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How do people feel about pulling good guy (or good person) deeds as an atheist? A guy asked me at work once if atheist go to church. I said 'We don't go to church', that basically is it in a nutshell to me. I do a few things I like to do. I don't go out as an atheist, but do feel that I am member of the atheist community. It becomes more of an inner dialog with me. Most of what I see are either theologically oriented programs, or political programs.

becire 5 Jan 16
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45 comments (26 - 45)

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2

I personally (and Many others!)have done good things for others...WTH does believing in some Sky Fairy have to do with that?? Did The Good Samaritan worship Yahweh?

I certainly agree with you.

2

Good guy or good person deeds. The key here is that if you do these things do not talk about them. It has nothing to do with gods or rewards and everything to do with you as a person. Secretly doing good deeds makes you a better person. Helping someone is good. Giving away all that you have makes you an idiot, so be smart and beware.

Ayy, I get curious and talk about most everything I do in one way or another. I think I like to get into the moral competition with the religious idea.

2

I don't understand the point you are trying to make. What is the question, if any, that you're asking? I am a non believer and I have always strived to live a life that harms nothing and contributes to the betterment of society.

2

I get so tired of this "good without god" nonsense.If people only do good deeds because they think they will be rewarded in the "hereafter" it worries me.

Yup, like knuckling under to extortion. And, BTW, did The Good Samaritan have religion?

2

Do good because doing good is good. It's the right thing to do.

2

i do not do good or bad things because i am an atheist. i do whatever i do because i am a human being. i hope what i do is good. i don't exactly have an unbiased view. i kind of like me. but it has nothing whatsoever to do with religion or lack thereof, or with deities or lack thereof. the concepts are, to me, unrelated.

g

Good answer.

1

I help people because I'd like to know they'd help me if I needed it and it's just the right thing to do. To be honest, it makes me feel good to help someone out, particularly if it makes a good difference in their lives.

1

If someone is walking up just as I've pulled a shopping cart out at the grocery store, I offer it to them. That kind of thing. I don't do organized volunteering because I'm not a joiner.

I work with and around too many religious people to believe that religion has anything to do with how many "good deeds" you do.

it seems like a different perspective sometimes, doesn't it?. On the religious side, the idea is to score brownie points with the big invisible guy, kinda save on it until you die. I kind of trip on human morality, wonder how it organizes if you don't buy into that kind of thing.

@becire Morality is very, very simple as far as I'm concerned.

Do no harm. Prevent harm to others. Help another person when you can. Mind your own business, unless doing so conflicts with rules 1 through 3.

1

That guy must have been an ignoramus.

The guy I work with?

@becire Yes if he did not know that agnostics do not believe in God.

odd how the idea is confronted sometimes, huh?

@becire Yes, I was in the Phillipines a year ago and was having a conversation with a Catholic priest and a pastor from an independent church. They both asked me about my religious beliefs. When I told them I was an agnostic, they said they had not heard about which church agnostics belonged to. I said look it up on google it will tell you. I was laughing so on the inside that I could barely keep my face straight. I am going to go to the Phillipines this year and will very likely see those two again, I wonder if they have looked it up and remember. I cannot wait to have another discussion with them.

It gets easy to dupe the type after a while.

1

Why should an atheist or an agnostic go to church unless it's a special occasion for a friend or someone special? Good people are good people despite being religious or not.

I agree. I tend to wonder where the morality is in the christian bible that created this idea that it can only be found within it.

Great point! I was Byzantine Catholic and am now Agnostic! I am so proud to be Agnostic! Thanks for the great post!

@soobydoody607, to be honest I enter churches when on holidays as monuments especially when they have stained glass. I know Catholics that don't go to church so why should I?

1

Pulling good guy deeds?
(I'll answer that 'cause the rest of your posts is about something else. I don't see the connection.)
Anyway, my impulse to do "good deeds" used to be a lot stronger, frankly. Now it's leavened by being taken advantage a few times too often.
Not by doing the good deed, necessarily--though that has happened--but more often by, say, being betrayed by people I thought were friends.
Or in some other way being shown the dark side of human nature.
The counterpoint to this have been times I've been shown acts of kindness when I was 'down and out' and about to get REALLY hurt.
Looking back now, it probably wasn't ever as bad as it seemed, but it sure felt like it, and I think a person or two FELT the hurt was GENUINE and took pity on me.
So I use that as my guide when deciding whether or not to be a "good guy" and go out of my way to help someone.
Otherwise, I like to give change to panhandlers (been there), drop money in charity jars, and in general try to strike "grace notes" in my everyday dealings.
People recognize and appreciate someone making an effort to be a straight arrow without being showy about it.
Finally, it all gets down to this: contrary to what the bible says, I'm convinced most people enjoy following their conscience and doing the right thing, and they HATE violating their personal code of conduct and screwing people over.
Being a "good guy" is enjoyable, so I am one.

