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Can an atheist be a good person? Can an atheist be meaningfully concerned with morality?

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TL;DR:

An atheist can be a good person and live in a way that society considers moral or decent. The real question is where moral standards come from in the first place and what a person’s ability to be good truly means.

what does the bible say?

A Christian acts morally out of the knowledge of the moral law given by God in His Word and a love for the Lawgiver Himself (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Morality is focused on personal principles regarding right and wrong behavior. The Bible is filled with examples and commands of what it means to be moral. A guiding principle is "Be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16). At the same time, an atheist can live in a way that society considers moral or decent. Atheists can develop a moral compass based on humanistic values, ethical reasoning, and societal norms, independent of religious beliefs. Studies have shown that both atheists and believers have a moral compass. However, an atheist’s morality comes to an end as there is no ongoing impetus for morality. The real question is where does morality come from in the first place? C.S. Lewis argued that the existence of a universal moral law points to the existence of a Lawgiver, which he identified as God. Without a universal moral law how could anyone know right from wrong?

from the old testament

  • Leviticus 19 has many commands to help us know right from wrong, and how to live morally. For example, Leviticus 19:2 says, "Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," and 19:18 says to "love your neighbor as yourself."
  • The Bible tells us that we are all sinful and that our good works are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Good behavior does not mean we are good at the core or that we are continually good.

from the new testament

  • The golden rule says “as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them" (Luke 6:31). We are all capable of doing good, but without a grounding for “good,” our behavior is reduced to mere preference rather than moral law.
  • "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16) is an all-encompassing guideline. God is our standard for what is good and how to act in goodness.

implications for today

Morality is focused on personal principles regarding right and wrong behavior. Ethics, although closely related, are focused on the standards of behavior that are expected of individuals within a particular group or community.

Those who deny God can follow good moral principles, but when God is removed from the equation, they are left without a source of understanding for what good moral principles are. They can’t give an adequate reason for believing in absolute moral principles. Morality is not mere instinct nor is it genetic. Evolutionary biology has not offered any viable explanation of how a moral code could originate through natural means.

We know that objective morals exist. For example, murdering the innocent is always wrong. If, as the moral relativist asserts, morality was subjective and only a matter of personal taste and opinion, then discussions about morals would be completely meaningless. The fact that we can judge another culture's values to be immoral proves that morals are universal, not specific to a given culture.

Rather than ask if an atheist can be moral, a more helpful discussion is to explore where our concept of morality comes from. It is evident that morality truly exists, and it exists outside of humanity. The only satisfactory answer for a transcendent moral law is the existence of a moral L awgiver.

understand

  • All of us can do good things, but that does not make us inherently good or good according to God’s standards.
  • An atheist can be moral or do good things, but the source of their morality is questioned.
  • Our good actions cannot save us; only trusting in God can.

reflect

  • How do you define morality, and where do you believe your moral compass comes from?
  • Have you ever questioned the source of your moral principles?
  • How does understanding that morality is set by God shape your view of good and evil?

engage

  • How do we know that moral standards are universal and not just a matter of personal preference or cultural norms?
  • What is the real difference between a believer and an atheist when it comes to moral behavior?
  • How do we see that morality is not simply a social construct, and what happens when we try to define right and wrong without a higher moral lawgiver?

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