Question: Is the Universe Moral?
Before I answer this question, I want to answer the next question for a context.
Question: How many times did the cock crow?
My first answer to this question: I don't care. The reason I don't care is because I don't
have a thousand years to decide if the New Testament is right or wrong in every single
detail. God doesn't give me or you the luxury of that much time. We have to live with the
fact that the Bible may not be perfect in its million or so details. I'm smart enough to
know that a calculus textbook with a couple errors in it is still a useful thing to have. Yet,
I know of no big contradiction or error in the Bible. And as for the secular history that
contradicts the Biblical history -- yeah, like I'm really going to trust secular 'authority'
when my eternal fate rests on my decision of who's right and who's wrong.
But, ultimately, I have something much more reliable than secular facts to go by. I have
my own intuition. Jesus warned us against making the wrong priorities in our search
for ultimate Truth. He warned us against straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.
[Matthew 23:24] Therefore, keep the big things big, and the small things small.
Answer Two: Before deciding this question, wait until you have first made an exhaustive
study of the relevant facts of science and history, such as archeology, astronomy,
evolution, Creationism, and so on, right? Wrong! I'm not saying that you shouldn't
study those subjects, but your faith should never be founded on any of that. Why?
Because there's a much better way. How do I know? Cause Jesus told me so. In fact, He
told all of us so! Jesus gave us God's epistemology on this. What did Jesus tell us is the
best way to find the truth, and what the end of that search for truth would be? The
rest of this essay is meant to answer that question, and thus reveal a Moral Universe.
I was raised as a nominal Christian. They didn't teach me much about the Gospels and
the Epistles, but one thing I know: what they told me reinforced my instinctive
belief that I live in a Moral Universe, where there is right and wrong, and it is more
virtuous than not to care about others and to never tell a lie (which is to love the truth).
It took me many years to realize that very few other people in my life truly cared about
those things. So, it's no wonder to me now, that when Jesus preached those things to
people that they refused to follow Him. For, if those things aren't highly important to you,
then Jesus and His gospel won't be highly important to you, either. And if that's the case,
you won't have the courage or the stamina to follow Him to ultimate salvation. What you
will be is distracted by the thousand and one things of this life that will seem more
important to you than what you superficially think of as 'being religious'. You see, I'm
not asking you to be 'religious' for its own sake. I'm not asking you to 'get religion',
as if that's a mere checkbox to check off for your life before you die. I'm asking you
to give a deep consideration to the following question: Do I live in a Moral universe, or
in an amoral universe, where evolution and random chance are my gods? Who is your
god? Your god is that thing you are thankful to when no other being or object is worthy
of receiving it.
So, when I heard the words of Jesus, it convinced me that there is a reason to believe in
morality and virtue: Because God made it that way. You see, if the atheists are right, then
the wicked person who is proud and cheats and lies and murders is no worse than the
person who is caring and generous, forgiving, truthful, and noble, and hard working, and,
of course, humble. Do you know any such people? I know very few of them. There are
supposedly 83 million evangelicals in my country and I am convinced that all of them,
save for a tiny number of them, will end up in hell. If your righteousness doesn't radically
exceed their righteousness, you will also end up in hell. Christianity is a blue-collar religion
that loves the truth and hates all lies, including political lies. To be a true Christian, it is
not enough to have mental assent to the Gospel message. You have to live it out to be saved.
For example, to believe that Jesus is divine is necessary for salvation, but hardly sufficient.
The devils also believe as much, and tremble.
If the atheist is right, then I live in a dystopian world that makes everything dear to me
about how people should treat each other as false. And I don't want to live in a world
like that. I'd rather just die and get it over with than to live in this world where the evil
are praised and elected by hypocrites to high political offices, but the good are mocked
and killed. You athiest and you Christian hypocrites can have that world.
But I know in whom I have believed. The concepts that Jesus preached and I learned of in
church as a child didn't come to me as a surprise, but, rather, as a confirmation of what I
believed intuitively. I have always believed those things from my youngest days on this
planet. That's why, when I heard the words of Jesus, especially from the Gospel of John, I
had to believe, but more than that, I wanted to believe, because, as I see it, if this is not a
moral universe, it is a disgusting universe that no enticement of atheism or hedonism can
redeem with any worldly enticement. And for those of you who have believed in atheism or
secularism, that is why you do not believe in the words of Jesus. So, get out there and be
kind to people and never tell lies or countenance political conspiracy theories, which are
lies of the Devil.
First, God speaks to your heart. Then you accept or reject that. Then you hear the words
of Jesus and you either connect to the truth of His words intuitively, or you don't. Most of
the people who heard the words of Jesus in the flesh, walked away from Him. I predict,
you have done the same thing. Many atheists today claimed to have 'deconstructed' their
faith in Jesus, but is that the truth? On closer inspection, Is that what really happened?
What they appear to have 'deconstructed' is not their faith in Jesus, but their learned
culture of 'churchianity' (and I'm not restricting the meaning of this word to a particular
denomination or sect within Christianity). But did they ever really grasp by intuition that
Jesus is the 'way, the truth, and the life' [John 14:6], or did they just reject the outward
culture of being a 'Christian' that they learn as a child in their home or in church? I believe
that the true believer knows that the Gospel is true by intuition and that when the so-called
'facts' of the secular world seems to contradict that, they are well able to hold fast to
Jesus, assured that, in the end, their faith will be rewarded by the answers from God that
will resolve the disputes in His favor. To the contrary, if the only reason you believe in
Jesus is because you were raised to believe in Him, what kind of sincerity is that? Either
become sincere (pure of heart) or get out.