Nice turn of phrase here, and far too true for most of us I think, at least as we get older.
"Now it's leavened by being taken advantage a few times too often."

Yep, it wondered a bit. I get that way sometimes. A lot of the time I am almost internally competing with a christian perspective. It certainly is prevalent in our culture. I am not sure if competing is the right word though. I like that.', and they HATE violating their personal code of conduct' I'll trip on that some.

You sound like a kind person, but consider this: i never give panhandlers money...I offer them a meal & beverage at the nearest place. One gal told me "F*ck You!" She just wanted cash for drugs. I cannot allow them to go further down that path with my $.

@AnneWimsey Yeah that's possible.
The other one I hear is that they are practically professionals and have cars and apartments, etc., have regular hours, techniques, "really have it down to a science " (!)
I doubt it. Maybe a few, but not most.
Mental illness, bad luck, some kind of disaster, physical problems...who knows?
I'm not particularly kind; I just find if I DON'T do certain things, it bothers me...I feel guilty. Better to do it and kick myself for being a soft touch.

1

Just because you chose not to be religious , does not mean you can't be a good person . You can still chose to help others , both people and animals , without any expectation of receiving anything in return . If I may suggest , no matter your beliefs , you still have to live with yourself . It helps , if you like who you are .

That's a good way to put it. 'It helps, if you like who you are '

1

There are lots of ways to do "good deeds" and participate in charitable work outside of church organizations. I regularly do things like give to beggars, often in front of people who wouldn't. I always say I would rather be a kind fool than a cruel genius. And last year I volunteered with people at my work to help families whose houses had hurricane damage with rebuilding. And I have volunteered independently with my wife and son at a local nursing home. And I used to volunteer at the library. And at no time has religion ever come up. If your good deeds are predicated upon public relations or improving the public perception of some group or its dogma, then you're not really helping others foremost - it's just a side effect of how you are helping something else.

1

"There is not enough love and goodness in the world to permit giving any of it away to imaginary beings." Friedrich Nietzsche

1

I was a peace corps volunteer. That has no political or religious bearing.

You know, I never thought about that. I guess the peace Corp is not, is it.

0

A person being a "good" or " bad " person has nothing to do with being atheist. You are, or, you are not..."pulling good person deeds" generally has different thoughts and motivations with different "type" of people.......some do good things, just to satisfy their own self image of being the type of person that does what is right......others do good things for what others can give them, or what they hope to get as a reward from others.

0

No church for me! The church is nothing but a damn lie! Catholics, protestants, baptists, methodists are all there to divide people and I am not falling for none of it!

People are good naturally! It does not take a so called supreme being to prove it!

The reason believers need a supreme being to be good is that they think god's divine morals will guide them to heaven. Without this, they reason, what would keep you from robbing a bank. It must be forced morality at work here.

0

I have no morals but I do have scruples and that makes all the difference.

I always tend to use the word morality. Thanks, I bet I put that through my thinker awhile.

if you have no morals does it mean you're amoral?

@MsDemeanour Immoral but not amoral.

0

Pulling!? Sounds like you're pulling a scam lol. Just help whoever needs help in whichever way you want to help. Atheism or religion has nothing to do with it. You do it because there are people who need help. Don't do it because it appeases some guilt or it makes you feel good or it helps atheism look good. Do it because someone needs help and you can provide it.

So, as an example, why do you do any good deeds? Why do you say it's because people need help that you do help? Personally, doing good has roots in both empathy (guilt) and satisfaction, though it isn't my reasoning. I reason that I do good, on purpose, because it's how I want to shape the world. To be a good place. The thought is, that the better the world is for all people then life should be easier for all people.

0

I'm truly sorry, but I don't understand your question. Are you asking about how we feel in general about doing good things despite lacking belief in a god? That's an odd question, because it smacks of theistic rhetoric akin to, "You can't be good without God." Or are you asking whether we wear our lack of belief on our sleeve when we do good works as positive public relations for atheism? I find that, too, to be an odd question, because I don't walk through my day constantly thinking about my godlessness. When I help someone in need, it never occurs to me to mention that I don't have religious faith. Can you clarify your meaning for me?

My phrasing tends to get out there sometimes. Maybe I should have said 'Thoughts'. I have seen that on many posts. I think what I am doing is fishing around the community to hear reactions to the kind of thing. I also wonder about how people look at the subject as public relations. One of the comments wrote about an atheist church of sorts. I think to clarify, on the 'norm' people will look at an act of kindness as a human mechanism on a god, which I do not. I certainly think morality stands as what it is. Usually, you will see a church thing, akin to 'the Salvation Army' kind of thing. I certainly don't see things that way. Just fishing for thoughts on the subject.

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