Is it Possible to be Good without God?

Is it Possible to Be Good without God?

If you believe in God this is a loaded question. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. In 1 John 3:4 we find that people who sin are breaking the law (the commandments of God) In Mathew 5:28 we find out if you even look with lust you are guilty of adultery. In Matthew 5:21-22 we are told that just being angry is like murder. For the many who say we are not subject to the law in the New Testament this is Jesus talking. He moved the standard higher. Christians rely on the redemption of Jesus (Romans 6:23) to save them from judgment. Thus, to a Christian you can’t be Good, but you can have the slate whipped clean by the redemption supplied by Jesus.

This is also a problem for people who are not a Christian, but they hope their good out weights the bad. “We all fall short”?

If you are an unbeliever, you have a much larger problem. A famous philosopher named Dostoevsky once said, “if there is no god, everything is permissible”. Yes, folks without God everything is relative. And there is no such thing as absolute truth.

Anything is either right or wrong, whatever you like. Everything is a matter of personal choice or consensus. Without an absolute standard, entire croups of people can be killed because of a consensus. Statements that are normally obvious somehow become incomprehensible.

1) You should not murder. (unless the person in question makes things inconvenient for me, or perhaps I do not like them, or they don’t agree with me)

2) You should not lie. (unless telling the truth will keep me from getting what I want or what if I think it will make others feel better….)

3) You should honor your father and mother. (unless they disagree with you or won’t give you what you want.)

4) You should not steal. (unless other people have more than you do)

We are becoming more and more secular (atheistic in behavior). Many are convinced that killing unborn babies is OK (60,000,000+ killed so far). Many are convinced that they are entitled to the labors of other people’s work (stealing). Many of us are allowing the government to teach our children what they think is right or wrong.

Philosophy Note: The statement “there is no such thing as absolute truth” is a statement of truth. It contradicts itself.

Has there ever been a time when things were this crazy?

I would suggest that the real standard is God’s word. When someone does what we all know is wright everyone is better off. Romans 2:14 states the same thing. God’s law is built into us. The core part of the moral law supplied to us by God is The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). It would be a good exorcise to list the Ten Commandments, then list ways they have been distorted or abandoned.

Finally, what are we going to do about it if anything?