What if living a good life didn’t require religion at all? Instead of blind faith in an invisible god, what if we learned to focus on the real power behind three timeless values: integrity, discipline, and compassion?
Paul told the early Christians to get rid of stuff like greed, lust, and all that good-time behavior the philosophers also warned against. And then he said, “Do it because you’ve been raised with Christ.” In other words, his moral advice came with a theological price tag.
But do we really need a supernatural reason to be decent human beings? Do we need to believe in “things above” to know it’s wrong to lie, cheat, or act like a self-absorbed jackass? I don’t think so. In fact, I’d argue that if the only reason someone is being good is because they’re afraid of hell, that’s not morality… it’s supernatural bribery.
So in this episode of Afterthoughts, we look at three values that Paul and many Greco-Roman philosophers agreed on: integrity, discipline, and compassion. Not because God commands it but because they work. They help us grow into better people, form healthier relationships, and build communities that actually function… without divine micromanagement. These are values that hold up on their own, and they still matter, maybe now more than ever.
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