This week we are looking at the question: Is there a universal moral law? If the answer is yes, then there must be a universal moral law giver! This another in a series of cases that provides evidence for the existence of God, and specifically the existence of the God of the Bible. We will look at how the evidence for a universal moral law points directly to the moral lawgiver we find in the Christian God.

Watch this week’s class presentation on this topic:

Overview Notes From the Presentation

Christian Apologetics: More Conversations

Is there such a thing as a universal moral law?

God has placed a moral code in the conscious of all mankind:

“Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thought either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” Romans 2:14-15

The Moral Law Argument for the existence of God

Premise #1:

A universal moral law must have a moral lawgiver (any law must have a lawgiver).

*Premise #2:

There is a universal moral law evident in the universal behavior and expectations of all humans.

Premise #3:

Therefore, there must be a universal moral lawgiver.

Evidence for a universal moral law

“The first principle of value that we need to rediscover is this: that all reality hinges on moral foundations. In other words, that this is a moral universe, and that there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Do we have an immaterial transcendent Creator who has set in us the rules for morality?

Our founding fathers thought so…

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

-THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

The Nuremberg Trial said YES!

“The Nuremberg Trial of the German war criminals was tacitly based on the recognition of the principle: criminal actions cannot be excused if. committed on government orders; conscience supersedes the authority of. the law of the state.”

-Albert Einstein

“The fundamental basis of this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount…If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State.”

-Harry S. Truman

“Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the people who had been kindest to him. You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five.”

-C.S. Lewis

How do we feel when we hear the following statements? Is there a difference between them?

Love and care for our babies
Killing for fun
Forgiveness and mercy
Rape and torture
Freedom and liberty
Stealing from the poor
Helping our community
Purposeful injury to others
Gratitude for a kind act
Genocide

Do you get a little “squeeze” in your chest when you imagine some of these statements in action? Is that because all humans instinctively know when something is wrong?

We know the Moral Law exists because…

It is undeniable: It is not always the standard by which we treat others, but it is nearly always the standard by which we expect others to treat us.
We know it by our reactions: Simply be rude to someone, or do something out of line, or put people in a position where you violate their right to express their opinions and they will scream “injustice, unfair!”
It is the basis of Human rights: After WWII Nazi war criminals were brought to trial and convicted of violating basic human rights. This is manifested in international law and found in our Declaration of Independence.
It is the unchanging standard of justice: C.S. Lewis said, “As an atheist my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crocked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
It defines a real difference between moral positions: We use it when we evaluate the behavior of others, for example Mother Teresa against that of Hitler. If the moral law doesn’t exist then there is no real difference between them, their actions are just subjective. As atheist Richard Dawkins would say “they are just dancing to their DNA.”
Since we know what’s absolutely wrong, there must be an absolute standard of right: We all identify things that are wrong socially, politically, and personally—but often people will say that they don’t know what is right, but admitting things are not the way they are supposed to be (wrong) is an admission that there must be a universal right.
It is the grounds for political and social dissent: People take up causes for “rights” and we often agree on particular injustices—the problem is usually the means to the end. For example, we all agree peace is good but is it best accomplished with or without military intervention?
If it did not exist, then we would not make excuses for violating it: People make excuses all the time for their behavior and we legitimize bad behavior in many ways: Abuses become diseases, crimes become oppressed behavior, immorality becomes lifestyle choices, and laziness becomes a need for entitlement.

Going Deeper:

Recommended Short Articles on this topic:

The Magical Moral Mystery, by Andy Banister

Moral Laws Necessitate a Moral Lawgiver, by Lenny Esposito

www.coldcasechristianity.com J. Warner Wallace’s collection of short articles Morality.

Reflection

If you only had one minute for each question, to the best of your ability, give an answer in your own words, (note – these are building from the notes each week):

What are the four important areas for Christian growth?
What are the five parts of the “Hermeneutical Method” in order?
What are the twelve points that will help you tell the Bible’s Big Picture?
What are the two most important questions you can ask when someone makes a claim about Christianity, or a belief that they hold to be true that is in conflict with the Christian Worldview?
What is the Moral Law argument for the existence of God? Give an example.

Bible Study

Always remember to pray before you read or study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

1. Review of Class Topics:

With your table group, answer the Reflection questions above; discuss today’s apologetics presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting, or asking any questions.

2. Review of Daily Devotional:

How is it going with your devotional? Are you having any difficulty with reading on a daily basis? Are there any questions you have, or anything that stands out to you as a life application that you’d like to share?

Class Bible study: The Book of Philippians

***Note: Last week’s post contained chapter 3 instead of chapter 2 questions (sorry about that). So here is chapter 2 (answers were posted this past week and I will post post chapter 3 answers later this week).

Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for “Discussion” or “Going Deeper” questions. Cite your sources to share with your group.

Read Philippians 2:1-30 with your table group then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions:

3. What does Paul tell the Philippians that would make his joy complete? How does this compare to what Jesus taught in Matthew 22:37-40?

4. How does Paul explain both Jesus’ humanity and Deity (2:6-11)? This is known as the “incarnation” – to study further read the Gospel of John 1:1-14; Romans 1:2-5; 2 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; and 1 John 1:1-3.

5. It is important to understand that we cannot work our way to salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), however, once we are “saved” we should be “working out our salvation,” by being ambassadors and role models for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20). Discuss: What are some of the things we can be doing to show others that we are of Christ Jesus, and why we are?

6. Who was Timothy, why was he important to Paul, and where else in the Bible can we find him?

7. Who was Epaphroditus, and why was it important that Paul send him to the Philippians?

8. Memory verses: Recite Philippians 1:9-10; and Matthew 22:37-39

Join us next week as we continue our study in Christian Apologetics with a look at the question: Is there a universal moral law?

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15