Letter: Can one be good without God?

The July 23 Gazette article 'Being good without God” caught my attention because it is actually impossible to be good without God. Theologians and philosophers have discussed this topic for centuries. It is called the moral argument and it is impossible in this space to adequately explain the moral argument and argue against the ideas expressed in the article, but these ideas raise many questions.

I am sympathetic to Alan Diehl's spiritual dilemma, but how does the atheistic view answer the questions parents have when their child dies? How does atheism qualify as an authentic belief system if Christianity doesn't? What criteria do we use to authenticate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? These are important questions that Christianity and atheism must answer.

To quote from the article, 'part of being good without God is partnering with people you don't necessarily agree with.” How does one define good? Is it your good or mine? For example, in our culture your neighbors could invite you over to have dinner and in other cultures your neighbors might invite you over to be dinner. Good and evil are not relative concepts to be decided on an individual's whim. That route leads to nihilism.

JoLynn Glanzer

Cedar Rapids