Atheists Doing Good Works

[LyricalReckoner]

I’ve heard about school kids doing good in the world, like sending money to people who lost everything because of an earthquake or a tidal wave. I’ve heard of churches doing things like that, and I’ve heard of large, Christian organizations like the Salvation Army doing such things. But I’ve never heard of an atheist group doing good in the world. Never.

Have you?

[The Happy Humanist]

I’ve heard about school kids doing good in the world, like sending money to people who lost everything because of an earthquake or a tidal wave. I’ve heard of churches doing things like that, and I’ve heard of large, Christian organizations like the Salvation Army doing such things. But I’ve never heard of an atheist group doing good in the world. Never.

Have you?

===

First, allow me to introduce you to S.H.A.R.E., the Secular Humanist Aid and Relief Effort. I believe the International Ethical and Humanist Union also has a charitable works arm.

There is also my own experience. As president of Arizona Secular Humanists, I instituted all manner of fundraising efforts for local charities, including a concert to raise money for school supplies and clothing for needy Phoenix kids. Another local humanist group, the HSGP, has an ongoing food and clothing drive.

I also just produced the largest live show in the history of Payson Arizona, to benefit the Tsunami relief efforts of the American Red Cross. (This I did as an individual, not in concert with any humanist groups).

As a general rule, atheist groups exist to promote the rights of atheists; secular humanist groups exist to do positive work in the cause of advancing human rights and making the human experience a better one. Secular humanists are by and large "atheists wit a attitude" - a positive one.

[Nyril]

But I’ve never heard of an atheist group doing good in the world. Never.

That's simple. It's not a big deal to us to be one, we're not bent up about it. To build up an organization and announce that we're atheists is like building up an organization to announce, "It's not birthday today". There's no point to it. Chances are you've probably heard of a dozen such organizations that provide aide that don't broadcast that message.

Secondly, I myself only know of one Christian in the military and that's the father of my friend. From that can I conclude that Christians don't really join the military? Or should I conclude that I haven't bothered to look?

[Nyril]

I took a moment and actually googled this subject, here's a list I found.

UNICEF (Bet you've heard of this one)
United Way (Bet you've heard of this one)
Fred Hollows Foundation They restore eyesight to the poor.
The American Foundation for AIDS Research
Operation Give
Spirit of America

I think you might owe atheists an apology.

[Overcomer]

This raises an interesting point. Often I hear atheists make the statement that they are as moral as Christians are. I have even heard some say that they are morally superior to Christians.

The thing is, who is defining morality and how are they defining it? The atheist in his own eyes may feel he is moral. The atheist may say that, because he follows the laws of the land, that makes him a moral person.

Of course, when it comes to God and spiritual matters, it isn't a question of morality, but one of holiness and its opposite, sin. Issues of morality and immorality are part of the holiness and sin categories respectively, but they are not synonymous with those categories.

God has set the goal for man, that is, to be holy as he is holy. Of course, that's impossible for us. We cannot make ourselves perfectly pure and sinless like he is and we cannot earn our way into his good graces no matter how many good works we perform. That's why Christ died for us, to give us his righteousness. In other words, he offers the ticket to heaven if we are willing to admit that we can't get there on our own.

Can an atheist do good works? Of course he can. Can a Christian err and fall into sin? Yes, he still has that ability, but as he goes through the life-long process of sanctification, he will gradually clean up his act over time.

I think that groups such as United Way and Unicef and the others listed above shouldn't be called atheist organizations, however. They are non-Christian, but not necessarily atheist although some atheists may well donate to them as do some Christians, including myself.

[The Happy Humanist]

I think that groups such as United Way and Unicef and the others listed above shouldn't be called atheist organizations, however. They are non-Christian, but not necessarily atheist although some atheists may well donate to them as do some Christians, including myself.

This part of your post I agree with wholeheartedly. Let's not confuse secular with atheist or even secular humanist. That misses the point of the question posed by LyricalReckoner.

The rest of your post...well....okey dokey!

[Vladd44]

I must confess to being partial to Lutheran Charities. Why should I care if the people I give my money to help others to dont see eye to eye with me on a fictional god?

They may like foods I dont eat, or Car Models I dont drive. I dont make those a factor, so why would it matter if they are deluded into thinking there is a god? I want my money to help people, and I doubt the people that need it really care what the giver believed.

[Dilettante]

I’ve heard about school kids doing good in the world, like sending money to people who lost everything because of an earthquake or a tidal wave. I’ve heard of churches doing things like that, and I’ve heard of large, Christian organizations like the Salvation Army doing such things. But I’ve never heard of an atheist group doing good in the world. Never.

Have you?

First, the problem is that atheists do not make up a "group" in the sense that Christians do, because atheism can take many forms. Atheism is not an ideology, there's no set core of beliefs that atheists share. Just about the only thing two atheists have in common is the lack of a belief in God /gods.

Having said this, there are many non-religious organizations doing good in the world. "Medecins Sans Frontiers" (Doctors without Borders) is only one example.

Of course there are also many religious organizations doing the same. The catholic charities do a lot of good in developing countries, even if they're capable of doing harm too. Sometimes they're flexible, but sometimes they aren't. This is because, for them, God comes first. For secular charities, people come first (at least ideally).

[dangerdan]

Hmmm, as some of the posters have pointed out, I guess it depends on whether you are referring to an atheistic organization, or merely a secular organization.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any atheistic organizations…at all…let alone a specific type of atheistic organization.

Secular charitable organizations on the other hand…well my goodness, take your pick.

You might have heard of this little one called Amnesty International, who in my opinion, are one of the most important organizations in existence…here is a quote from their website –

AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

http://www.amnesty.org/

And I didn’t find anything at this website…

http://www.oxfam.com/eng/index.htm

…talking about religion. LyricalReckoner, you mentioned the tsunami disaster, you might find it interesting that Oxfam raised $200 million for it.

But look, it seems silly to try and get into a “holier than thou” argument over which groups do the most humanitarian work in the world. The humanitarian work religious based groups do is spectacular, and is something I deeply respect, but there’s also some great work being done by organizations independent of religion. In modern society, large humanitarian organizations are something we ALL should be proud of, regardless of whether they have religious overtones or not.

[LillSnopp]

But look, it seems silly to try and get into a “holier than thou” argument over which groups do the most humanitarian work in the world. The humanitarian work religious based groups do is spectacular, and is something I deeply respect, but there’s also some great work being done by organizations independent of religion. In modern society, large humanitarian organizations are something we ALL should be proud of, regardless of whether they have religious overtones or not.

oowww, your not taking LyricalReckoner baiting, how sad

You not heard about the atheist organisations ? Gosh, you have missed out, We have these great meetings every Friday, where we sing, and talk about how our hatred for religion can be strengthen, and we read the Atheist Bible (Darwins Doctrine), to make sure we know it by heart.

On Sundays, we encourage our fellow comrades to invite a Believer, in the hope that he will become converted into one of us. Once-and-awhile, one of them finds the True Light of Darwin.


You should join us.