Why Biological Evolution, Naturalism and Athiesm are an inadequate to explain the obligation to be moral

Romans 2:14-15 "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them."

Introduction:
For the past couple of days we have been considering how the existence of objective moral values and duties point to the existence of One Holy, All-good, All-powerful God. Philosopher and Theologian Dr. William Lane Craig has crafted a sound and valid moral argument for the existence of God that aids in bridging the reality of objective moral values/duties to the existence of the All-Good (and thus Holy) God: 

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist

3. Therefore, God exists.

In yesterday's post we took the above argument and explored it premise by premise; showing that the moral argument exposes the fallacy of atheism. Today's post aims to consider possible objections to the idea of there being such a thing as objective moral values and duties. Atheists and secularists that advocate there being no such thing as objective morality hold to a form of ethics called "moral relativism". In short, moral values and duties are "relative" or "related" to whatever a particular person believes to be right and wrong. This of course contrasts with what we have been advocating in these posts - namely because God exists, objective moral values and duties exist. With that short introduction, lets look at a few possible objections and see if we can respond.

Does biological "herd instinct" instilled by evolutionary natural selection and "survival of the fittest" explain our desire and obligation to be moral
The so-called "New Atheists" (authors such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, the late Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris) claim to one degree or another that morality arose as a result of biology. Atheism (whether "New" or "Old") espouses the worldview of naturalism - which teaches that the universe, life and humanity arose as a result of chance and random organization of material atoms. Famous author C.S Lewis had himself been an atheist before coming to faith in Christ. As he wrote his epic work articulating his robust faith in Christ: "Mere Christianity", much of what he said addresses the typical objections raised by Atheists and secularists today. 

C.S Lewis writes: "(S)ome people wrote me saying, 'Isn't what you call the Moral Law (Lewis' term for objective moral values and duties) simply our herd instinct and hasn't it been developed just like all our other instincts?" Lewis' reference echoes similar sentiments by so-called New Atheist proponent Richard Dawkins who has been noted as saying that at bottom, we are nothing more than the sum total of a random collection of material properties dancing to the rhythm of our own DNA. 

So how does Lewis respond to such claims that assert morality as being nothing more than mere instinct - conditioned and refined by evolution and natural selection? Lewis writes: "We all know what it feels like to be prompted by instinct: but that is not what I mean by Moral Law. We all know what it feels like to be prompted by instinct: by mother love, or sexual instinct, or the instinct for food. It means that you feel a strong want or desire to act in a certain way. And, of course, we sometimes do feel just that sort of desire to help another person: and no doubt that desire is due to the herd instinct. But feeling a desire to help is quite different from feeling that you ought to help whether you want to or not."

So Lewis is not denying that on one level - our actions are partly due to instincts. However, instincts and naturalism are not adequate to explain why we feel the sense of "oughtness" or "obligation" to help, do good, suppress our appetites or put others ahead of ourselves. Lewis goes on: "You will probably feel two desires-one a desire to give help (due to your herd instinct) and the other a desire to keep out of danger (due to the instinct of self-preservation). But you will find inside of you, in addition to these two impulses, a third thing which tells you that you ought to follow the impulses to help, and suppress the impulse to run away. Now that thing that judges between the two instincts, that decides what should be encouraged, cannot tiself be either of them."

Lewis then concludes by illustrating how our instincts are likened to a piano keyboard, with each instinct being like a separate key. Objective moral values and duties are the sheet music which tell us what tune to play, which key to push, which key to not push and thus result in the music that is morality. Now key to Lewis' illustration is the fact that the sheet music required a composer - an intelligence, that contained within them the musical score and character to compose such a piece. 

Our whole point is of course that without a Moral Law-giver, there is no objective moral law. In short, Atheism and naturalism cannot explain on their own terms why we have objective moral values and duties. Author Dean Hardy in his book "Stand Your Ground", page 152, notes: "The first realization that needs to occur is that every atheistic view of ethics rejects the possibility of having an absolute standard by which to judge what is right and wrong. Without an infinite being on which to base morality, there are simply no absolutes. So, when the atheist claims that something is right or wrong, questioning "why" often results in an interesting discussion." 

