ACROSS BELIEFS / REASON · MORALITY · MEANING

Christianity & secular thought

Explore the positive claims people make about a life without religious belief. Humanism is one starting point, not a label for every nonreligious person.

01 / BEGIN WITH THE CLAIMS

Meaning, morality and the question of God.

Choose a question. Read both starting points. Then follow the study.

Can people be good?

CHRISTIAN STARTING POINT

No fallen person is righteous by nature. God's image remains; common grace enables beneficial acts that cannot justify us.

  • Romans 3:10–12
  • Genesis 9:6
  • Westminster16.7

A SECULAR CONVERSATION

Modern humanism affirms ethical responsibility and human flourishing without requiring religious belief.

  • Humanists InternationalAn ethical life

02 / READ IN CONTEXT

The texts behind the conversation.

The comparison above identifies a difference. Here, return to the document: follow its wording, understand its setting and distinguish the text from an interpretation of it.

Read the whole passage and what surrounds it. Identify who is speaking and who is addressed. Note what is affirmed, what is denied and what the text leaves unexplained.

Declaration of Modern Humanism

Humanists International · 2022

An organization's own account of humanist ethics, reason and meaning. It does not speak for every atheist or secular person.

Read the passage in full, including the surrounding argument. Compare the wording with the claim in the reading desk and note where interpretation begins.

Summa Theologiae I, question 2

Thomas Aquinas · New Advent edition

Read the objections as well as the replies. Aquinas argues from effects to God; our contingency outline is an introductory reconstruction, not a quotation of his Five Ways. Limited use: causation and dependence in I, q.2, a.3, alongside Sproul. This does not endorse Aquinas's account of justification, merit or ecclesial authority.

Read the passage in full, including the surrounding argument. Compare the wording with the claim in the reading desk and note where interpretation begins.

03 / CARRY THE CONVERSATION

Make the comparison a study.

How should Christians engage secular thought?

Honour image-bearers while making the gospel's claim clear.

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Creation depends on the self-existent God.

Can we be good without believing in God?

No one is righteous by nature. God's image remains, and common grace is real.

Has science made God unnecessary?

The world we investigate is sustained by its Creator.

How can a good God allow suffering?

God is sovereign and good; evil is real, and Christ is our hope.

How do we defend the faith without becoming combative?

Christ is Lord; our witness should be truthful, gentle and clear.

LISTEN BEFORE YOU ANSWER

What would you want to ask next?

Start with the selected question: Can people be good? Ask how your neighbour understands it before offering your answer.

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