Religion Holds No Patent on Good

Religion holds no patent on goodness. Nor does a lack of religious beliefs ensure that someone is evil. The answer is not that simple. People are quite capable of “being good”, or “being bad” with or without “God”. Most people are a little bit of both.

In the hit Broadway musical, “Wicked”, the “good” witch, Glenda, asks: “Are people born wicked, or is wickedness thrust upon them?” The question is posed as all of Oz rejoices at the death of the “wicked” witch, Elphaba. Those who have seen the show or read the book are left with no clear answer to that question, though the show makes it clear that neither witch was entirely either. Both had good qualities and both were capable of wickedness… of evil.

The book of Genesis, starts with an explanation of the origins of life: “In the beginning, God created… and it was good.” Whatever else follows in subsequent verses, the Bible makes that much clear. What God creates is good.

If the question is in relation to “being”, then the answer is easy. Whether a person acknowledges God or not, as Creator, God has already impacted that person’s life for the good. As a person of faith, I believe that each person is born with goodness and worth simply because of the One who created and creates.

If the question is whether people can “be good”, in the sense of behaving themselves, living moral and responsible lives without the benefit of religion as a moral compass, the answer may not be quite as easy. One might assume that “having religion” makes it easier to “be good”, but the scriptures are filled with examples of terribly human people who seek to be faithful to the God of Israel, and who fail terribly, over and over again.

His faith in God, which was real and deep, did not keep King David from making terrible choices with terrible consequences. Was David evil? Surely not, though some of his actions certainly were far from “good”. Human beings have a capacity to be (or behave) both good and evil, depending on the situation and circumstances.

Susan L. Nelson, from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, in a book review of “Evil and Christian Ethics” by Gordon Graham writes: “The Christian narrative places human history within the larger context of a cosmic battle between good and evil, where we are assured that evil does not have the last word.”

“Having God” might not make it easier to “be good”. However, having God- as revealed in Jesus Christ- allows for grace and mercy when wickedness is thrust upon those who seek to be faithful. Most of all, having faith in Christ gives the ultimate hope that, in the cosmic battle between good and evil, good will prevail. According to Gordon Graham, that is the motivation we need to resist the evil, both within us, and outside of us.