But for me, it was very different. This is how Jesus put it:
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, ThouSo, first we have to be 'of the truth' and then we have confidence that Jesus speaks
sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I
into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is
of the truth heareth my voice. -- John 18:37
When most of the disciples of Jesus were walking away from Him, he turned to His closest
followers and said, "Will you also leave me?" To that, He received the reply:
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the wordsBut why did Peter make this reply? Was he insincere? Was he grandstanding? The
of eternal life. -- John 6:68
I have always believed that I live within a Moral Universe, and that I didn't make
this universe moral by personal decree. Rather, I recognized it to be moral because my
own intuition told me it has to be this way. This degree of confidence did not come from
the teachings of my parents, church, or culture. It came from inside of me. But it was
reaffirmed by the Father, for He spoke to me -- but not me only. Jesus said that if He
were lifted up (on the cross) that He would draw all men unto Him [John 12:32]. That's
billions of people (including you), not just me. Just the same, you can lead a horse to
water, but you can't make him drink. So, led you were by the Holy Spirit, but how did
you respond?
And what were the 'doctrines' I received of God in those formative years? Well, probably
many, but I'll boil them down to just two: Care about your neighbor and love the truth,
which also means to hate all lies. This happens, or rather, should happen, before you
hear the Gospel of Jesus, and at a tender young age. So, Jesus gave us the ordering of events
for salvation:
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.So, there's one more encumbrance on us to know that Jesus has spoken the Truth: 1) hear
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or whether I speak of myself.
-- John 7:16-17
Jesus also said: "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear
them not, because ye are not of God."
-- John 8:47
So far as I'm concerned, if I remove Jesus from my beliefs, then I can no longer justify
believing that the universe is a moral universe, and that is to me unthinkable. And if
that's the case then the person who is kind and generous and truthful is no more virtuous
than the person who is mean, stingy, and deceitful. Atheism and evolution can't help me if
this is the case. I'd just rather die. If an atheist should tell me, "Hey, Patrick, there is no
final judgment to be afraid of, so, if it feels good, do it!", how should I react to this
seemingly 'comforting' advice?
No thank you! I've seen descriptions of a world where there are no more Moral laws of
restraint that people feel compelled to live by. I certainly don't want to live in such a
world. You can have it for yourselves, atheists. Such a world seems as ugly to me as hell
itself, or as a post-apocalyptic world of death and destruction. I wouldn't want to survive
an apocalyptic event because I don't want to find myself alive with the congregation of
people who plan to survive it and rule it too. You can have that too, atheists and survivalists.
My will to live is based on the fact that I know that this world is supposed to be
moral and that God will one day make it so, and that gives my life meaning and hope.
And all that is why I believe in Jesus.
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and
hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. -- John 6:44-45
Unfortunately, hearing does not always evolve into learning, does it?
I hope the reader took note that after one hears the words of the Father, that one
must then receive it and genuinely live it out in one's daily life. Billions of people
have heard the voice of the Father, yet few are willing to live their lives according
to it. Were I to guess how many real Christians inhabit my own country, I would
guess that there are a hundred times more false Christians than real Christians in it.
Question: Answer how that people are to be informed of God in their youth if Jesus
Himself admitted that many of those He spoke to had never heard the voice of
the Father. (This is one of those 'I really gotcha now!' questions that come out
from atheists either of ignorance or of hasty thinking.)
Answer: Sure, that's easy. Jesus made that claim to specific people who were born
before His death and resurrection. But to those generations after His death and
resurrection, Jesus said:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because
they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,
and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged. -- John 16:7-11
Here Jesus is referencing the first step to one's salvation. You have to be instructed
of God the Father first. I think this begins when we are quite young and the
Father reaches out to us through His Holy Spirit to whisper into our hearts to love
our neighbors and to love the truth, which is to hate lies. If you do not passionately
hate lies, how can you love the truth? So, guess how you would respond to Jesus,
who claims to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
And if you don't love the truth and you prefer to live your life by lies and by
expediencies to get the biggest piece of the pie you can, what happens?
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may haveand
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers,
and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh
a lie. -- Revelation 22:14-15
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neitherGee, I guess being a liar doesn't put us in good company, does it? People
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
written in the Lamb's book of life. -- Revelation 21:27
If you don't have love (have compassion/charity) for the poor, the needy,
the forsaken widows and orphans, the strangers, the immigrants, then you
are a heartless hypocrite who will find an eternal abode in the Lake of Fire.
For better or for worse, we have exactly one chance in life to get this
stuff right, and it begins now. Today is the day of salvation (repentance)
[2 Corinthians 6:2].
If you have doubts as to whether or not there is a real God of the New Testament,
and you're willing to put this God to the test, may I offer advice on how to go
about doing that? Ask God,
"If you exist, God, please show yourself to me, and teach me to loveIt seems that 'Christians' today don't care if they believe lies. "Tell me lies,
my neighbor (regardless of their skin color), and to love the truth, and
to hate all lies. Amen."
-- Signed,
Patrick, a mere Christian
P.S. Do not love the praise of men more than the praise of God.