Conclusion
So does naturalism and secularism, using the standard hypothesis of evolutionary natural selection adequately explain why we desire to be moral and why we ought to be moral? As we concluded yesterday, we must conclude today that the answer is "no". The atheist may try to coin the conversation in terms of "instinct" alone, however, on atheism and naturalism, the "oughtness" of morality cannot be explained. As I noted yesterday, we are not saying that non-theists cannot be moral. What we are saying is that without God - there cannot be such things as objective moral values and duties. Hence the argument still stands:

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist

3. Therefore, God exists.

How the moral argument for God's existence exposes the fallacy of atheism

Romans 1:19  "because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post, we labored to demonstrate that objective morality by its nature imposes itself on our obligation to carry out moral duties. This idea of "oughtness" implies a will or the ability to make a choice. To put it another way - the objective standards of right and wrong are not arbitrary - but are intentional. Hence, the Absolute Standard of Good cannot be just merely an abstract principle of morality - but an absolute Intelligence. Moreover, the concept of duty to these values means that you and I have a responsibility to excercise justice, fairness and to ensure that children do not get hurt nor thieves get away with stealing. The Absolute Standard of Good is One to Whom all human beings are accountable. Hence, there is only One Person who can fit the criteria: God. 

Philosopher and Theologian Dr. William Lane Craig has crafted a sound and valid moral argument for the existence of God that aids in bridging the reality of objective moral values/duties to the existence of an All-Good (and thus Holy) God: 

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist

3. Therefore, God exists.

The objective morality that we are contending for in today's post cannot be avoided. Truth by its very nature is defined as that quality which corresponds to reality. Hence, the world/universe in which we live is most accurately described by such values and duties. Chance and mere material reality could not had produced such morality. Natural selection, herd-mentality and other mechanisms typically cited by humanists and athiests cannot account for why we feel obligated to carry out moral duties. 

How the moral argument for God's existence shows the fallacy of athiesm

Only a theistic worldview - that is to say - only a worldview that asserts believe in the existence of an All-Powerful God that is by His very nature All-Good (i.e "Holy") can account for why there are such objective moral duties. 

As the first premise asserts: if God did not exist, then such values and duties would not exist. Notice, I am not saying that someone who denies God's existence cannot be a moral person. Quite the contrary. There are examples that I have seen of Atheists acting better in some cases than professing Christians. 

Now here is what I am saying: why ought athiests, or believers in Jesus Christ - exercise moral duties? On atheism, there is no reason to be moral - since the world per Athiesm is nothing more than a random collection of atoms and material objects, spawned by chance and heading toward an eventual cold and dark cosmic oblivion. And yet, Athiests do moral things. They may say that as human beings we ought to be leaving the world a better place than when we found it. But why? 

I would contend that the first premise knocks out the Atheistic worldview's contention that there is no God, being that there is indeed objective moral values and duties. The second premise asserts the reality of objective moral values and duties, with the third premise following logically and conclusively from the soundness of the first two premises, namely: "God exists".

How Objective Morality and Duties point to the existence of God

Romans 2:14-15 "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law doinstinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them."

Introduction:

When it comes to describing our universe and world in which we live - two general features can be noted. First, we live in a physical world/universe. All the relevant laws discovered by science and the mathematical equations indicate that there is indeed a physical world outside of ourselves. Furthermore, this physical universe/world is one with which we can interract, gather information and interpret with incredible precision. Almost no one disputes this first feature of our world. 

The second feature of our universe/world is that it has objective moral laws and duties - i.e a moral universe. Philosophers and much of contemporary culture will debate whether or not there are such things as objective moral laws and duties undergirding all of reality. In C.S Lewis' book: "Mere Christianity", we note the following observation about the undeniability of objective moral laws - or what Lewis calls "The Law of Nature":

"These then are the two points I want to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in."

Lewis' point of what we "ought" to do drives to the heart of what we are talking about when it comes to objective moral values. Whether human beings like it or not - there are unalterable ethical principles that are true across all cultures; cutting across ethnic, geographical and language barriers. 

Illustrating why no-one can avoid the reality of objective moral values and standards of right and wrong

Whenever a typical so-called "post-modern" professor or college student balks at the idea of such objective standards - a simple test can be administered to prove that objective moral standards do exist. For the student, have the professor mark an "F" on all of their tests and assignments no matter the quality or effort they may had invested. Immediately the student will cry "foul" and say "that's not fair". The idea of "fairness" and "justness" is covered under the moral lawcode of the ten commandments and is innately resident in all human hearts. In like manner, watch what happens when the professor who insists on no such thing as objective morality discover the unpleasant experience of being "unsalaried" (a nice way of saying "fired"). They will lodge a complaint to the university administration for "unfair" treatment. 

