Morals Post

The Cliffhanger !

Well, where to from here? I fell like a rock-climber clinging to a cliff face and not quite sue where to find the next hand-hold!

Where I have got to so far is considering two plausible cosmologies – given our state of scientific knowledge.

My conclusion was that if “evolution is our maker” our feelings of right/wrong, justice/injustice, ethical/unethical are just human social constructs. All our philosophical, religious or sociological arguments do define what is good or bad behaviour are pretty much just humbug. They are nothing more than propaganda devices to make people do what we (or our group) want through persuasion or fear.

On the other hand if there really is a Creator God, then there is a basis to ethics. Good, just, right, (even utile), actions could be judged by their conformity to God's character.

So far so good, but there are two chasms yawning in front of me.

A) Which one corresponds to reality? I mean either there is a God or there isn't.

To even talk about “proving” one way or the other is asking the wrong kind of question. On a personal level it is common experience that God does relate to people to such a degree that they would no more doubt God's existence than they would doubt that their spouse or best friend existed.

But outside of a personal relationship, even if you could conceive of a scientific experiment to prove/disprove God's existence, what makes you think God is going consent to take part in your experiment? So people who have joined the long list throughout human history who have entered into a relationship with God. know God exists (see note). Those who believe the other scenario corresponds to reality will continue to do so.

B) I am a Christian, so when I say God exists – I mean the Triune God 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'. Who created the universe. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Who spoke through the prophets. Who showed through through word and deed as recorded in the scriptures his character. Who was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself. Of whom Jesus said “If you have seen me: you have seen the Father: I and the Father are one.

But … and some will say this is a big but : there is the problem of other religions. Do I really want to lend any legitimacy to say Sharia Law or the (defunct I hope) Hindu practice of Sati – burning the widow alive on her husbands funeral pyre. No, I don't.

So is this a dead end? Is this where the rock climber takes to the ropes and back to the ground. Or like a movie actor can I jump across the chasms and keep climbing on another face of the cliff?

Tune in next week to find out

note: When I say “know (God exists)” I mean by the definition of “to know something” famously devised by Edmund Gettier – namely a) to believe that “something” to be true b) to have reason for that belief and c) for the “something” to actually be true.

Before leaving the topic of knowing things: in the 19^th century, philosophical orthodoxy was that it was impossible to know anything. (Even in the next century a frightening proportion of “Christian” teachers of religion seemed to still believe this – even about God!). However in 1903 one E. G. Moore waved his hands in front of an audience and said “I know these are two hands!” and after that common sense won the day.