One of the areas that critics of Christianity focus on is in the area of personal morality and the idea that non Christians can be equally as good as Christians and that Christians can seem very superior about their moral standing in the community. Jesus tackles this issue repeatedly in his teachings and saves his biggest criticism even anger toward the religious leaders of his day for their air of pious superiority, their tendency to punish or condemn and make others feel bad about themselves.
Humans are clearly a mixed bag capable of extra-ordinary kindness, generosity and self sacrifice but also extreme cruelty and abuse. The argument is often put forward by critics that Humanitarian ideas are superior because they treat others as they themselves would wish to be treated but this is really only a reflection of the Golden rule already found in the Bible but alongside these 'do as you would be done by ideas' are secular elements which encourages us to self fulfillment. This philosophy has many positive aspects but puts individual choice and preferences at the heart of daily life instead of the resources that God places before us. Goodness becomes rather subjective when placed in the arena of individuality because it is often bound with a quest for personal satisfaction and pleasure sometimes to the point of harm. If there is a human desire for beauty, wonder and meaning it is a shared one and throughout history Christians have worked together with diverse peoples for the common good. Humanist centered ideas may encourage within it great acts of love, charity and kindness but these are not central to its creed which is often hampered by its implicit focus on personal identity, choice and rights which often work in opposition to it. Essentially you can choose your own truth.
The Christian creed in contrast makes an absolute truth claim about God making love and service to others its focal point and through a life of prayer followers of Jesus draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to help toward this aim. Rather ironically Christians are often accused of discrimination by denying rights and equality to groups such as women and gay people yet the majority of people who attend church are women and many Gay people derive great comfort and inspiration from the person of Jesus Christ not least because he identified with minority peoples and those who were rejected and marginalized in society. Gods love is available for all people regardless of who or what we are.
Jesus was an example of goodness and perfection, somebody we can admire and look to show us the pathway to a spiritual life, this liberates us into a freedom that is honest and real. Christianity is frank about its own shortcomings and gives us the practice of prayer that institutionalizes confession and humility. Whilst rights and equality are essential for human dignity they in themselves do not always bring freedom or fulfillment because rights need to be placed within a spiritual and moral framework otherwise they can become licence to power or to do as we please. This is why some people who are serving a life sentence for a serious crime can feel more freedom peace and wholeness when they place Christ at the centre of their being, than say for example a celebrity who on the surface may have everything going for them in terms of material wealth, fame and security but is living a life of stress and misery.
Secular humanism looks to each other for a conversation to renew what is ethical and good in society, it tends to ignore or minimise the effects of personal sin on the individual including its insidious nature and corrosive effect on the cohesion and fabric of a decent society. It often dismisses Christian comment on human behaviour as being moralistic or judgmental and prefers instead a relative rather that absolute view on what is moral and good. Christianity goes beyond the shaking of hands and being superficially agreeable to one another, its focus instead is deeper and addresses us in every respect including our secret behaviour and hidden thought life. Jesus confronts who we really are. These include inner struggles around ego, guilt, rejection, self esteem and our actions. In this we are required to embrace the blunt honesty of Jesus so that we can be honest about ourselves but whoever we are and whatever we do we believe that God loves us and wants to help and liberate us.
Humanism is optimistic that everyone can agree certain values which necessarily change to reflect more enlightened viewpoints whilst Jesus points us to a God whose characteristics are timeless and found in values such as Love, humility, righteousness justice and forgiveness. We look up to God and what is revealed to us through him as wisdom and goodness which have helped form the freedoms we enjoy today but how often are we influenced instead by the hubbub of conflicting ideas and opinions in a media driven age, where we seem powerless to resist the subtle manipulation of our sense of self. None of us are immune to these influences but we must routinely question and compare its worth and contribution to social stability and personal freedom against the teachings of Jesus. What we value as Christians is not derived from a political, media or philosophical elite but is absorbed instead from wisdom handed down through the centuries, honed from the real gritty experience of flawed people and reflected in inspired scripture.
It was just the same then, 2000 years ago as it is now for when we look across at one another we do not always see goodness. So the question is not "are Humanists better at being good than Christians" or "do secular groups do more charity than Christians" because in reality there are people doing good in all sections of society. We do not even ask whether we are better or more righteousness than our atheist neighbour but rather by placing Jesus at the centre of our life in prayer and devotion we ask "are we a better person today than we were yesterday". "Do we feel more at peace" "Does Jesus give us the resources to live a more fulfilled and challenging life and does that enable us to be more loving and good than we were before". Christians are to be righteous but not self righteous but by inspiration in love of Jesus rather than duty and blindly following a set of rules. God gives us the free gift of grace and we too according to Jesus's teachings are to show grace, love, understanding, tolerance and forgiveness to others.
The Jesus life calls us to develop virtue and character so that we may serve others more effectively rather than focus on our own individual identity and self-actualization. We then become more interested in what God requires of us in order to build his kingdom here on earth. You do not have to be a Christian to be good but the Christian testimony is that Jesus transforms lives for the better sometimes dramatically sometimes very gradually and when we commit ourselves to him with all our heart mind and soul, we cannot help but be changed to follow his way.