C.S Lewis in his book "Mere Christianity" echoes what we noted in the above illustrations with this thought: "But the most remarkable thing is this. Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining 'It's not fair'.

What objective moral values have to do with God's existence

The above short discussion served to show the absurdity of denying objective moral values. To say for instance that there is such a thing as a "evil act" assumes there to be an "Ultimate Good". So then, what is that "Ultimate Good"? Objective morality by its nature carries with it the fact that the values themselves are ones that we "ought" to do. This idea of "oughtness" implies a will or the ability to make a choice. To put it another way - the objective standards of right and wrong are not arbitrary - but are intentional. Hence, the Absolute Standard of Good cannot be just merely an abstract principle of morality - but an absolute Intelligence. Moreover, the concept of duty to these values means that you and I have a responsibility to exercise justice, fairness and to ensure that children do not get hurt nor thieves get away with stealing. 

The Absolute Standard of Good is One to Whom all human beings are accountable. Hence, there is only One Person who can fit the criteria: God. 

Philosopher and Theologian Dr. William Lane Craig has crafted a sound and valid moral argument for the existence of God that aids in bringing together all we have discussed in today's post:

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist

3. Therefore, God exists.

Why establishing local churches is so important

1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 "You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything."

Introduction:

Just as reaching outside of ourselves to share Jesus with other people results in spiritual benefits; church-wide this same principle holds with regards to churches. Paul’s opening remarks in 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 expresses how one church’s spiritual growth can serve to be a witness and encouragement to others. Paul requested that the Colossian church pray for him in his continuing efforts to bring the gospel to the frontiers of the mission fields. 

Whenever we look at Paul’s missionary efforts in the book of Acts (13-14; 16-18; 18-21; 22-28); we find the establishing of local churches to be the key in expanding the boundaries of God’s Kingdom work. As Paul would revisit the churches he planted, he would encourage those churches and pastors to train elders who in turn would be ready to assume leadership roles (such as he did with Titus in Crete or the Ephesians Elders). Whether by church planting, encouraging other Bible believing churches in the same city or equipping Christians with a Kingdom vision in one's own church, the need for establishing local churches has never been more urgent. If such convictions can ever be a part of local churches – the kingdom vision that is so needed in church congregations will be attainable. 

How evangelism edifies Christian growth

2 Corinthians 5:18-20  "Now all these things are from God,who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

Introduction:
When we look at scripture, we discover that only the Holy Spirit of God as God can convince, persuade sinners to trust in Christ. Thus the measure of success is not on how many souls are won. Rather, the measure of success is: have you and I shared the Gospel? Every time you and I share the Gospel, we are achieving 100% success. God's blessing, joy and glory is the measure of success. These confidences are why evangelism proves to be so edifying. 

To illustrate, in as much as a pond is kept refreshed by having both a stream to feed it and an outlet; Christians need to be both taking in God’s Word and sharing Jesus. Stagnation results when there is no outflow, and so it is with the Christian. Unless we are sharing our faith, the ability to experience consistent edification will be greatly hampered.

The importance of corporate worship, prayer and fellowship in the local church

Acts 2:46-47  "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Introduction:

Why are corporate worship, prayer and fellowship vital to the local church? In today's post we will offer some brief reflections in answer to this question. 

1. First, corporate worship is important for the local church due to its aim in ascribing "worthship" to God by way of singing and preaching. Worship is rooted in grace and is aimed towards giving glory to God. Where is it that worship aims? Worship is vertical in its heavenward focus on the Triune God and it is outward focused in energizing people to share Jesus in missions.

2. Secondly, as worship is vital to local church-life, so is the closely related activity of prayer. Worship’s overall expression in the local church is intensified to the degree the local church emphasizes prayer. Jesus in the course of His earthly ministry expressed the following pattern of prayer for His people in Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17 and Luke 19:46 as them coming together at the "house of prayer". God has so ordained that prayer and intercession be one of the chief ways in which He will come alongside us and in us to strengthen and grow the church. 

As a beginning pattern that had been ordained from the days of the tabernacle and temple, Jesus demonstrated that such a pattern was to also mark the New Covenant church. It would also be suggested by this author that the set pattern of Jesus greatly informed the practice of the New Testament church. As those apostles and early statesmen led the church under the Holy Spirit's leading, they taught the church the primacy of prayer in both the church's life and individual Christian life.

