Resurgence » God Systematic Theology Biblical Theology Doctrine

Pastor Mark’s latest column for the Washington Post’s On Faith column is now up. The question posed to him was:

Is there good without God? Can people be good without God? How can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some sort of belief in a being which is greater than they are? Where do concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, come from if not from religion? From where do you get your sense of good and evil, right and wrong?

In response, Pastor Mark points to the Imago Dei, the biblical teaching that God made man in his own image.

Even those who do not believe in a god, or worship Jesus as the only God, cannot altogether erase the deep imprint of right and wrong because God stamped it on their very nature so that, despite being marred by sinful rebellion, it cannot be denied or ignored. In fact, we each appeal to this moral law every time evil is done against us; we appeal for something more than merely the survival of the fittest, where might makes right and morality is determined by those holding power. Therefore, we image God by respecting all of human life, particularly the weak, oppressed, sick, elderly, poor, unborn, and racial and cultural minorities because God values them as his image bearers.

You can read “Why Bad People Do Good Things” in it’s entirety at the Washington Post.