What do we mean when we say something is wrong?
According to apologist Alex McFarland, when we say something is wrong, we are simultaneously saying that something has to be right. But, how do we know what’s right or wrong?
In order to know right from wrong, we have to base our morality on something, or someone.
“Without God. there’s not good or bad. There’s just stuff. God is the ultimate standard of goodness, righteousness, perfection, virtue, justice, every good thing, that’s what God is.”
“When we make value judgements and we say, Adolf Hitler was bad, Mother Teresa was good, what we are really saying is the actions of a Mother Teresa more closely conform to the ultimate standard of good then did an Adolf Hitler.”
“Osama Bin Laden or Adolf Hitler, their actions are farther away from God compared to a Billy Graham or Mother Teresa.”
If we take God out of the equation, how we can know what’s right or wrong? Without God, functioning as the ultimate standard of good, there would be no differentiation between good and evil.
“Do we really want a universe where an Adolf Hitler is no different than a Mother Teresa?”
Even in things like art, literature and music, we determine what is beautiful and acceptable based on a standard that we did not created.
“Monet’s water lilies, that painting is beautiful. The dog messing the carpet up, that’s ugly. When it comes to art and beauty, we are saying these things conform to some other standard of beauty that we did not create.”
Our standard of beauty and good versus evil can only come from one source, God. Every time we say something is beautiful or good, we are unknowingly or knowingly paying homage to our creator.
Alex McFarland is a speaker, writer and advocate for Christian apologetics. He serves as director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in the United States.
Key Scripture: Psalm 119:93; John 6:40
Featured Songs: The Lion and the Lamb – Leeland; All for the One Who Saved Me – River Valley; Your Presence – River Valley
The God You Thought You Knew
