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.
Copyright 2013 © Ronald W. Hull
6/24/13
There is still a small group of Samaritans living in Samaria. Over time, most assimilated with the Israelites, but the hard-core Samarians try to maintain peace with the Palestinians in the West Bank, and Israelites.
I used to discuss true Christianity, the one Jesus started at Pentecost, which has nothing to do with religions, with many atheistic scientists. You can't claim an intelligent designer over evolution and expect to get science grants and shunned from science. Therefore, it was easy to find atheists to discuss science over creation, which they would probably call debates.
God doesn't condemn people to hell. We do that on our own by not accepting His saving grace.
The only good God considers good works is when we do them according to His will through what He gives us through His spiritual gifts. Everything else He considers "filthy rags", and since there wasn't toilet paper back then, it doesn't take much imagination to know what the filthy rags consisted of.
Well written but I do have to say that it misses the actual problem. There are "good" atheists and "bad" atheists just as there are "good" theists and "bad" theists. That is pretty much a self evident fact. The problem actually lies in the definition of "good" and "bad".
The concept of good and bad requires some sort of law that distinguishes that which is "good" from that which is "bad". But such a law requires a lawgiver to declare that which is good from that which is bad. The problem is that atheism believes in random chance, plus matter plus time, not in any lawgiver. Random chance, plus matter, plus time does not differentiate good from bad. At best it can only differentiate between that which survives and that which does not. And as Darwin was realistic enough to be extremely pessimistic about, "Nature is red in tooth and claw".
There may indeed be "good" atheists and "bad" atheists BUT the judgement of which is which can only be made OUTSIDE of Atheism as atheism itself has no yardstick WITHIN it by which to measure good and bad. It only has random chance, plus matter plus time and neither chance, nor matter, nor time has the ability to make moral judgements.
Sincerest Regards, Don
I look forward to reading more of your writing. Barbara
A good well written article. I am always interested in articles about atheism. Why does one become an atheist? I did not become a Christian until I was 45 years old but I was never an atheist. I was an agnostic. You seemed puzzled about what that means. I never claimed God does not exist. The true agnostic simply feels they don't know whether God does or not exist. I did not see evidence for or against the belief in God.
My wife has been a Christian since she was young. She is a beautiful person. A few years after I became a Christian she felt called to become a Methodist Minister. At the age of forty. She did, so over the next 30 years we served churches as pastor and spouse. She was very good. I was very disappointed in the people in our churches claiming to be Christians. The Biblical meaning of Christian is very special to me and becoming a Christian changed me very powerful ways. All good. I make no claims to be better than anyone else. Becoming a Christian and learning the truth preached by Peter and Paul has made me more aware of my failures.
I am not good, whatever that is supposed to mean. Jesus said there are none good other than God. He did not want to be called a good man. You can be good in the sense I believe you use the term without believing in God. I have known many atheists who were good people:kind, generous, charitable, etc. I believe you are probably such a person.
Being good is not a qualification for church membership. Too many church going people are not good people in any sense of the word. Attending a church every Sunday, carrying a Bible, does not make one a Christian. The Pharisees did the equivalent of that and Jesus denounced then as hypocrites. Very religious men but not good people. You have met many modern religious Pharisees. Such people have missed the point of the Gospel. It's all about the peace and joy they comes from caring about others and sharing their burdens and troubles. Faith in God gives some of us the power to do that.
It is possible to be religious without being Christian. Many do that. It is also true one can be Christian without being religious. I have lived that way for forty years. Don't equate Christian with religious. The number of atheists in the USA is probably increasing while the number of church going people is decreasing. People are rejecting Christianity because of the image of religious people, most of whom are not actually Christians. Strange but true.
You might want to find a way to learn the truth about Jesus and his followers. You might try reading the book Mere Christianity, written by C.S. Lewis, an agnostic, possibly atheist, who learned the truth when fortyish and became a Christian. A brilliant man.
I think atheists and Christians can be friends. I read your articles and need to find a copy of one of your books. Do you have any recommendations about where to begin?
Ben
Myrna
Admittedly I do, as you say "pretend to pray when called upon", but this is more out of respect for the other person's wishes than an attempt to hide my own.
Great article here, Ron. You are a man after my own heart.
Rx
I became a non-believer at the age of 14, and I never hid it. It is important to make your lack of faith known. It can also be difficult. Many people keep it hidden because it can affect their employment and their standing in the community. For me, I had to be true to myself and damn the consequences.
Thank you for a good article. I think you might enjoy my humorous novel, "About The Rapture." It will probably never sell many copies since it is self published and has a limited potential audience, but it is something that I felt compelled to write.
Love ya!
Jane
L