God in the dock; C.S. Lewis

God in the dock (God in het beklaagdenbankje).

But the man who asks me: 'can I lead a good life without believing in Christianity?' If he hadn't heard of Christianity he would not be asking this question.  Having heard of it, and having seriously considered it, he had decided it was untrue, then once more he would not be asking the question. The man who asks this question has heard of Christianity and he is by no means certain it may not be true. He is really asking: 'Need I bother about it? Mayn't I just evade the issue, just let sleeping dogs lie, and get on with being 'good'? Aren't good intentions enough to keep me safe and blameless without knocking at the dreadful door and making sure whether there is, or isn't someone inside?

To such a man it might be enough to reply that he is really asking to be allowed to get on with being 'good' before he has done his best to discover what good means........