Selflessness

The Pitfalls of Naturalism

If evolution and the survival of the fittest shaped our value system, altruism and selflessness makes no sense for human beings. But if we’re made in the image of the ultimate Altruist, who died for strangers that systematically ignore him, then our own acts of selflessness begin to make more sense. As Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Evolutionary processes alone simply cannot account for selflessness. Despite every effort to describe the benefits of selfless behavior to the overall well-being of the human species, naturalistic explanations for selflessness underestimate the selfish, survivalist motives we all possess as individuals. I’m not the only one to observe this. Evolutionary biologist George Williams has chronicled the selfish behavior represented throughout the animal kingdom in his book Evolution and Ethics. If moral truth is rooted in the evolved beliefs and opinions of individuals, why should anyone care about anyone other than themselves (or their own families or tribes), especially when selfless behavior typically results in a decrease in individual survivability? In a world such as this, selfless altruism makes little or no moral or practical sense.

Even Richard Dawkins admits, “Much as we might wish to believe otherwise, universal love and the welfare of the species as a whole are concepts which simply do not make evolutionary sense.” If naturalism is true, we live in a “dog eat dog,” “survival of the fittest” kind of world. Those who give are likely to be taken advantage of, those who learn to take what they can while giving back as little as possible will gain a distinct advantage. From this naturalistic, evolutionary perspective, it all comes down to out-manipulating your competition.

Truest Expressions of God

On the other hand, if Christianity is true, selflessness is to be expected as one of the truest expressions of the Christian God. Unlike other deities described in competing theistic worldviews, the Christian God is uniquely sacrificial and gracious. He doesn’t simply give us what we deserve. Instead, he extends kindness beyond the limits of our merit and gives us what we don’t deserve, even when there is nothing in it for him. “Grace” is unmerited favor; the truest and purest expression of selflessness.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9).

No other theistic system proposes such a God. In every other religious system, adherents earn their salvation through some form of “good works”: they do something for God, then God responds by doing something for them. There is no gift involved; there is simply a payment for services rendered. In these systems, believers act with an expectation of return. This is not true selflessness. The Christian worldview encourages believers to act without an expectation of return: act, even though your actions may be completely unrewarded in this life.

But we do this only because the Christian God acts first in this selfless behavior by offering salvation as a free gift, in spite of our unworthy, undeserved condition. This kind of selfless grace is what separates Christianity from every other theistic worldview. Why do we value selflessness when such behavior typically results in decreased survivability? Because we have been created in the image of God. Not just any God, but the one God who can truly account for selflessness. Selflessness points most reasonably to the Christian God of the Bible.