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I can be good without God - Thought Catalogue 4

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An article from Thought Catalog (link at the end) proclaims:

I can be good without God.

“There were many lessons taught in my religion class. In retrospect, I think that the purpose of my religion class is to teach the values of the Catholic Church and to foster a good individual. I am in full support to that end, which is to be a good individual. However, I don’t like the idea that the motivational force behind it is the reward of salvation or the punishment of eternal suffering; mainly because it means that the only thing keeping a person decent is the promise of a divine reward. For me, being a good person is a choice anyone can make, regardless of belief.”

RESPONSE

This is a significant rejection of God or Christianity. But it contains significant misunderstandings. 

Misunderstanding 1 The Christian message

The writer above understands that Christian message as this: the motivational force for doing good is the reward of salvation or the punishment of eternal suffering. 

Their (mis)understanding can be summarised as

I DO GOOD THEREFORE GOD LOVES ME and WILL REWARD ME.

This is not the Christian Message. Sadly, some churches teach this but it is wrong. The Christian message, the gospel, is this

GOD LOVES ME AND ACCEPTS ME IN JESUS THEREFORE I DO GOOD

Here are two passages so you can see it for yourself

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Notice in this second passage the good comes after the salvation. The readers have been saved - already - because they trusted in Jesus’ and his death for them.

See also Romans 5:8-10, Romans 8:1-2, Colossians 1:18-20 and many more!

Misunderstanding 2: The goal of Christianity

The writer above says the goal of their religion classes was to teach the values of the Catholic Church. I’m very, very sorry to hear this was the teaching and this was the goal. 

For the goal of Christianity is that each person might be reunited to God as their loving Father through the death of Jesus for their sins. 

Consider these words spoken by Jesus.

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3.

Or Jesus’ response to the disciples' worries when he says he is leaving them. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:3-4

Jesus’ goal is not morality but a relationship with him that carries on into eternity. From this relationship flows a changed life.  

Misunderstanding 3: Morality

The writer states that anyone can be a good person regardless of belief. That is so true. And yet not true. For the good we do, or don’t do, springs directly from what we believe is good or not good. 

Consider, if someone does something against their conscience we generally say that this is a bad thing. Why? Their actions are out of step with the conscience or their beliefs. 

In this, we implicitly recognise that what we consider is good or not good or grey is informed by what we believe. 

Our belief might have been formed by our parents, our culture, our community, our religion or whatever and most likely all of these mingled together. But, regardless of how they are formed, they define what is good and not good. 

So, then, how do we know what is good? Just what agrees with our current culture? But then, we’d have no basis to demand change in cultural practices. What’s popular? But then we’d have no basis to say that the majority are in the wrong? On what basis can a person say something is good or not good? What our parent’s taught us? Same problem.

Christianity’s answer to this is that ultimately God defines what is good for he made us and the world. But we don’t meet his standard of goodness. Not, a single one of us. Except for Jesus. Which is why he came to die on our behalf to bring us back to God.