3. So we’ve seen that worship and prayer are vital due to the way in which they provide a vertical focus to local church life. But now what about the third essential element – fellowship? Without fellowship, the necessary horizontal – or interpersonal - dimension of church life would be impossible. When you walk through Acts 2:43-46, you discover just how joyful and loving the early church must have been. These people were "feeling a sense of awe" (2:43); "who had believed were together and had all things in common" (2:44); "were sharing" (2:45); "one mind" (2:46); "taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart" (2:46). 

One writer has noted that the Biblical mandate for the church's fellowship is two-fold: "temple courts" or large group worship and "house to house" or small group fellowship. Thus the local church must needs have both preaching services whereby God's people can worship in song and word as well as have occasion to come together in small groups, whether in Sunday School on Sunday Mornings or in other arranged times. Both patterns engender loving fellowship in God's church.

P2 - God's Provisions - Matthew 9

Matthew 9:36-38 "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them,because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples,“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Introduction:

Yesterday we began considering some of God's provisions in Matthew 9 - namely God's provision of forgiveness and His provision for discipleship. Today we will close out our study of Matthew 9 and God's provisions. Notice how God provides....

God's Provision of healing. Matt 9:18-35

The Lord God near the beginning of the Old Testament identified Himself as "The Lord who Heals" (Jehovah Rapha) in Exodus 15:26. Equally significant is the fact that the Old Testament revelation closed out by predicting the 2nd coming of the Messiah with "healing in His wings" in Malachi 3:2. Clearly Jesus' ability to heal body, soul and most importantly the human spirit demonstrated His identity as God in human flesh. Jesus opens up His public ministry in His first coming by referencing a prophecy pertaining to His ability to heal. By the power of the Holy Spirit today Jesus still offers various remedies, with the first (spiritual healing) and last type of medicine (scripture) being His chief remedies that govern the other three.

Jesus' healing power deals with four major sicknesses that were chronic and severe. The first was most severe - raising a girl from the dead (Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26). The second miracle of healing addressed a long-standing blood hemorrhage (Matthew 9:20-22). The third miracle performed by Jesus was the curing of blindness (Matthew 9:23-26). Then finally, Jesus would perform an exorcism (Matthew 9:27-35). We notice that Jesus' methods varied from direct laying on of hands in the raising of Jarius' daughter and curing blindness to having the hem of His garment touched by the woman with issue of blood. Matthew doesn't say how Jesus did the exorcism, however other Gospel texts often portray Jesus commanding demons to flee. God's provision of healing is always available - albeit He may dispense such gradually or delay for the sake of God's glory (compare Mark 8:24-25; John 11:40). The purpose and power of God is what effects healing. The presence of faith - even faith the size of a mustard seed - acts as a container to receive God's provision of healing. Faith cannot affect healing nor do the healing - just as an unplugged electrical cord is ineffective to deliver electricity to a given appliance. The father of of the girl expressed faith in Jesus power to heal (Matthew 9:18); as well as the woman with issue of blood (9:22) and the blind men (9:28). These observations serve to show how Jesus acted as God in human flesh to provide healing to all who came to Him. Notice one more provision...   

God's Provision in evangelism. Matt 9:36-38

Jesus makes the comment regarding the fields being white with harvest - referencing the amount of people needing to hear the Gospel. The Geneva Study Bible has this note under a similar statement from John 4:35 - "When the spiritual corn is ripe, we must not linger, for so the children of this world would condemn us." What does Jesus mean when he says "the fields are ripe"? Several commentaries on both this text in Matthew 9 and Jesus' use of this imagery in John 4:35 suggest either the ripening of a grain field or corn field. As a boy growing up in rural Pennsylvania, our home was adjacent to a field that would alternate every other year with either wheat or corn. The wheat would be harvested in the late spring/ early summer and the corn by later summer. We knew that the corn was ready by the little "tassels" that grew atop. One could peer across those oceans of waving light yellow tassels and expect to hear the whine of a farm tractor gathering the harvest. 


Jesus' point in these images was to convey the fact that in the natural realm, people discern the timing of natural processes. The Creator God is the One Who gives the plants life and the farmer wisdom to know how to plant and harvest the field (Mark 4:26-29). In like manner, the supernatural process of bring people to saving faith requires similar discernment. God equips His people with the Holy Spirit and the Gospel and provides what is needed to fulfill the Great commission and gathering of souls. 

Closing thoughts
Today's message has aimed to consider God's provisions as spelled out by Jesus here in Matthew 9. In this study we have considered four of them:

1). God's provision for forgiveness
2). God's provision for discipleship
3). God's provision for healing
4). God's provision for evangelism