Believing

We looked after our grandkids last week. For an hour, they destroyed virtual enemies with no sense of guilt. But if people lived like that in the real world, grandmothers would be swapping their Aquas for tanks. Fortunately, human beings everywhere share a universal sense of right and wrong that transcends culture, time, and personal preference. No society celebrates betrayal or applauds cruelty. (Shortland Street excepted).  We all know some things are actually wrong, like abusing children.  Not “wrong for me,” but wrong for everyone, always.

Evidence of Morality.  These are moral judgments, not survival strategies. Evolution proposes that only the strongest should survive. This means that murderers would be moral champions because they outlive their victims. Evolution interprets instincts, like running from danger, but it cannot explain oughts. We honour elderly people, because normal people believe all people have value — not because of intelligence or abilities, but simply because they are human. Nature doesn’t teach this. Nature rewards power, not compassion. We protect the vulnerable because all people carry the imprint of a Creator. It cannot explain why we feel guilty when we lie. Guilt and the voice of conscience are a built-in moral compass pointing toward Someone greater.

Evidence of Consciousness.  No scientific theory can explain how atoms produce a soul. We are not chemical beings; we are a soul inhabiting a body. We have self-awareness and imagination. And our ability to choose love, sacrifice, and forgiveness makes no sense in a purely biological system but fits perfectly with being made in the image of God.

Finally, the Evidence of a Spirit. Humans not only feel moral restraint, but we are also hungry for meaning. People everywhere ask the same questions: “Why am I here? What is my purpose? What happens when I die?” Animals don’t wrestle with these things. Your dog isn’t lying awake pondering the purpose of suffering. Our sense of eternity, our search for truth and our ability to contemplate God are clues that we were made for worship. Humans alone are created in God’s image meaning we are spirit and we speak. Our wonder at beauty and the awe we feel seeing a sunset in the morning or our wife in the evening, tells us we are made to be awed.

Friend, humanity is not an accident. Human uniqueness points us to God, and the expectation of life beyond the grave is a logical hope. Don’t let human limitations hinder us. Instead, as Jesus said to Thomas when he doubted,“ Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John20:27 

To be continued..