In an article posted by the News and Observer in Raleigh, NC this week, Yonat Shimron wrote of families in the Triangle area meeting on Sundays to "get together and offer each other support for rearing children without religion."
The article Parents gather to nurture non-belief tells the story of these families who want to raise there children to be open-minded and willing to ask questions. I am all for teaching children to think, as a student pastor I encourage our students to think through what they believe, to ask questions and seek answers. This is not a counter Christian idea but is firmly rooted in the understanding that Jesus Christ is the truth. If one wants truth, one can find absolute truth. But there in lies the problem with the concept of morality without God.
Niki Ashmont, a social worker from Zebulon is quoted in the article, "People think if you don't believe in God you have no morals. That's just not the case." The question we must be open to is, where do morals come from? How does a society determine its morals? Can one culture determine something to be right and another the same to be wrong? Can a tribe in Africa approve of murder and it be ok? What if a person from that tribe came to the US where murder is wrong, would it be ok for him to do it since his society has determined it to be a virtue rather than a vice?
These are questions that an open mind must ask. But just as it is vital to be open to questions, it is vital to be open to where the answers may come from. So here is the main question, Can one have morals without God? I say absolutely no.
When there is no God, man is no longer created in his image. As a Christian my worldview is shaped by the understanding that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Dr. Paige Patterson, while speaking at Richland Creek, my home church, submitted that the most important verse in this Bible was Genesis 1:1, without which nothing else would matter. (Click Here for the message)Why? Because all things find their beginning in him, including morality, right and wrong.
So what if there was no God, why would that cause morality to cease? Or to put it another way, why would there no longer be right and wrong? IF God did not create the heavens and the earth, then we and the rest of the world are a product of random. Random has no meaning unless it is given meaning by an authority who can rightfully give that meaning, i.e. God. But if there is no God even our intentions and thoughts to assign meaning to random cannot be valid since the thoughts are a product of random themselves.
In other words the whole world including our own thoughts are a product of random chance with no purpose, no meaning, and ultimately will pass into useless memory.
Which then raises the question how can these parents in the article, "raise caring, responsible, ethical children." I would submit they can be caring. I would also agree that they can be responsible. But they cannot be ethical because there is not such thing as ethics apart from God, and for that matter our definition of caring and responsible are up for grabs because all are simply a product of random with no real value or meaning. In order for them to be ethical or "Moral" they must borrow parts of a Christian worldview and biblical ideas to support their desires and decelerations.
If taken to the logical conclusions raising moral children in an absence of God is impossible, unless you borrow morality and the difference between right and wrong from the scriptures. Anyone can hold whatever belief they want, but please ask questions before you live out that belief. Ask real, hard questions and be ready for real, hard answers.
The scriptures say in John 1, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God....and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus Christ is truth in the flesh. As the creator he is the beginning and end of knowledge. Since we were created by God in His image we can reason, be creative, and have real emotion, because God himself does.
Which leaves you with the ultimate question. If I can know truth through Christ then that means I must admit that I have sinned against a holy God and need a Savior to take the penalty for sin, or I will justly punished for eternity for my rebellion. The Truth, however, provided a sacrifice to take that penalty for you. Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life died a sinner's death so that those who by faith believe in him thought they have lived a sinner's life can have the righteousness of Christ. And that is the Truth.
