Christian Apologetics Alliance

answering seekers, equipping Christians, and demonstrating the truth of the Christian worldview

  • About the CAA
    • Statement of Faith
    • Leadership and Ministries
      • Blog Leadership
    • Authors
      • Write for Us
    • Join the CAA
    • Friends and Partners
      • How to Partner with the CAA
    • Donations
  • Resources
    • CAA Chapters
      • CAA Chapter Leaders and Locations
        • CAA Huntsville Chapter
          • CAA Huntsville Chapter – Local Resources
      • Churches: Host a CAA Chapter
      • Chapter Application Form
    • CAA Speaking Team
    • CAA Community
    • Apologetics for Parents
    • Apologetics Bloggers Alliance
    • CAA Catechism
    • Apologetics Certificate Programs
    • Christian Apologetics Search Engine
    • Events | Ratio Christi
    • Ask the Alliance
    • Media
      • Logos
      • Banners
      • Wallpaper
  • EQUIPPED: The CAA Quarterly
  • Contact Us

Can We Be Good Without God?

November 16, 2013 by CAA Catechism

Can-we-be-good-without-God

[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.]

[Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.]

Summary in 400 words or less:

This question needs to be approached in the context that the skeptic poses it. As a Christian, it is tempting to go right to Romans 3:10 and respond that there is no one who is good. However, taking this approach misses the intent of the question. The skeptic is most likely not looking for a debate on the reality of human sin nature, but he or she is probably arguing that it is possible to live a moral life without any type of belief in God. Atheists can care for the poor or be kind to their neighbors just as well as Christians can, even though they don’t have a belief in the divine.

A skeptic who believes in objective morality believes that being kind to his or her neighbors is a good thing. Jesus taught the same in Luke 10:27, and the Golden Rule is found in various forms in every major culture in history. However, what basis is the skeptic using to justify that being kind to his or her neighbors, or any other rule, is true to reality?

The issue in question is not whether the skeptic can be good without God (they can). The issue is whether they can believe there is a true good if there is nothing in reality that is truly good. In the Christian worldview, morality is rooted in the nature of who God is: Golden Rule love. Even if the entire world were completely selfish, Christianity would still teach that selfishness is wrong because it is contrary to the Golden Rule love that describes God’s nature.

For an atheistic worldview, it does not seem that there is any foundation beyond evolved or nurtured human preferences. If that is the only option, then the atheist is left with the question of why one set of preferences is better than another. That is the real question. It is not that you cannot do good things without God, it is that a worldview without God is not able to explain how those things are not a matter of mere preference, but are “truly” good.

Scripture for YouVersion: Romans 3:10, Luke 10:27

Short audio/video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT5UVjf9NXE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLnh6sJqTuc

Three questions (one fill-in-the-blank, one multiple choice, and one discussion question):

1. It is important that a person’s worldview is able to explain _______ it’s good to act in certain ways. (Answer: “why”)

2. Is it possible to do good works without a belief in God?

a) Yes

b) No

c) It depends on the circumstance

(Answer: ‘a’ or ‘c’)

3. To what extent do atheists steal the Christian worldview when they determine what they want to say are morally good actions?

References for further reading:

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/can-we-be-good-without-god

http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2014/01/09/no_good_without_god.html

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1e3n4m6ezesb5a/Can%20We%20Be%20Good%20without%20God.pptx?dl=0&force_no_progressive=1

Collaboration notes:

Collaborators: Zak Schmoll, Samuel Ronicker, Maryann Spikes
[Add your name here only if you have created this topic or contributed valuable content or editing to this topic.]

[Add a copyright-free, relevant image to the body of the post (click the Add Media button), as well as going back in and selecting it as the featured image.]

Type “YES” and contact Maryann when at least three collaborators agree this is ready to be shared with YouVersion:

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Filed Under: CAA Catechism, CAA Original, Can We Be Good without God?

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search

What Interests You?

  • The Problem of Evil, Suffering, and Hell
  • Apologetics Methods, Tactics, & Logic
    • Incarnational Apologetics
  • Arguments for God
  • Science, Reason, and Faith
  • The Reliability of the Bible
    • Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences
  • The Historicity of Jesus & the Resurrection
  • Worldviews & World Religions
    • Evaluating Islam
    • The New Atheism
    • Post-modernism, Relativism, and Truth
  • Imaginative Apologetics
    • Fiction Book, Movie, & TV Reviews
  • Contemporary Issues
  • Youth and Parents
  • Full List of Categories

Archives

Christian Apologetics Alliance is a Top 100 Christian Blog

Unity Statement

In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity. The Christian Apologetics Alliance (CAA) is united in our Statement of Faith. The CAA does not, as an organization, have positions on many of the doctrinal or theological debates that take place within the church. Our primary concern is to promote the gracious, rational defense of the central claims of Christianity and the critique of opposing systems of thought. The CAA joyfully welcomes Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and diverse Protestant believers, and we are committed to treating all these traditions with respect in our community.

Copyright © 2011 - 2020 Christian Apologetics Alliance