The Existence of God: The Moral Argument

The argument for the existence of God is immense, so I want to focus on specific points that are effective and practical in casual discussion with skeptics. I especially want to stay away from a deeply academic approach considering that it can lead to much deeper points in the argument which can frankly leave skeptics uninterested. Once again, reason and logic can fuel the defense of our faith well enough in this section of the argument. Hence, this week will concentrate on the Moral Argument.

This argument specifically focuses on the origin of morality in humanity. First, I believe it is wise to hear the opposing side before understanding how to defend against it. The view point of most skeptics is that of Moral Relativism. In this context, Moral Relativism states that morals are man made; they are created in specific contexts and only have grounding in those environment. Therefore, morals are only relative to the culture or society which creates it.

Moral Relativism seems to have fallen out of popularity in many philosophical circles, but it is still prevalent in thought even though it may not be called by this name. It seems logical to many that morals are rules, and rules are created to keep stability. Using the logic from last week, if rules are created, then there must be a creator of such. The argument starts with who the creator is. Moral Relativists believe that these rules differ from culture to culture to fit the needs and values of each environment. This seems logical in some ways. What the United States may consider less offensive sexual content on television may cost someone his or her life in Saudi Arabia. A big question now arises: who is wrong and who is right?

This brings us into the realm of absolute truth, which is also the demise of Moral Relativism. Moral Relativists will argue, possibly even subconsiously, that there is no absolute truth, only what works in that given cultural context. If the USA feels that pornography is perfectly fine for its citizens, who can dare tell Saudi Arabia that they are wrong in punishing “offenders.” This shows that morals are only relative to the culture that creates them. Hence, there is no absolute truth in morals.

What does any of this have to do with the existence of God? A defense against Moral Relativism will reveal how so. Consider all types of moral laws that we live our lives by. Are we able to waiver on some of them? Maybe we can with some such as cursing in public, the types of clothes that we wear, how to treat others that we consider friends. But notice that none of these focus on important moral issues. What about rape, murder, theft, and lying? Can we waiver on these points? For this argument, I always revert back to Nazi Germany and the extermination of the Jews. The Germans truly believed that they were doing the world a service by murdering as many “impure” beings as they could. According to the logic of Moral Relativism, would it be acceptable to excuse their actions based on that reasoning? They in fact did exactly what their culture said was good. Since there is no absolute truth, who can tell them that they did wrong? This would be a ridiculous stance. Anyone with a conscience can not accept that behavior, and everyone has a conscience.

Now all that is left is to ask what the alternative is. The truth is that there is a moral law giver. Their must be a being that has planted a conscience in the heart of every human being on earth that tells what right and wrong is. Regardless of miniscule differences in cultural beliefs, all humanity has an understanding of right and wrong. C. S. Lewis called this the Tao; Thomas Aquinas called it the Natural Law. Everyone has a sense of good and evil and knowledge of right and wrong regardless of the culture.

As for absolute truth, it is impossible not to have truth in the world. Even the statement is illogical. “There is no absolute truth.” If that is so, then that statement itself can’t be taken as truth because there is none. There must be truth or else the world would be absolute chaos in every possible way. As Fyodor Dostoevsky expressed in The Brothers Karamazov, “If there is no God, everything is permitted.” If God does not exist, there is no moral law that humanity can live one, so there is nothing keeping anyone from doing anything he or she wishes. Civil rights cannot stop any one from doing what their heart desires even if it is murder or theft. Actually, would it not be their right to do as they wish?

There is a god in this world. The Moral Argument is only one of many ways to express this truth. As I stated last week, it takes more faith to believe that there is nothing behind the intricacy of life and universe than to believe that an omnipotent creator made what we all see, experience and more. I only scratch the surface with the Moral Argument; if anyone wishes of further readings or sources, feel free to send any emails to The Zealot’s Path. I would be happy to discuss further. If this stirs your conscience, giving you a buring in your heart, do not sit back and hope that it passes. God gives us all and impulse to seek him. Set off on the search and seek the truth no matter what it may be. Maybe the Path is the place to start.

