Okay, this is a controversial topic, so please be gentle. I'm afraid this might kick up a duststorm, but I really want to try to understand. It covers atheism, and the central point I can't get my head around.
Here's what I don't get about Atheism--if you firmly believe there is no God, no afterlife, no cosmic reward or punishment, I would think you have transcended the concepts of "good" and "evil" themselves. You now no longer have to fear about doing anything according to these two very pliable concepts. What is "good" to one person may be "evil" to another. Look at George W. Bush doing what he thought was "good," and yet so many of us thought it was "evil." Even people we typically think of as "good" have their detractors. So if an absolute "good" and an absolute "evil" don't exist, isn't "good" then defined as being "good for oneself and whoever else one wants to favor?"
and yet we see so few atheists taking advantage of this. There is no justice in the world, at least no absolute justice, so why on earth are more atheists not out there actively breaking the law for their own profit?
Not to be mean, but it truly doesn't make sense. You don't have to worry that your sins will seek you out if you think you're smart enough to get away with it, so why aren't more people out there doing it? For that matter, why would an atheist willingly work in a charity? It's not doing her any good, not enriching her life in any material way that matters and once can certainly feel immaterially good with less sacrifice. As an example, when Ken Lay died believers in an afterlife expressed some satisfaction he was getting his just rewards, while those who didn't believe in an afterlife were upset he'd died before being punished. But if no afterlife exists, isn't that
I appear to be missing something here, and if anyone wants to try to explain I'd love to hear the answer. Is there a belief in the goodness of humanity? An aspiration to be recognized and rewarded for sacrificial efforts? For that matter, becoming sexually aroused by performing acts of altruism? (Okay, that's a little far out there, but it's a good, logical means of doing something illogical according to the belief system and I couldn't fault anyone who did it, given the general strength and pull of the average sex drive.)
So, please enlighten me, as it were. I really look forward to hearing from people!
Update: Wow. Thank you for all your replies! There was the expected number of "You're an idiot" posts, which is bound to come up when talking about religion, but what really impressed me were the commenters who made some good points. No, they made great points. I think the one that struck me most, though, were the comments who talked about empathy, as well as the commenters who brought up the social engineering and social psychology origins. I'm not sure I agree 100% with those theories, but I'm embarassed to admit I hadn't considered that. Less convincing but equally uplifting was the belief people had in the goodness of humanity. Personal experience has not led me to the same conclusion. On the whole, I really feel this was worthwhile posting, and I think I've learned a lot from everyone. Thank you again!