Is there a common core of Moral Values across Human Cultures ? Is there a Moral Law? And does this Moral Law point to God? Abstract This post briefly presents the Argument from Moral-Law, an atheist counter to the Argument, and evidence against the counter-argument. Briefly, the existence of the Moral Law points to the existence of a Moral Law Giver (God). From Moral Law to Moral Law Giver The Moral-law argument is as follows. There is a common core of Moral concepts that transcend human societies and cultures. Furthermore, when we do something wrong... there is an inner voice (commonly called the conscience) that provides us a sense of "oughtness" (i.e., we "ought" to have done something other than the wrong we chose to do). And this inner voice appears to stand apart from ourselves and "judge" our actions, our behaviors, our thoughts. There is a commonality in this "inner voice" across human societies and cultures. The universality of these Moral concepts and this inner voice, point to the existence of a Moral Law that applies to human beings, and that transcends human cultures. The existence of a Moral Law points to the existence of a Moral-Law Giver just as the existence of Law points to the existence of a Law Giver. The Christian God is such a Moral Law Giver. Counter to the Argument This is a counter argument that I have seen used by some atheists. Claim: There is no common core of morality across cultures and societies. Argument: Therefore the Moral-Law argument fails. Evidence Against the Counter-Argument A Common Core of Moral Values There does appear to be significant evidence for a common core of ‘moral’ values across human societies. E.g., if you look at moral codes from widely separated cultures and time-frames, such as those listed below, we do see a significant core of commonality. ancient Jews/ Israelites, the teachings of Jesus the Christ, the Roman Empire’s system of justice, the moral codes of Ancient Mesopotamia, the moral codes in ancient China, the moral codes in ancient India, the moral codes in ancient European societies, the teachings of individuals recognized as great moral leaders in various societies through the ages. A Common Core of Standards For instance, the vast majority of human societies (from widely separated cultures and time-frames) hold up standards that we should strive to be fair in our dealings with one another, particularly with those in our society, we should not cause unnecessary harm to others in our society, we should be respectful of others in our society, particularly of our parents and other elders, we should be honest, in particular with members of our society, we should be responsible for our actions, we should be considerate of the well-being and happiness of others, in particular of those we are responsible for. A Common Core of Standards II And being more specific, the vast majority of human societies (from widely separated cultures and time-frames) hold up standards such as do not kill innocent humans; definitions of ‘innocent’ can differ but do have a common core, do not indulge in sexual relations with your daughter or son or infant or mother or father, do not sexually molest your children, do not steal from each other in your society do not lie about each other in your society, do not indulge in casual cannibalism of others in your society, do not indulge in casual physical torture of others in your society etc. A Common Core of Values And the vast majority of human societies (from widely separated cultures and time-frames) would agree that we should be willing to protect our families and children from others who might harm them. A Common Core of Moral Values Looking at the evidence (such as the examples mentioned above)... we observe then that there is indeed a common core of Moral Values across human cultures. The existence of a Moral Law (written on human hearts, and across human cultures) is consistent with this observation. The rest of the Moral-Law Argument (as below) is then a rational chain of argumentation from this observation. The Moral-law argument (reprise) There is a common core of Moral concepts that transcend human societies and cultures. Furthermore, when we do something wrong... there is an inner voice (commonly called the conscience) that provides us a sense of "oughtness" (i.e., we "ought" to have done something other than the wrong we chose to do). And this inner voice appears to stand apart from ourselves and "judge" our actions, our behaviors, our thoughts. There is a commonality in this "inner voice" across human societies and cultures. The universality of these Moral concepts and this inner voice, point to the existence of a Moral Law that applies to human beings, and that transcends human cultures. The existence of a Moral Law points to the existence of a Moral-Law Giver just as the existence of Law points to the existence of a Law Giver. The Christian God is such a Moral Law Giver. Summary This post briefly presented the Argument from Moral-Law, an atheist counter to the Argument, and evidence against the counter-argument. Briefly, the existence of the Moral Law points to the existence of a Moral Law Giver (God).