Starting this morning adds begin appearing in New York City subways which tell us that for millions of people, the answer is 'yes'. Following past campaigns in Dallas, Chicago and other locations around the nation this advertising campaign for Greg Epstein's book of the same name, is clearly meant to provoke, not educate. That may be good for book sales, but renders this initiative far less interesting than it otherwise might be. In fact, it looks and sounds remarkably similar to the kinds of pro-God campaigns which annoy those who sponsored this one!
The add campaign is mounted by the "New York City Coalition for Reason", whose name alone is problematic. It suggests, in precisely the way that pro-God groups with names like "union for decency" and "coalition for American values" suggest that atheists are amoral, un-American, or indecent, that atheists are reasonable and theists are not.
What do you think? Can be people be good without God? I ask in two senses and eagerly await the discussion that follows. First, can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some kind of faith in some kind of being greater than themselves? Second, can people be truly happy, as in "I'm good with that", without believing in something they call God?
It's clear to me that the answer is 'no' to the first question, but that in which someone believes may be far different from the standard personal "Guy-In-The-Sky" which many people think of when talking about God. As to the second, I am really not sure. I think it depends upon the circumstances of one's life and how seriously they take the concept of gratitude. Ultimately, it is gratitude which is the key to happiness and although I feel deeply grateful to God, I think the gratitude part is more connected to my being happy than the being to whom it is directed.
Your turn....
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
Can we be good with God? Yes in a moral sense, but not in a spiritual sense, if we don't seek, and learn of God.
Your Name
November 12, 2009 8:10 PM
Your thoughts are typical christian thoughts.
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God says that's good.
Your Name
November 12, 2009 8:10 PM
I want to know your own personal thoughts about God.
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Like what?
Your Name
November 12, 2009 8:10 PM
I don't want you quoting anything from the scriptures...
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Nobody tells me what to bring to the table. I don't tell anybody else what evidence to bring, and nobody else tells me what evidence to bring.
Your Name
November 12, 2009 8:10 PM
... I just want to know where you stand with God...
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I stand rightly.
Cliff Wells
November 24, 2009 4:12 PM
If you believe in free will, then you must believe that people can be good without God.
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According to standard?
Cliff Wells
November 24, 2009 4:12 PM
Personally I doubt that religious belief creates any detectable pattern of behavior in people.
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How should it be detectable, and by whom?
Cliff Wells
November 24, 2009 4:12 PM
Individuals seem to vary in behavior independently of whatever belief system they subscribe to.
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Yes, the murderer and I think very differently, and, thus, our conduct is very different.
Cliff Wells
November 24, 2009 4:12 PM
The exact way they justify their behavior might become more predictable but the behavior itself doesn't change.
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According to whose standard?
According to standard? -- -- > According to whose standard?
Mr Incredible: I apologize if my prose is a little too dense. It's clear you did not understand my comment at all. What I was attempting to convey is that given two people, it's not possible to predict in any meaningful way their behavior based solely upon their religious persuasion.
Since you mention murderers, I'll point out that prisons are full of murderers of all religious persuasions (not all of them converted after the fact). Does that make my point clearer?
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