http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/8368442

Are all atheists "guilt free"? I have known some who were very moral minded and not above apologizing for a wrong, even an accidental one, and trying to make amends. I have also known some who were guilt free to the point of being subhuman....

I don't have guilt. I have joy for the grace God has given me. I know he loves me regardless. Not all Christians live in guilt, only the ones that do not understand his word strongly enough.

I'm an atheist, and I can assure you, my life is not guilt free.

Why do you think atheists are guilt free? . The ethical/moral standards I try to live up to are quite similar to those Christianity teaches, I just believe they are insipired by societal factors and personal choice rather than God.

I don't think atheists have a guilt-free life. If you believe this, then you believe that the only morality is a religious one, which is patently wrong. I think, actually, that we have a harder time of it. We don't believe that someone else can take responsibility for our wrongdoings and remove the guilt from us. We are responsible and have to accept that responsibility.

No Icy. I don't envy anyone anything at all...never have. Why would you think a non-religious person would be guilt-free my friend? The concept/construct of guilt is not limited to religion. It occurs in everyday life everytime you make a decision affecting someone else. :)

Thanks for asking an honest question. This validates the point I've made several times. The things we might feel guilt about doing, atheists have no guilt about practicing. Atheists get to create their own personal morality, so they don't need to feel guilt.

Atheists do not have guilt free lives. The only difference is that they are guilty about things THEY consider to be wrong. Not what a book tells them is wrong. They live by a self made inner moral code not one imposed from outside. They do not necessarily believe that forgiveness is automatic if they repent.They prefer not to do it in the first place much of the time.

I don't understand the second part, but as an atheist, although the question isn't direct to me, I have to say that I support your premise in the first part. I know you're going to get a lot of "oh, but they feel guilty" responses, but comparably, we don't.

Why do you think atheists are guilt-free? If, as an atheist, you break your personal moral code (which most of us have), you have no get-out through repentance, no divine release from the guilt. A moral atheist will have a more, not less, guilt ridden life than one who believes in a divine forgiveness.

No I don't. First, because guilt is a universal sense. Second, because I actually have a way to cope with guilt that brings me joy and rest. Good question Ice +5

No, never. No one is guilt-free or sin-free. On the contrary, because of Christ's forgiveness, I feel so free and so blessed despite my sins!

That is naive. There is not one athiest on the planet that is guilt free or happier than anyone else.

not at all....Both Christians and Atheists commit sins, but Christians are just more conscious that they should not commit sins. +5

Everybody has a conscience!

The way I see it is that (almost) every person (religious or atheist) has their own set of morals. Whether they choose to act with integrity really boils down to the type of person they are.

When you put it like that, yeah, we psychopathic atheists have it pretty sweet. If religious people are envious of our lack of decency and human emotion, though, they can feel free to convert. It's not like you'll feel bad about it afterward.

The words "straw man" comes to mind while reading this question. The assumptions that atheists are guilt free and that christians are guilt filled are both presuppositions that may not be correct. But even so, let us assume they are correct for the sake of argument. Imagine a situation in which two people are falling from a great height towards the earth. Both are in free fall, but one has on a parachute. Does the one with the parachute envy the freedom of movement that the one without the parachute has? After all the harness is restrictive and perhaps even uncomfortable. It limits the movement of arms and legs. While the one without the parachute has no constraints except those that are self imposed in movement. The one with the parachute realizes that the ground is rapidly approaching. He realizes that the only thing that can save his life is the parachute and welcomes what ever restrictions it imposes for the compensation of saving his life. The one without the parachute maintains that the approaching is a figment of the imagination. He claims it is a restriction that the one with the parachute is trying to impose on him. He maintains that no one has ever come back from the fall he is now on and reported that there is a hard object at the end. So does the parachutist envy the one without the parachute? I don't think so. With the same logic, in the end, the christian does not envy the atheist. See you at the bottom.

I, in no way envy an athiest the life they lead. I am sure that they are happy in their lives, have formed their own moral code to live by and are mostly a very nice bunch of people. For me though, I willingly accept any guilt that my actions, that violate God's law, bring. I wish to do any suffering that comes my way while I am here in this life. I plan to spend my eternity in peace and happiness and love unending at God's side. I will not be joining the (even good and moral)people who refuse to accept God's very real existence, even with all the evidence around them. If they are happy with their lives as they are, good for them. Get all the good you can now because, no matter how good you are, without God, eternity is going to be a very harsh place.

I no longer live with guilt. I have an advocate....Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.