Can We Be Good Without God?

Dr. Richard Dawkins, one of the world’s leading atheists, has said that humans don’t need to believe in God to be good. Though I don’t often see eye to eye with Dr. Dawkins, I actually agree with him on this—at least partially.

People from all sorts of false religions, including humanism and atheism, practice good deeds, such as aiding the poor, feeding the hungry, and fighting against human trafficking. Jesus even acknowledged humanity’s propensity for goodness when he said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father . . . give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11)!

People can still do good works even if they refuse to acknowledge God. God is good, and because humans are made in his image, even unbelievers have the capacity for compassion, empathy, and charity.

But can a person be perfectly good?

The Perfectly Good Question

Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden brought sin and death into the world. When we become human at the moment of fertilization, we all inherit that sin nature and fall short of God’s perfect goodness (Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 10:18; Romans 3:23). Since none of us are entirely good, no number of good works can change the fact that we must answer for our sin.

If someone saves 100 lives but murders 1 person, a judge will punish him based on the crime. Similarly, good works cannot redeem a person who has broken God’s law. The Bible says that only faith in Jesus Christ can make us righteous in God’s sight.

The Standard for Goodness

God is the absolute standard for what is good. Christians have a basis for understanding goodness through what God reveals about himself in his Word (Mark 10:18).

On the other hand, atheists like Dr. Dawkins appeal to their own fallible ideas about goodness but lack an absolute standard. Ironically, their worldview of atheism is built on materialism, the idea that only material things exist. Concepts such as good, evil, right, wrong, truth, and knowledge are not material. So by admitting that good exists (with or without God), Dr. Dawkins unwittingly appeals to the biblical worldview that he so vehemently despises.

Until unbelievers turn from their own fallible ideas and embrace the authority of Scripture, all their good deeds are like dirty rags in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). Only the redeeming work of Christ can present us blameless before God.