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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