Michael Gerson rejects the idea of godless morality ["A moralist in atheist's clothing," op-ed, Oct. 15]. "Of course we can be good without God, but why the hell bother?" he wrote. "If there are no moral lines except the ones we draw ourselves, why not draw and redraw them in places most favorable to our interests?"

That atheists do lead moral lives and act selflessly, as Mr. Gerson admitted in the case of Christopher Hitchens, proved the error of the point.

The critique was further undermined by the fact that many of the moral prescriptions of Scripture guide almost no one today, from condoning slavery (Ephesians 6:5) to the murder of unruly children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). This indicates that we bring a preexisting moral sense to these teachings, accepting those that agree with it and rejecting those that don't.

Without God, we'd simply allow this moral sense to guide our actions -- as most of us, atheists and theists alike, already do.

Aaron Ross Powell, Alexandria