Tag Archives: Moral Truth

Moral truths are malleable and subjective if they aren’t grounded in a transcendent source (such as God). I’m not the only person to realize this; even honest atheists recognize the inconsistency of embracing objective moral truths while simultaneously rejecting the one reasonable source for such truths. In a recent exchange …

A few years ago, a gentleman (we’ll call him “John”) replied to a blog I posted at CrossExamined.org. As a skeptical non-believer, John wasn’t responding to what I had posted, but to fellow atheists who had been interacting with Christians in the comment section. John’s post was controversial but honest. …

Can sociocultural evolution account for the formation of moral truth? I’ve heard this claim repeatedly in discussions with non-believers, and I also accepted this notion for many years: Ancient humans who accepted certain moral behaviors and principles were far more likely to survive, and as a result, those who were …

Are moral laws simply a product of cultural utility and sociocultural evolution? As a skeptic, I used to think so. I believed moral laws evolved along with the species. Humans who accepted certain moral behaviors and principles were far more likely to survive, and that’s exactly what happened; those who …

I regularly teach high school students the nature of truth and the distinction between objective and subjective truth claims. This includes a discussion related to the nature of moral truth. While most people readily accept the self-evident nature of objective truth when it comes to material claims (i.e. “Jim’s car …

I occasionally encounter someone who rejects the existence of objective, transcendent moral truths. For many people, all moral truth is merely perspectival; a matter of flexible, cultural convention. Yet there appear to be a number of moral absolutes that transcend culture and history. These objective truths beckon us to seek …

How do we arrive at transcendent, objective moral truths like, “It’s never OK to torture babies for fun” or (my new favorite from a blog reader) “It’s never OK to torture non-believers just because you don’t like them?” From where do such commonly held moral notions come? Some people argue …

When it comes to moral truth, where do we get our notions of right and wrong? Can we generate binding, obligatory concepts without grounding them in the nature of a Holy God? As an atheist, I thought so for many years. Like Sam Harris (author of The Moral Landscape: How …

Many atheists I know will readily acknowledge the existence of transcendent, objective moral laws. In my last post, I described several of these objective moral absolutes by simply adding the short expression, “for the fun of it” to any list of moral actions: It’s never OK to steal “for the …

“Why are you always involved in these missions trips to other religious groups?” Claire’s mother stopped me after a Sunday youth service and pulled me aside. I’ll never forget our conversation. Her question was more accusatory than inquisitive. “I’m not letting Claire go on this trip. I know lots of …