Question of the week… or year… or decade…
Why do certain Christians believe that without Christianity, people have no morals, no sense of right and wrong, no reason to behave with compassion and decency?
Why? There are soooo many things wrong with even the conception of this question, it’s hard to know how to combat its conclusion: if you aren’t Christian, you have no moral compass.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. But so hard to articulate why.
*sigh*
Thank you, Eyes High, for YOUR thoughtful response.
I want to be clear, because I wasn’t absolutely clear in my post above: I do not think that all Christians dismiss the possibility of morality in non-Christians. You certainly are evidence of that, as are many, many other Christians. And I also believe that the teachings of Jesus, whether one is guided by them as a believer or not, do provide a moral compass for many people.
But, and I think you see this in my post, I don’t believe that Jesus provides the ONLY moral compass. And I think you are correct when you write, “I think the mistake we make is comparing our thoughts on morality to what God might consider moral,” and thank you for that piece of clarity. It is far too easy for far too many people to fall into the trap of believing that what they think must be what God thinks, or they wouldn’t be thinkin’ it. A weird, mental version of Manifest Destiny.
In any case, most of the truly moral, ethical and … yes, let’s say it, HAPPY people I know take their main morality cues from their religious or philosophical beliefs, and feel confident and strong about their beliefs, but are also open to the teachings of others. That, I think, keeps us balanced. While I believe differently from you – not identifying as a Christian for example – it is clear to me that whether guided by Christ, Buddha, Mohammed or one’s own internal ethics, people who pay close attention to HOW they live by the teachings they hold faith with, also happen to be the most open to the idea that people unlike them also hold a morality they can respect.
Again, thank you so much for offering your insights to this topic. So good to hear from you after many many months away from our old mutual haunt, Worm’s Sci Fi Haven.
–Sister A
You post a very good question Sister.
The standard answer that one might hear from most Christians is that Jesus is suppose to be our moral compass and if we do not know him then how can we be moral? But in my opinion, I think that many of us are getting two separate things mixed up with each other. As you (and others) said, there are many people who do not know Jesus, yet we can considered them very moral. I think the mistake we make is comparing our thoughts on morality to what God might consider moral. There are many Christians (or people who claim to be Christians) who act very immoral. Priests and pastors who molest children, husbands and wives who cheat on each other, the ‘Christians’ who stood by and did nothing during WWII while the holocaust was going on around them, or those who take quotes from the Bible out of context just to promote their personal agenda.
As you might remember, I am a Christian and I agree that, as the world views morality, a person can be moral without Christ; however, I do think we all need Christ. We are a sinful people by nature and while believing in Christ will not automatically make everything perfect or wipe away our tendencies to ‘slip up.’ It can change our outlook on life and how we treat others, preferably for the better.
Yes, we can be good without Christ, but having Christ can be great. My plea to others is: “Please don’t let the snobs of Christianity turn you off from the love of Christ.”
Keep up the good work Sister.
Sincerely;
~Eyes High
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