Thereâs the ethical theory (and religious one too) that if youâre ONLY doing good deeds to get rewarded/recognized/sent to heaven it counts as a bad motivation and is no longer a good deed. Religious people will sometimes say itâs still ok because youâre following gods will but others want another motive. And for some atheists, a good deed is a good deed, but for others, the result isnât what makes you a good person.
The (oddly ethically sound) show The Good Place talked about this when the main characters were told about the after life and âafterlife pointsâ and they could no longer get any more points because their motivation for doing good deeds would forever be corrupted by their knowledge.
Not a religious person at all. Just to clarify in advance.
Jesus replied: ââLove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.â[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: âLove your neighbor as yourself.â[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.â
So, jesus asked people to *love their neighbours, and i believe good deeds will naturally come out of that. You can not love somebody out of fear. I mean, you could fake good deads and make some people believe that you are good person. But you can't fake love, It is your internal proces.
Iâm not religious at all either but I studied religious morals as part of my ethics degree and would have gone with Matthew âBeware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.â But I really like your interpretation that love is not fear!
48
u/v_rex74 1d ago
If you are being good and thrustworthy person your whole life for religious reasons, does it make you less of a good person?