The Problem of Morality

I remember telling you some weeks ago that I would like to talk to you about the subject of morality. As promised, here it is.

No doubt this topic has been a field of great debate and interest amongst philosophers, but with the rise of relativism the common reply now is “to each his own:” some holding it as a genuine belief while others as a way to dodge the problem.

This problem of morality seems so simple and universal that the questions “what is good?” and “what is evil?” are usually assumed to be fundamental. But the problem is far from being such. Morality and ethics are in fact a product of a set of beliefs. And like other beliefs and theories, the correctness of a moral belief depends on the veracity of its postulates.

The first of these postulates is God’s existence and character. If God does not exist then the great philosophers would be most likely be right (or at least, more right). But if He exists, then the postulate holds true and anything otherwise is false. And so I will not dwell with the thoughts of the great philosophers – that is to say, their postulates are different than mine. I believe that God exists, that He is good, and that He is sovereign.

So to proceed: “what is good?” As I have written in my previous note to you, God is good and God is goodness. He is infinite and perfect not only in holiness and righteousness, but also in kindness and benevolence. But I suppose it will not be of much use to venture farther; this topic has been expounded on already by many a preacher (perhaps my favourite is from A.W. Tozer). I doubt I could add any substantial value to what has already been written, in Scripture and in other books. So I think it best to refer you now to others of greater knowledge in the graces of Christ.

As a side note, I find many people against the morality of the God of the Bible (and against the Bible in general), especially in the Old Testament. So don’t get started on religious laws and wars and genocides if you have not care to read about what others have already said about it (not that other people are right, satisfactory, or even logical; if you want we can talk about this too). And I doubt many of them have actually read the Scripture they pertain to, much less understand it. A crash course in reading Scripture would greatly help. ("Knowing Scripture" by R.C. Sproul is a good start. I can let you borrow my copy if you want)

With all these sidetracks, I have to reiterate: the problem of morality is dependent on the problem of God’s existence. It would be good for us to stop at this point and proceed to that more fundamental question.