The Evidence From Morals
THE EVIDENCE FROM MORALS
Man has a built-in sense of “ought.” He feels that he ought to do what is right. He was born with this. He did not say at any time, “I think that I ought to have a sense of ought.” It is not something that he has brought upon himself. It is universal to every tribe and people. This does not mean that every man has a proper concept of right and wrong. Rather it means that every man feels that he really ought to do what is right, whatever that may entail. In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out that people are always coming into conflict over some kind of standard of behavior that they expect the other person to observe. The quarrel might be major (“You stole my wife!”) or it might be minor (“You can't sit here, these seats are saved”). In each case, one party is trying to show the other that they are wrong by appealing to this sense of right and wrong. The remarkable thing is that the other party seldom replies that they don't care about the standard. Instead the argument usually ensues over the interpretation and application of that standard.
If there were no God to establish that there is right and wrong, then it would be illogical to speak of morals. There would be no way to say, “This is right” or “that is wrong.” Left in this position, you would have to come to the place where you could talk about what is against society or what society does not like or even what you do not like, but you could no longer talk about what is right or wrong.
If there is no God and an Adolph Hitler is able to convince 51% of the population that we ought to eliminate a race of people, then who is to say that one group is right while another is wrong? If there is no God and if we are not made in the image of God, then what is the difference between killing a man and killing a cockroach? Does the size become the issue? Or is it intelligence? Does that make it right to kill a moron but wrong to shut off a computer?
All kinds of moral positions are irrational unless you realize that God exists and that He has made man in His image and has equipped him with a sense of right and wrong. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them (Romans 2:14-15).
Even men who do not believe in God are troubled when they are confronted with evil and cruelty. This is the way that God has made them. They feel that to do right is better than to do wrong. They feel that good is better than evil and that truth is better than untruth. This sense that we ought to do right is still another evidence of the existence of God.
Cosmological Argument|Teleological Argument|Intuition Argument|Moral Argument|
Points to the fact of existence and the need for a first cause|Points to the design of the universe requiring the need of a Designer|Points to the God-concept that is found in mankind in general|Points to man's sense of “ought”|
These four lines of evidence all point to God's existence. But they are insufficient to tell us about the character of God. You cannot come to know God through nature or through looking at your own character any more than you can come to know an automobile manufacturer by driving a car that he has produced. You can only come to know God through His word -- the Bible. This is the final apologetic. It is the evidence from the Word of God.