According to a 2000 study by Kinnear, Kernes, and Dautheribes, the seven most-practiced religions of the world, the United Nations, and the American Atheists identified a “short list of universal moral values.” These are (1) the commitment to something greater than oneself, which may include the recognition of and commitment to a Supreme being and …
Thomas Jefferson, Our Conscience, and God
Our founding father Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which is a Declaration that could easily apply globally. In it, he states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the …
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The (Frightening) Moral Implications of a World without Christianity
Some may be cheering as they witness the rising wave of Euro-secularization, where many in western societies have become increasingly atheistic, post-material, and secular. Ron Inglehart of the University of Michigan’s World Values Surveys has distinguished these “secular/rational and self-expressive” countries from the “traditional/religious and survival” countries in other poorer parts of the world (Inglehart, …
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Is Our Conscience Evidence of a Benevolent God?
In his letter to the Romans (2:15), Paul wrote: “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” Thankfully, we all have a conscience that can help us distinguish what is right from what is wrong …
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Why Does God Allow Suffering?
People sometimes question God’s wisdom and sovereignty when they witness suffering in the world, wondering why God would permit human suffering. Anyone who has witnessed human poverty, pediatric cancer or the deaths and injuries resulting from catastrophic weather events has likely had these questions in his or her mind. Why would God allow suffering? The …
Where Did Our Moral Obligation to Follow the Golden Rule Originate?
Unlike all other life forms on our planet, humans are unique in that we are innately wired with the knowledge that we have certain moral obligations to do what’s right. No other life forms have these obligations. In other words, animals who forcibly copulate, kill, or take food from one another are not bound by …
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