Art: Black Fire by Marian Lishman
"If you need the threat of eternal torture to be a good person, you are an asshole."
I've seen this sentiment crop up in many atheist forums, postulating that the person who is "good" because God commands them to do so under threat of divine retribution is, in fact, not "good" at all. Let's address this meme by unpacking three misconceptions it's built upon:
The point of Christianity is to be "Good."
Christians are only "good" because of the threat of hell
People can be "good" enough to avoid eternal damnation
To address the first point, it's worth noting that Christianity was founded and is currently fueled by "bad Christians." The Scriptures are replete with examples of men and women that we'd have difficulty unabashedly hailing as "good." Noah was a drunk, Jacob a trickster, King David a murderer and adulterer, and the Apostle Paul (responsible for penning 28% of the New Testament) once persecuted and killed Christians.
As the church grew, more examples arose. Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, Bavinck, Lewis, etc. Names that echo throughout the church halls today are tainted with any amount of digging. I guarantee that, if you seek, you will find examples of when great Christians didn't live up to the standard of "goodness." Today, we wouldn't be hard-pressed to imagine examples of Christians that don't live up to the lofty heights of "goodness."
Thank goodness that's not what we're doing.
The first faulty premise of this atheist meme is that the point of Christianity is to be "good." The fundamental tenet of Christianity is that no one is fundamentally good. Humans are marred by nature, cursed, and polluted by darkness (sin), and everyone deserves eternal punishment. Our faith acknowledges that, while individuals must make an effort to behave better, their efforts eventually fall short, and they must be saved.
According to Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Everyone, both believers and nonbelievers. Furthermore, Ephesians 2:8–9 states that "you have been saved through grace. This is a gift from God, not something you did on your own. Not the outcome of works, so that no one may boast." We are, thusly, all wicked at heart and will experience eternal suffering unless God is kind enough to redeem us, regardless of who we are, what we do, whether it be good or bad, or what our reasons are for doing those things.
We are not powerful or holy enough to cross the gulf between God and us. More to the point, I can't be sufficient enough to earn my way into heaven. This is why it's such a sweet wonder realizing that Christ's arms stretched out on that cross bridge the gulf between man and God. And while other Christians might take this as permission to live libertine lives (in direct opposition to Romans 6:1-2), I take it as an opportunity to die to myself for the sake of others. The process of growing away from my sinful self will undoubtedly have many hiccups, but it's not about what "good" I can do but about a good God doing something in me.
This leads neatly to my second point: Christians aren't only "good" because of the threat of hell. Those who live such lives falsely take the name "Christian" upon themselves. They have not been delivered from the bondage of sin because they believe moralistic box-ticking will save them from the fires of damnation. This leads to anxious lives and often outbursts onto others due to an inability to quell the turmoil within.
In reality, the good news of Christianity is that Christ has already paid the price for us. Hell does not threaten the believer, so we cast off the works of darkness (Romans 13:12) not because we're terrified of being cast into hell but because we've been set free from its maw. It is not the dread of eternal torment that keeps me following God. It is the profound realization that He loves me, and I was made in His image to reflect His love into the world. (Genesis 1:27)
To the third point, the knee-jerk response to such joy may cynically be: "So what? I can love people without God. I can be 'good' without God. Why do I need your Savior?" Here's the thing, no honest Christian would ever claim that people who don't belong to God are incapable of good. Great good! But we're talking about two standards of good when it comes to discussing the hereafter and God.
Christ's words illuminate the problem helpfully:
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
-Matthew 19:16–26 (ESV)
In his inquiry to Jesus, the rich man made several fundamental errors:
He failed to grasp the true meaning of the law ("What good deed must I do?")
He operates on the erroneous premise that one may earn one's way to paradise by being a good person.
He ironically bears false witness by neglecting to admit where he might have shortcomings when it came to obeying the law perfectly.
He neglected to look inside for the specific idols he loved more than God (in this case, money). Instead, he looked for outward confirmation of his goodness through his deeds.
I'll break these down briefly.
The law had many multifaceted uses, but its primary two were to reveal God's holy character and that no one can keep the law, as everyone falls short of God's standard of holiness. Herein lies the fundamental flaw of measuring up to other humans based on our "goodness." It's easy to cherry-pick examples you compare favorably against. But compared to the author of all creation, he who is perfect in every way? You'll always be imperfect.
Jesus, tellingly, perfectly diagnoses the young man's actual hurdle to achieving perfection. He wants to do it himself. By asking, "What good deed must I do?" he fails to recognize that no good deed could ever measure up to the standard of perfection. All other religions have no answer for this problem, so they set up arbitrary scales. Christianity, however, has a Savior whose perfect blood atones for our impurity.
Any honest person, when reviewing the laws of God, will concede that they've stumbled or even face planted when it comes to obeying the law. That's okay! Jesus comes alongside the fallen and picks us up. He offers us the chance to trade our counterfeit idols for His love. It's a remarkably stunning exchange that only the truly reprobate would reject.
So when I see someone who says, "I was a terrible person before, but then God turned me around." I don't see an asshole. I see someone who finally realized how lost they are without Jesus and decided it was time to bow down to the ultimate good.
In Christ,
RJ