Why I Am Not a Christian

One of the main themes of “Why I Am Not a Christian” is the idea of Christian morality, precisely the sense of superior morality that many Christians hold. Russell thoroughly examines and argues this idea. One of the first things he clarifies is the colloquial use of the word Christian versus its definition: “[Christian] is used these days in a very loose sense by a great many people. Some people mean no more by it than a person who attempts to live a good life” (1). This quote investigates the idea that Christian moral superiority is so infused into culture that simply being Christian means one must be a good person.

Later in the text, he interrogates the idea of God’s fiat, His will, being inherently good and moral—and the idea that those who follow the word of the Lord must be too. He contends that the ideas of right and wrong—morality in general—must be independent of God’s will in some way. If not, then it’s not significant or valid to say that God is good since a person can’t determine whether his actions are good or bad given that everything he does and creates is considered innately good.