Many Atheists are also moral relativists who believe there is no objective standard of morality, i.e., right and wrong. There is a strong, logical case for the existence of objective morality. Once an Atheist recognizes that there is objective morality, he then grasps at any possible reason to continue denying God’s existence.
One argument they try is that the objective morality simply evolved in our DNA as humans themselves evolved.
Apologists Discuss the Atheistic Views About Objective Morality
I was prompted to ask some other Apologists about the validity of Atheists’ arguments.
Below is a thread from a private discussion group for graduates of the Cross-examined Instructors Academy on December 7 & 8, 2018, between Vada Hedgeman and yours truly.
1. (My first post): My son Ryan is an Apologist. He enjoys talking with his fellow Millennials who are Atheists. He gets push-back on his argument that the existence of the Moral Law is necessarily proof of God. What are some strong replies to the assertion that the Moral Law that is in each of us could have gotten there via evolution?
2. Vada Hedgeman (a fellow group member who lives in L.A.) replied: Well, in those topics I tend to listen to the Atheist’s position (whether they claim evolution or something else) because none of their answers explain why it’s not just a matter of opinion.
Every argument that I’ve ever heard, even the really good ones still leave me with this question “but why is it wrong if I were to disagree with that view and kill anyway? It’s still just a matter of opinion, correct?”
And it always is…. I was reading an article from an Atheist this week on this topic and it was pretty good but it just didn’t answer all of the questions. At the end of the day, it’s all just a matter of opinion in the Atheist view. Even if they say the strongest argument ever – it’s just their opinion at the end of the day unless we have a lawmaker who is telling us that murder/rape etc. is wrong.
Our very own Frank Turek (President of Cross-Examined) had a good interaction on this topic with Christopher Hitchens:
Here are a couple concise articles…. I got it from cross-examined because I like the way they concisely approach this topic
https://crossexamined.org/objections-objective-morality/
https://crossexamined.org/312/
3. (My reply to Vada): Thank you for your very thoughtful reply! Here’s a different objection from the Atheist: “OK, I agree there is a moral law that is part of our DNA. I just think that the moral law component of our DNA simply evolved and wasn’t put there by God.”
4. (From Vada): Well, my response would be that I didn’t say its part of our DNA… what makes them believe that moral law is part of our DNA?
Show me some proof of evidence that morality comes from DNA. And I’d hate to keep sending CrossExamined articles, but it just so happens I got a lot of info on this particular subject from CrossExamined. This article response to that exact objection, brother:
https://crossexamined.org/does-our-morality-come-from…/
5. (My reply to Vada) that DNA article was spot on! I think it will give Ryan exactly the response he needs. Bless you, my brother!
Can our Morality Come from Material (Our DNA)?
The article Vada sent to me was written by Neil Mammen, a circuit design engineer who lives in Silicon Valley. It does a good job of dismantling the argument that the moral law inherent in everyone could have come from material, i.e., our DNA. Here’s the coup de grace:
But here’s the problem I see with the DNA theory: If DNA is the source of our morality then can anyone really say that something is ACTUALLY wrong? Why is slavery wrong? After all, for most of the history of the human race, the majority of the human race and human cultures have felt and believed that slavery was acceptable (as long as THEY weren’t the slaves).
Please go read the full article.
Michael Oswald
michael@msochartered.com
http://www.msochartered.com
Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.
© 2018 Michael S. Oswald
“Reasons for the Faith, aka Apologetics” 