Besides the existence of the universe itself, and everything in it, one of the best arguments for the existence of a creator-God is that people have moral consciences. In other words, the fact that we all agree that there is such a thing as a right and wrong is argued to be proof that we must have received this knowledge from someone who also believes in right and wrong, such as God. This argument does not prove which belief about God is correct, only that He exists and that we are somehow connected to Him. This is a starting point for faith, not the endpoint, which is in Jesus.

One interesting proof for this argument is the discovery over time of different sets of Laws in multiple civilizations and historical periods. For example, some people think that Moses copied his Laws from the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. And while there are some noted similarities, the differences are overwhelming. The Code of Hammurabi is more of a legal code of civil laws for a society. Mosaic Law, starting with the Ten Commandments includes civil laws, but it also includes many spiritual rules, expectations, and prohibitions relating to how the Israelites were to worship God and live in order to stay in right relationship with GOD.

There are also many other ancient sets of laws. But the existence of these similar laws should not make us think that Moses simply copied them. Rather, these laws point to the truth that God has set His law in our hearts and that no man is guiltless because we know what is right and wrong. These laws were written down by the rulers of people of many different civilizations who worshipped many pagan gods. The moral conscience is innate in humans because humans were made by a morally perfect God in His image. So it makes perfect sense that we would find similar moral and civil codes in different people groups. Even though humans are not perfect, we cannot escape our consciences without some effort.

Even people who claim that there is no god or believe that everything is god have similar morals when it comes to basic things like stealing, killing, lying, and cheating. Almost no one is going to say that it’s fine to kill someone or walk in to a store and take stuff without paying. They may defend their actions with various justifications, but that is proof that they know that it’s wrong, such as defending abortion because you think the life of the mother is more important or that looting is okay because those people are oppressed. In other words, you wouldn’t say it’s always okay to kill children or steal. You are making up new rules to justify what you do consider to be wrong, which means you have an innate moral conscience.

This is very good evidence for a creator in my opinion and is one reason that most people who say they reject religion, still believe in some kind of god. The idea of right and wrong would be meaningless if we are simply products of random evolution and neurons firing in a physical brain. That just does not make sense. If that were true, the theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest would lead to either 1)a much more violent and aggressive human who simply takes what he wants, or 2)all people being highly intelligent and perfectly cooperative, which obviously is not the case. While we do have violence in the world, it is not as bad as it could be if people had no consciences.

Thankfully, since Jesus brought light into the world there is less violence and more cooperation and the preservation of human life even when people don’t have much quality of life. There is more altruism and compassion for others than one could explain by natural selection. This is the result of believing that humans are made in the image of God and deserve to loved and cared for even when it puts us at a disadvantage, not a product of random evolution.

It is very important, however, to distinguish between morals and faith. Morals are important as far as they go, but even the faithless know right and wrong. But the penalty of sin is death. And all have sinned. Salvation is by faith alone, not good behavior. Jesus came to fulfill the law that humans were unable to keep because of our fallen nature. The law of Moses points us to our need for a savior. None of us is good enough. But Jesus made a way for us to be saved from the penalty of sin by his death and resurrection. Will you trust Him today?

What do you think? Do morals point to a creator?