Does God exist? Generally people have answered ‘Yes’, but we are now in an age after Darwin provided his theory of evolution and the question of God’s existence is probably answered ‘No’ more frequently today than at any other point in history. In the bulletin over the coming weeks I will be explaining several of the reasons why it reasonable to believe in God.
Firstly, it is reasonable that there is a god because everyone recognises right and wrong (this is called the moral argument). How do we know something like murder is wrong? Some suggest it is because of our conscience or ‘feelings’. But people have different consciences and different ‘feelings’. The Bible recognises this when it describes people ‘whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron’ (1 Timothy 4:2). Murder might be wrong for one person, but another person is completely ok with it. Others suggest that the only way to establish something as wrong is if the majority of the society agrees it is wrong. But this does not make murder actually wrong, as there will still be a minority who think it is right.
To use the moral categories of right and wrong we must have some moral standard that is above humans. There must be something out there against which every action is measured and held accountable. This is where God comes in. God is right-eous and anything against him is unright-eous. People who believe in God can use the terms ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and be rational as they know something is ‘right’ because God says it is. But people who do not believe in God cannot use the categories of right and wrong and be rational. If there is no God we are simply chemicals and animals hitting up against one another with no consequence about what we do to one another. Murder is simply a reaction between two different bunches of chemicals.
I believe this is one of the most confronting arguments against atheism. If you have an atheist friend ask them ‘Is there right and wrong?’ If they are honest, they will be forced to admit that they shouldn’t really be using the categories of right and wrong for what other people do – it is irrational for them to do so. Yet if they continue as atheists they will use the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ because they live in societies that use them. Atheism actually requires people to be irrational. Dwight D. Eisenhower said ‘It takes no brains to be an atheist’.
Joel Radford.
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I'm an atheist and i most certainly do believe that there is right and wrong, and that it does exist objectively. however I do not believe this argument works for two reasons. One, there are lots of things that exist objectively like logic one objective rule of logic is that you don't contridict yourself and it is'nt subjective of different people. And i don't think you would disagree that logic would not exist without god. Secondly the god of the bible does many things that contradict what is considered morally right for example,
ReplyDelete"Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation, and they put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses." Numbers 15:32-36
So yes i can say what i believe is right and wrong, but i think it takes lots of rational discussion, and not because of whether it not it agrees with yahweh.
Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and post a comment Tom. I do hope and pray that you can again take the time to respond to my comment below.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that people who do not believe in God try to be logical. The problem is that if you do not believe in God, you end up contradicting yourself, particularly when you condemn something as wrong for others.
For example, I do think you contradict yourself in calling what is described in Numbers as wrong. Yes, your conscience may say it is wrong, but that does not make it wrong for other people. Some people are perfectly fine with killing other humans for much less than working on a certain day of the week.
So, as an atheist, please tell me why killing someone for working on a certain day of the week is wrong?