By What Standard?

Secularists insist that people can be good without believing in God. They’ll say they don’t need to know there’s someone watching them to do good and avoid wrong. And they’re right, well, sort of. They do not need to know or acknowledge God to be good, but the reason why they are good is only explained by the fact that the biblical God is real. What does this mean?

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People from all different religions, including secular ones, can and do good deeds. They feed the hungry, provide disaster relief, and help the poor. Anyone can do good deeds, even if they don’t acknowledge God. This is because God is good and every human—whether they acknowledge him or not—is made in his image. So we have the capacity for compassion, empathy, and charity.

Yes, people can do “good” without God but not consistent with what they say they believe. Unbelievers can do good things without believing in God because they’re made in God’s image. Even Pharoah, after his house was afflicted because of Abraham’s deception, confronted Abraham about why he lied (Genesis 12:18–19). But unbelievers have no ultimate basis for their goodness!

Think about it: Why should we help the poor and needy? Why shouldn’t we just selfishly hoard our resources and look out for “number one”? You might say, “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

But why is it the right thing to do? Often, what’s “right” and “wrong” are based on ever-changing feelings and emotions. In other words, “It makes me feel good.” But that’s totally arbitrary and means that there isn’t really right or wrong.

Without God, there’s no ultimate standard for right and wrong.

Without God, there’s no ultimate standard for right and wrong. The book of Judges gives a shocking example of what happens when “everyone does what is right in his own eyes.” The book shows an increasing slide into moral depravity as the Jews began to forget the God who brought them out of Egypt. Most of the Jews began living like practical atheists. They didn’t constantly do wrong things and sometimes recognized what was right like when they were morally outraged about what happened in Gibeah to the priest’s concubine in chapter 19. Ultimately, though, it seemed like they lost any basis to truly judge right and wrong.

All of this points to the reality that God is good, and we are not. Because of sin, our only source of true and worthwhile righteousness comes from God through Jesus Christ.

Adapted from Answers with Ken Ham radio program’s “Good Without God?” and “By What Standard?”