Questions You Need Answers To – Part 4

Bible Text: Romans 2:13-15 | Presenter: Rev. James Destine | Series: Questions You Need Answers To | Morality

What is morality?

What is its purpose?
How does it affect society?
Morality is a system of standards, principles or conduct that distinguish between what is proper or improper, right or wrong, good or evil.

What is the purpose of morality?

Morality has the following five purposes:

1. Keeping society from falling apart – to create stability
2. To ameliorate human suffering
3. To promote human flourishing
4. To resolve conflicts of interest in just and orderly ways
5. To assign praise and blame, reward the good and punish the guilty

It Provides security

Ameliorates harmful conditions
Fosters trust
Facilitates cooperation in achieving shared and complementary goals

 
Morality enables human beings to live together and, while doing so, to improve the conditions under which we live.
 

Some examples of morality?

Honesty: being truthful and sincere.
Integrity: sticking to your principles and values.
Kindness: being considerate and treating others well.

 
Morality is a good thing and is indispensable for human survival.

Do you need to believe in God in order to be moral?

Not at all!

[[Romans 2:13-15]]
 
You need God to exist in order to have morality.
There are three societies in relation to (morality) absolute. (HAT)

Heteronomous society
Autonomous society
Theonomous society

Heteronomous society

Hetros means another
Nomos means law

Heteronomous society:

Morality is dictated by the few at the top to control the masses.
Those at the top set the moral code.
They tell you:

When you must fast
What you must wear
How you should wash your hands and feet etc.

Examples of this type of society are:

Marxism
Islam
Communist countries

Heterocracy
Autonomous society

Autos mean self
Nomos means law
Autonomous society

Each person sets their own moral standards (codes).
No two people agree on everything

From Autonomous to Heteronomous

The moment you disagree with me in an autonomous culture about:

What is right and what is wrong
Proper or improper
Good or evil
I lose the privilege of my autonomy and to your heteronomy mode

 
One dictating to another what he or she must believe creates a sociological dilemma in an autonomous society.
Theonomous society

Theos means God
Nomos law
Theonomous society

All men are created equal.
Morality has to be objective;  It must not and can never be subjective.
Morality absent of objectivity becomes human convention and will never work.

 
Heteronomous and autonomous morality is subjective and therefore will not work.
 
A moral law giver other than a human being or beings.

We theists call this law giver God.
For certain conduct to be  permissible or impermissible by all, God is necessary.

This is what we know:

There can be no objective moral truths without God
There is such a thing as objective moral truths
God must exist

Without God, atheists cannot explain how there are objective moral truths, and without objective moral truths, atheists have no grounds for saying anything is morally right or wrong; nor can they criticize those who fail to act appropriately.