Sublime

The absurdity of life without God may not prove that God exists, but it does show that the question of God’s existence is the most important question a person can ask.

Traditionally moral values have been based in God, who is the highest Good. But if God does not exist, what is the basis of moral values? In particular, why think that human beings have moral worth? The most popular form of atheism is naturalism, which holds that the only things that exist are the things described by our best scientific theories.

Many philosophers have thought that morality provides a good argument for God’s existence.

Does this mean Paul is rejecting the principle of salvation by faith alone? Clearly not, as he makes expressly clear in Romans 1:16–17; 3:20; 3:28, 9:30–10:4, and other Scriptures (Gal. 2:16; 3:11; Eph. 2:8–9; Philipp. 3:9; cf. Acts 13:39). Rather, He judges the reality of our faith based on how we actually live.42 “The good works of the redeemed,”

Regarding our ability to know what has intrinsic value, if God exists and is as the the Bible depicts Him, then He made us to be able to know and live in light of real, objective, intrinsic values.

More fundamentally, why did God even create the world, when He knew that so many people would not believe the gospel and be lost? Since creation is a free act of God, why not simply refrain from creating any free creatures at all?

As in Galatians, Paul underscores that their good works flow from their faith, not from their efforts (cf. Gal 2:16), and from their love, which is tied to their faith—for faith works through love (Gal. 5:6).

5. The gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability.

Paul probably received this tradition no later than his visit to Jerusalem in AD 36 (Gal. 1:18), if not earlier in Damascus. It therefore goes back to within the first five years after Jesus’ death in AD 30.