Be Good, For Goodness Sake? Part III

The American Humanist Association ad says, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake." They mean that you don't need to believe in "a god" to be good.

So far, I've argued that there is no such thing as "good" apart from a God Who establishes the objective moral standard of right and wrong. Without a god "good" is a meaningless word. The individual is free to come up with his own subjective standard for his behavior.

Today I am thinking about the question, "Why believe in a god?" I think there are some very good reasons.

1. Because this complex and interdependent universe appears to have been created on purpose. This implies a Creator Who is greater than the creation. (While the theories of evolution may be popular with those who would like to escape these implications, they actually fly in the face of all empirical evidence.)
2. Because humans have a sense of right and wrong. This implies a Creator Who is a moral being. In fact, the human sense that life will extend beyond the destruction of his physical being, that life has a purpose beyond mere survival and that justice should be rendered against evil - these all point to God.
3. Because the Bible, written over some 1600 years by more than 40 human authors, purports to be messages from the Creator for His human creatures. This collection is full of diversity in style, literary genre and cultural background, but is unified in pointing to Jesus Christ as the center of God's program for the redemption of mankind.
4. Because Jesus was born 2000 years ago, claimed to be the Divine Savior, and proved it by raising from the dead after three days in the grave. This was attested by hundreds of eyewitnesses and is the best documented event of history in spite of the fact that it has been attacked continuously by skeptics from the time of Jesus to the present.

What evidence can an atheist bring to suggest that there is NOT a God? He can try to explain how the things that exist might have come into existence, but he cannot demonstrate these theories to be true.

The fact that about 99.9 percent of the world's population believes that there is some sort of God ought to give an atheist pause.

At this point he can do no better than to say, "There's probably not a god." They hope not, anyway.

God says,

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. (Psalms 14:1)

Merry Christmas!