When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Someone recently asked the question: “Is it possible to be good without believing in God?” The answer is: It depends. It all depends on the meaning of the word “good”. Is it possible to be "friendly" without believing in God? It depends. It depends on the meaning of the word “friendly”.
I can define “good”. You can too. And we may actually find ourselves in perfect agreement, but totally wrong.
This is where Christ comes in. This is where God comes in. The Lord taught the people many things, including “loving our enemies” and “doing good to those who harm you”. What He did was teach us (remind us) where "good" comes from: from God.
This is where Christ comes in. This is where God comes in. The Lord taught the people many things, including “loving our enemies” and “doing good to those who harm you”. What He did was teach us (remind us) where "good" comes from: from God.
Without the anchor of God we can easily call good “bad” and bad “good”. Without the Rock of God, we can easily be all over the map with regards to being “good”. As history has shown, we can justify just about anything and call just about anything “good”.
Are you good? “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (1Jn 4:10).
Recently, an atheist who teaches math in a public school wrote the following to me: “You are embarrassing yourself…atheists are laughing at you.”
Interesting…this is coming from someone who calls himself a “friendly” non-believer. I find it utterly amazing and humorous at how someone can refute another person's argument with a non-argument. But what I find even more amazing is how some people define themselves (i.e. "Friendly"). This is not surprising to me; after all, without God we can call ourselves whatever we want.
Well, embarrassing oneself means nothing. There have been plenty of wise people who looked like fools. And we all know that laughter is typically a fool’s last recourse (Risus abundat in ore stultorum = laughter is abundant in the mouths of fools).
Here is a good lesson. Christians are not called by Christ to laugh at people (I can’t recall a single scriptural quote where the Lord laughed at someone). Rather, Christians are called by Christ to laugh with people. But if we don’t have Him as our model of life, then on what shall we base good upon? The whims of men. Anything goes. Nothing is wrong.
Here is a good lesson. Christians are not called by Christ to laugh at people (I can’t recall a single scriptural quote where the Lord laughed at someone). Rather, Christians are called by Christ to laugh with people. But if we don’t have Him as our model of life, then on what shall we base good upon? The whims of men. Anything goes. Nothing is wrong.
Now we are ready to hear John Lennon’s song and truly imagine a world without religion; that is, a world full of people who take pleasure at laughing at others. How peaceful do you think the world would truly be?
Another atheist (not the same individual) called me (and every catholic) every possible profane name in the book. What I found most interesting about this e-mail was what was printed at the very bottom: “You may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone.”
What exactly did the Lord teach his people? How to be good, how to be honest, and how to love. These things are obviously not very obvious.
P.S. Either God is or He is not. Fifty-fifty. Why? Here is my apologia. Every arguments made “against” God may actually be used in favor of God. For every argument that appears to refute God, a similar argument can be made to support God.
What really drives us to believe or not to believe in God are not so much the arguments made but the way we approach them.