The Existence of God: The Skeptics Unexplainable Origin of Creation

These next two weeks will concentrate on the existence of God. This is quite a popular topic of discussion, and I don’t pretend to be an authority in scholarly research concerning this. I do know that rational thought can reveal all that God wishes for us to know. That will be the focus on this topic. I know all too well how much of “educated” academia pretends that rationality can destroy any belief in a god. Contrary to that, God has given his children brains to think, and we all can use them for his glory. So read on and see how pure thinking can stimulate your mind and stir your heart for the Lord.

With that being said, there is no better way to being than the understanding of creation. One reoccurring theme of Atheism that has become popular is that the Theory of Evolution and the Big Bang have explained away the belief of an omnipotent creator-god. Since these are taught religiously in public schools and higher education, many impressionable minds are bombarded with the idea that belief in a god is for uneducated, ignorant citizens of the world. Anyone with a shred of rational thought can’t believe in such archaic absurdity. I don’t intend to fight the arguments of these theories. Many have written volumes of books on this subject. This entry in the blog will show how rational thought reveals that all that we know and see is impossible without a creator.

Imagine that you are walking in a random field. The place looks barren and has no apparent signs of life for miles. You suddenly stumble over a sharp object sticking out of the dirt. As you look at it closely, you realize that it is the tip of a metal object. After digging, you come to understand that you’ve found an ancient sword that was buried in the dirt. Now ask yourself, is it reasonable to believe that either someone made the sword and placed it there, that it somehow evolved from something else, or even just somehow came into existence out of nowhere? Naturally, we can rely on the fact that it was created at some point in time by someone. Now apply this to life and the existence of the universe. Is it rational to think that the entire world, which is so intricate, suddenly popped up into existence?

Simple logic explains this point. If any one thing exists, it must have a beginning. If any one thing has a beginning, it must have a cause. Logic leads to this conclusion: the universe exists; therefore, it had a beginning. The universe had a beginning; therefore, it had a cause. In conversations with Evolutionists and Big Bang Theorists, the argument will come up that either life evolved over time or that the Big Bang was the beginning of the universe. They are two disconnected ideas, but both are used as ammunition to shut down Theists’ belief in a creator-god. Let’s see how these arguments hold up to the steps of logic previously stated.

Where does honey come from? It comes from Bees, of course. What about oak wood? This wood is from an oak tree. Where did the bee or tree come from? They come from a previous bee and tree. But, what about them? Where do they come from? They are from another bee and tree before them. Can you see where this line of questioning leads? We are now going in circles. No matter how far we trace the previous bee or oak tree, we’re searching for the first bee and oak tree that was created by someone beyond the comprehension of our world. The bee and oak tree existed and had a beginning. Now we’re left asking what the cause is.

The Evolutionists have no grounding in this argument. They may bring up that the bee evolved from something else or the tree did likewise, but they fail to address that whatever the previous being was, where it came from or what the beginning was. As much as Evolution can attempt to explain, it can’t address the point of creation. Big Bang Theorists have a little better attempt at the explanation but not much. They believe that all can be traced back to the Big Bang but following the logic used before, what caused the Big Bang? What caused the matter that that was a part of the Big Bang?

These logical questions, though they may seem simplistic to some, are detrimental to science’s skeptical stance against the idea of a creator. While the theories of Evolution and the Big Bang hold attractive benefits for skeptics, they have major holes that can’t, no matter how much they try, support the possibility of there being no god. What some consider irreproachable scientific theories takes more faith to believe than the truth of Jesus Christ.

This is entry is only a fragment of deep discussion concerning the existence of God. If anyone has questions about sources or further readings, contact The Zealot’s Path. Remember that God is with us always, and he gives us the tools to understand him better and spread his word. We are all confronted at times with challenging questions that seem more than we can handle, but his Spirit is there to guide us and work through us for his glory. Be brave and use the mind that God has given you.