Good Atheists | A Theological Discussion

If a good person does not believe in heaven or hell, does that make their good works purer?

I had a thought provoking, but too brief, conversation with a dear friend yesterday about religious people (like Muslims and Christians), and atheists who do good things. Not just philanthropists and charity workers, but also people who just generally behave decently. A conversation like this can only be so deep when we are both playing PC games amongst other chatter on Discord, but it did inspire me to really articulate my beliefs in a clear way. The first thing I want to acknowledge is that good atheists exist. I know quite a few personally.

Good atheists exist

Although, I’m sure we can all agree that there is no morality in Darwinism, that does not mean that all atheists live by a ‘survival of the fittest’ mindset. Society does not necessarily have to be religious to not be depraved. Likewise, some so-called religious people are not good people. These are observable facts.

A more interesting discussion is if someone behaves morally without needing the heaven carrot dangled, or the hell stick threatened… is that not better than only doing/behaving good because of desire for reward or threat of punishment?

The way I see it is there are two discussion points here…

Self Righteousness

A lot of people….not everyone, but a lot of people do good things to feel good about themselves, and to present themselves as good people to others.

The Bible says:

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:2-6

So if we break that down, we see that some people do good things, not for a tangible reward, but for a reputational upgrade or an emotional reward – to gain a feeling of self righteousness. Often good works that seem selfless are not truly selfless. And when a person has these secret intentions, the only reward they will get for these good works, will be a boost in their own self worth, and praise from humans. It won’t be acknowledged by God because he knows your heart. He knows if you did something for someone selflessly or for esteem.

If it was truly a selfless act, then the passage says God will reward you. The passage does not specify what the reward will be exactly, but we know from other doctrinal points that it can’t be talking about heaven, and that brings me to my second point.

Faith vs Works

Christianity is not a works-based religion. It is a faith-based religion. You cannot earn your way into heaven by doing good things.

The Bible says:

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

Romans 3:22-27

So if we break that down, we see that All have sinned. Even if you think you haven’t, you have. You may not have committed any of the big or obvious sins, but you are not perfect. The only perfectly blameless person to have walked the earth is Jesus. Sin is unavoidable for us (Romans 3.23), and it cuts us off from God, and from eternal life. (Romans 6.23)

Sin entered the world via Adam and in the Old Testament, the Jews atoned for their sins by blood sacrifice. They would slaughter their livestock (which was their livelihood) at their own personal expense, to repent for their sins. That is what sacrifice is. Not like druids and Aztecs who would kidnap people and ritualistically murder them. That was no “sacrifice” because they did not own what they sacrificed. It was not a loss. It was just murder. The Jews on the other hand would take the personal loss of their livestock in order to be atoned for a short while.

Animal sacrifice is not a true solution though. It is not a true bridge from sin to God. That is why God made himself man (Jesus, the ‘son’ part of the Trinity) and gave himself up as the ultimate sacrifice.

We cannot earn salvation. It has already been earned for us. Our only job is to accept that Jesus died for us. If we refuse to accept that, then we are rejecting God who literally killed himself for us, so that we don’t have to pay the price ourselves. This is what I mean when I say that Christianity is faith-based, not works-based. The work has already been done. Just humble yourself and believe.

When you truly believe, you start to understand the magnitude of what God has done for us. A deep gratitude starts to bloom, and then you WANT to live right, and you WANT to do good things, partly because you want to try and emulate God – that is what being a follower of Christ is all about. To be the salt and light of the earth. To be a vessel for God and radiate his love to fellow man. We all know how much this world desperately needs love. Lost people fill their lives with sex, drugs, and thrill seeking, but what they really need is a hug and unconditional love.

Doing good things is also out of a desire to please God – not to earn your way into heaven, but to say thank you. And you realise that even if you spend your whole life doing good things, it will never equal what God has done for you, but you hopefully do it anyway.

God is perfect and his presence divine. We cannot hope to stand in God’s presence bathed in our sin, when the Bible clearly tells us:

• That all have sinned.
• That sin cuts us off from God.
• That the wages of sin is death.

So in order to be washed clean of your sins, you have an invitation to accept what Jesus has done for you and watch your life change for the better. You will still have hard times, but your perspective will change, and that change in perspective brings true peace. You no longer have to fill that God shaped hole inside you with all kinds of other things that don’t have any true meaning or significance. You can fill the God shaped hole with the living God who loves you, and begin to experience and radiate unconditional love.

I love you, and Jesus loves you.