
Taken alone, the title is true. However, in this context, what people mean is, "As long as you aren't doing super bad things and are nice, what more could anyone ask?" Such people believe that if they don't personally care about this or that wrongdoing, then it doesn't matter. You and I do not get to decide what matters though, if God exists. His expectations are what matters. So the question is not whether being a good person is the goal, but how good of a person one must be. To know the answer to that, we need more information about what is at stake.

If Heaven and Hell exist and are eternal, then nothing more could be at stake. Eternity is on the line. And if so, our standards of good and evil are nowhere near as important as God's, who is the judge. Therefore, if He says that it is evil to believe in false Gods or sleep with your girlfriend/boyfriend, then you better listen, or suffer the consequences! You, like many, may be under the impression that God just wants you to be nice and friendly. If so, you are sorely mistaken according to the Bible. He will not pardon you for being a coward, or greedy, or selfish, or lazy, simply because you have a positive attitude.

Therefore, seek out the truth about God and his expectations, or suffer the consequences. I beg you to value your life and take this matter seriously, that you might be saved and receive the great gifts that God has in store for those who love him.


Being a Good Person is All That Really Matters

The mistake made by asking this question is obsessing over far-flung possibilities rather than considering the decisions we must make_._ That is, given what you do know, what course of action are you morally responsible for taking? Is radical scepticism that leads to complete inaction a reasonable response to not having complete certainty and knowledge?

- We all know that the Universe has existed before us—we are not self-existent. Unsurprisingly then, we have limited knowledge.
- We also know that our senses, combined with our reasoning, seem to give us reliable information for acting in the world.
- Finally, we each have an acute awareness that we ought to treat our fellow creatures certain ways, and not other ways.

Will you reject all that you do have and pretend to be helpless, or will you accept your position and behave properly? If you humble yourself by accepting your position, you might consider whether there is one with complete knowledge who is also behind your conscience. Therefore, would you be justified before God if you did not seek him nor help those in need because you wanted to have more information than you do already?


Can You Trust Your Own Reasoning and Senses?

This question is best answered by another question: Is it absolutely true that there is no absolute truth? If you answer yes, then there is one absolutely true thing, and you are wrong. If you answer no, then there is absolute truth.

If you are still confused, if there was no truth, or we could not know it, you would not understand what I have written in this very sentence. The fact that we both understand things shows that we can know things, and if there are things to know, there is some truth which is not just whatever we want it to be.

I also caution you to keep in mind that beliefs can be true or false. The fact that people can believe one thing or another about a matter does not mystically make it impossible to know the truth of it. Equally, facts are not things which require no belief in them because they are so obvious—what is considered fact by society at large can change. Once, the fact that there are only males and females was agreed upon. Now, it is a hotly contested issue, but that does not make the truth of the matter somewhere in the middle or foggy.


Is There Absolute Truth?

People both young and old think that there must be a “higher power” or God, but they think they will be embarrassed if they go any further with their belief. It might come as a surprise then that there are extremely well thought out arguments for God being real, and perfectly reasonable answers to sceptical questions and objections from much of the scientific community.

One argument is the [design argument](/articles/the-design-argument), which is simply that the universe must have a designer, since it is carefully arranged and works in an intricate, orderly way. You can read more about these arguments in [Proofs of God’s Existence](/articles/proof-of-gods-existence).

Great minds for millennia, such as Isaac Newton, have believed in God in a very rational way, so you do not have to be afraid of leaving your brain at the door or “just having faith,” as though faith opposed to reason would be a good thing.


You're Underestimating the Arguments for God's Existence


Agnostics do not know whether God exists. One type of agnostic says it is impossible to know whether God exists, but the other just is not sure. The atheism page will also be very helpful to agnostics.


Agnosticism

Being a Good Person is All That Really Matters

Can You Trust Your Own Reasoning and Senses?

Is There Absolute Truth?

You're Underestimating the Arguments for God's Existence

Atheism