We often hear about someone being, “a good Samaritan.” But are there also “good” atheists?
While I have not researched the matter, I believe that aside from Jews and Christians, the story of the good Samaritan is the only example in the Bible of kindness between the various tribes and nationalities of biblical times. In fact, anyone who happens upon someone needing aid found doing good is usually called, “a good Samaritan,” regardless of their nationality. The term has become universal for someone doing good.
As far as I know, Samaritans no longer exist. They were probably wiped out by one of the biblical wars and assumed as part of another population. Atheists, do exist, and exist in great numbers. Largely because of communism and state socialism, atheists have been given a bad name. While atheism basically means not believing in any religion (or god), religious people give atheism all kinds of connotations of ungodliness, particularly of doom for anyone who is a nonbeliever (regardless of religion).
Being a good Samaritan is certainly a Christian way of behaving. Whether or not it is also a Muslim way or a Buddhist way, I don't know. Can an atheist, a nonbeliever, do good when they are condemned by god to eternal damnation for not believing? I don't know, so I will leave that up to the reader.
Recent surveys have shown that atheism is growing in the United States. Most of the people who are atheist by practice, do not admit it because of the backlash they get, primarily from Christians. Instead, atheists go through life not attending church or any religious activity, and pretend to pray whenever called for. Finally, when pressured, they will say, “I'm not a formal church goer, but I believe in a universal spirit.” Some will say that they are, “agnostic,” whatever that means.
Although I was brought up in the Protestant Christian tradition, my parents, especially my father, were not very religious. Although his mother, just before she acquired Alzheimer's, became very religious to the point of worrying her sons. There seems to be a tendency as some people age and begin to feel they're losing control of their lives, more vulnerable, they become more religious.
About the time that I was involved in civil rights as president of a ecumenical church group in college, I had read enough about religion and philosophy to decide that there was no real benefit to being religious. In fact, spending a lot of time and money in religious activity was very counterproductive to life. By throwing off the yoke of religion, I was free to think any way that I wanted without the continual judgment of those who were locked in dogma promulgated by the Bible. Of the other religions that I studied, I like Buddhism the best because it was basically very nonviolent, especially toward nature. But I saw no need to have any religion at all in order to do good in my life. For people who have followed my life, I think they will say that I have done good and had the good fortune to be a good atheist from time to time and help others.
There has been some effort for atheists to join together, perhaps for protection, but I see that effort as trying to make a church of atheism, leading us back into the problem that most organized religions, and other organized groups in particular, have with hierarchy, power struggles, greed, and other misuses of the group and the group's objectives. I think that atheists should insist, as I do, that they do not believe and leave it at that, freeing them up to do whatever else they would like to do with their lives on their own terms and not on someone else's––true freedom.
In conclusion, I believe there are many good atheists out there, far more than bad atheists. I would suggest that the good atheists come out of the closet and luxuriate in being free from religion and godliness, godless, forever.
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