Are Atheists Immoral?

Do you believe atheists are immoral?

No. Whether or not one believes in God has nothing do do with one’s moral character. Many non-believers may actually have higher moral standards than many believers. Consider all the wars, atrocities, terrorist acts, genocide, and persecution that have been carried out in the name of God (or Jesus). There are, and have been, many devoutly religious people who seem to have problems following a high moral standard, many of whom have (had) the title of Reverend, Pastor, Father, or some other religious moniker before their names.

One person who left a comment on this Facebook poll said, “The Bible tells us what they are in Proverbs….not immoral…fools.” The only passage in Proverbs using the term fools I could find read, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7). Is fearing God the same as believing in God? In Christianity there is talk about God’s infinite love and at the same time we must fear God. We must love what we fear and fear what we love? That makes no sense.

I believe there is but one god who is known by many names and worshipped (or not) differently by many peoples. There are many paths to enlightenment, each just as valid as any other. That we believe or how we believe is unimportant. The important thing is to find our own path and follow it. If it turns out we have chosen a path that is wrong for us, we can chose a different path and follow that. All paths ultimately lead to the same destination. It’s the experience of the journey that enriches us.

For what it’s worth…