Arguments for the Existence of God, Part IV – The Moral Law

  • There is a moral law that is the universal standard by which we judge good and evil. How do we know this moral law exists?
  • First, our intrinsic desire to oppose injustice reveals the moral law (note: even those who would deny universal moral values truly value their right to their right to deny them; just try silencing them sometime).
  • Second, without the moral law there would be no basis for human rights. Consider the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, “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…”
  • Third, without the moral law we couldn’t know justice or injustice. As C.S. Lewis once observed, “(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 crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?”
  • Fourth, without the moral law there would be no way to make moral judgments, for example: Hitler was evil (why?); Murder is wrong (says who?); You shouldn’t abuse children (why not?). If the moral law doesn’t exist these statements have no objective meaning. They’re just someone’s opinion.
  • The evidence for the reality of the moral law points strongly to reality of a moral lawgiver; and that lawgiver is God.

For more information on the arguments for the existence of God, please check out The Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.