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Laser Eyes
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What is morality? How did it come about? Why does it exist? We humans are moral creatures. Along with our intelligence it is one of the things that separates us from animals. We have a sense of right and wrong. We have a sense of justice. A moral code develops in us from a young age without any need to be taught. Without anyone having to tell us we know instinctively that we should not hurt another person, that we should not steal from someone else. The moral code also covers sexual conduct and numerous other things. Our morality primarily deals with the way we treat one another.
This moral code is expressed through our faculty of conscience. Our conscience guides us. It is the reason why we have a guilty conscience if we do something we know is wrong. Our conscience is the reason why nations everywhere make laws that are in harmony with righteousness and justice and why people live according to good principles.
So where did morality come from? For the believer it is difficult to separate many philosophical questions from religion. The Bible provides answers to many of the deep questions that have baffled philosophers. There is of course a Biblical answer to this particular question. The Bible tells us that God designed us with his moral laws written on our hearts: "I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" - Jeremiah 31:33. And the well known verse: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness" - Genesis 1:26. Our creator gave us an inbuilt moral code and a conscience to guide us. It is part of our design to enable us to live according to God's laws for the benefit of all. For the believer the answer is simple and satisfying.
But what about the evolutionist or at least someone who doesn't believe in a creator? Does the theory of evolution have an explanation for our sense of justice? Where does a sense of right and wrong fit into a battle where the strongest survive? How do philosophers answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this thread?
This moral code is expressed through our faculty of conscience. Our conscience guides us. It is the reason why we have a guilty conscience if we do something we know is wrong. Our conscience is the reason why nations everywhere make laws that are in harmony with righteousness and justice and why people live according to good principles.
So where did morality come from? For the believer it is difficult to separate many philosophical questions from religion. The Bible provides answers to many of the deep questions that have baffled philosophers. There is of course a Biblical answer to this particular question. The Bible tells us that God designed us with his moral laws written on our hearts: "I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" - Jeremiah 31:33. And the well known verse: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness" - Genesis 1:26. Our creator gave us an inbuilt moral code and a conscience to guide us. It is part of our design to enable us to live according to God's laws for the benefit of all. For the believer the answer is simple and satisfying.
But what about the evolutionist or at least someone who doesn't believe in a creator? Does the theory of evolution have an explanation for our sense of justice? Where does a sense of right and wrong fit into a battle where the strongest survive? How do philosophers answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this thread?