Can You Be Good Without God? The Moral Argument for God | Dr. Paul Gould

Summit Ministries

Can you be good without God? And if objective moral truths really exist, what explains them?

Dr. Paul Gould explores the philosophical case for objective morality and asks what ultimately grounds moral facts, values, duties, guilt, and our sense of moral obligation.

The question isn’t whether atheists can be good people—Gould readily acknowledges that they can. The deeper question is whether objective moral values can exist apart from God.

Could morality simply be a product of society and culture? Evolution? The universe itself? Or does our experience of an objective moral order point beyond humanity to a personal God?

  • Possible Discussion Questions
  • Recommended Resources
  • Do you think morality is objectively true, or is right and wrong ultimately determined by individuals, societies, or cultures? Why?
  • If objective moral truths exist, what best explains or grounds them? Does God provide the best explanation, or are there compelling alternatives?
  • What is the difference between asking whether someone can be a good person without believing in God and asking whether objective goodness can exist without God?

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