There's Reason Enough

Dear E-Diary,

Question:

As a Christian, I know exactly why I should love and care for others. If I were an atheist, I can't imagine why I should bother to help anyone whose genes might compete with mine.

Once again, a Christian confesses that he cannot understand any reason why someone would be decent, except "God told me so," and threats of eternal torture. It seems that the questioner denies any possible earthly consequences for anything. Maybe that's why almost all prisoners are Christians. Is there some kind of underlying mania inside Christians that we should be aware of? Are all Christians potential Timothey McVeighs or Andrea Yateses? Fot the love of all things in this Godless world, please, I beg you, please remain Christian! Perhaps I should stop everthing, my websites and radio station right now!

But I won't. It just makes me feel a little cheap and tawdry to have to tell people why they should be decent human beings. It should go without saying that in order to have a somewhat enjoyable life on this planet, in order to not get your ass kicked or lynched, you should probably treat others with respect now and then. If you want to have food, shelter and basic cable, you need to at least get through a job interview and a probationary period at work.

I can't help but see that yet again, a Christian has got it all backwards. As an atheist, I know exactly why I should be a decent person. If I were a Christian I can't imagine where I would get the motivation to attempt any kind of altruism. After all, my purpose in life is to die and be with Jesus. The bible tells me I'm already worthless and don't deserve anything regardless of what I do in The World. Jesus tells me I should hate the world, my family, and myself. The only people I should love are my enemies, which is a roundabout way of advocating the cultivation of such. All I need to do after that is believe on Christ and admit my sins and I'm done with it. Anything else I do on this worthless World is meaningless.

I'd have to conclude that it's only Materialists that can be counted on to take meaning and worth from the stuff of The World--our possessions, our loved ones, and our values. That's Reason enough, isn't it?

Thanks for listening, E-Diary.