bickering.

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6. 91

   Learn Things Webposted 13 years ago

   Goodness and morality are innate. You will even find "moral" behavior in animals. Because humans are communal, it is in our interests to care about each other. Brain scans show that certain parts of the brain light up when people are exposed to pictures of someone in fear or pain. We have empathy for people or animals who suffer. These areas of the brain are completely inactive in psychopaths.
   
   This is why they can inflict suffering on others without any emotion. Abuse and neglect in infancy can cause improper wiring of the brain. This can lead to either an inability to properly respond to suffering in others or an inability to even care. This is why a cycle of abuse can continue in families for generations regardless of whether they believe in a deity or not.

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7. 61

   TheBlondieposted 13 years ago

   I love being an Atheist. Apart from the shallow things, like not having to wake up early on Sundays or not woorying about being judged by a higher power, it is also very fulfilling. I'm proud of the fact that I am a good person simply because I want to, not because my religion says I should. Some people say that we wouldn't know that killing people, or other bad things are actually bad without religion, but I think we could figure that out by ourselves. I don't know why religious people hate atheists so much- we are good people who tend to adhere to the "rules of being good" from religion, but we don't waste time going to church or shoving our ideals down other people's throats.

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