How can you know something exists? You know by its effects. Here’s what I mean. Think about the wind. How do you know that the wind exists? You can’t see it directly, but you can see its effects. When you see a tree shaking, you know that it is the wind that is causing it to shake. When you look at a building, how do you know that builders existed? Well, you can see the effects of the builders, which is the building. So, how can we know that God exists? We can know by His effects on the world around us.
God’s Greatest Effect
There are so many effects on the world that God has left behind. We live on a liquid rock that is swirling around a ball of flaming plasma. That seems like a pretty big effect. But what’s more is the effects that God has left behind on human beings, the only creation made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). The moral argument is an argument for God that digs directly into the nature of human beings. The argument points out that all human beings recognize a moral code. A moral code shows us that there is a moral law giver that is above and outside of the human race. We can see examples of God’s moral code throughout our world. An example would be the war waged against Ukraine. The entire European Union and dozens of other countries have condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and have been providing direct humanitarian and military assistance. What’s more, many major corporations have halted all business operations with Russia. This includes Disney, Apple, General Motors, Adidas, and more. The United Nations recently voted on a resolution to condemn Russia’s assault on Ukraine. The results were overwhelming with 141 countries voting to condemn the Russian attacks, and only five counties (including Russia) voting against the condemnation. What do these actions across the world tell us about God? These actions unequivocally show that there is a moral standard guiding the world resulting in the nearly universal condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We must then conclude that this moral standard comes from God.
The Nuremberg Trials
After World War II came to an end, the Allies held the Nuremberg trials for the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice. The trials developed what became known as “International Law”. This international code established that all humanity would be guided by these rules and regulations and no leader or government would be exempt from these laws. Where did these international laws come from? It is obvious that what Hitler’s regime did was depraved and deserving of severe punishment. But what laws did the Nazis violate? International law was developed to address these atrocities. The Nazi leaders committed atrocities that all human beings recognize as wrong. This is what philosophers would call “objective morality”. Objective morality is defined as morality being universal and not subject to interpretation. We see objective morality at work in the Nuremberg trials. Laws were created to hold every human being in the world to a certain standard, and ultimately to hold the Nazi leaders accountable for their actions. But who gives this objective moral code? We see throughout the Bible that it comes from God. In Romans 2:14-15, Paul writes “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” Paul is describing exactly what happened at Nuremberg. The Bible wasn’t the law governing the trials, but God’s moral code revealed in Scripture is what the allied leaders adhered to in developing the laws that applied to the actions of the Nazis. The genocide and murder of six million innocent Jews was objectively depraved and wrong, and the objective code established in international law is given to all of us by God, as Scripture points out.
No God, No Wrong
There are many atheists who would condemn the Holocaust as a travesty that should have never occurred. However, without God in the picture, morality becomes relative. Moral relativism is the view that moral judgements are true or false only relative to a particular standpoint. In short, morality has no standard, it is up for interpretation. If God isn’t real, then this philosophy would stand to be true. We must consider the weight of this view. If there is no God, there is no wrong. If you are a person that truly believes that there is no God, I want you to consider the mass genocide that the Nazi party committed. Are those actions objectively wrong, or are the actions of the Nazi party up for interpretation? I think we can all agree that the Holocaust is objectively wrong. The question many would ask is, “well then why did Hitler and his regime commit the atrocities in the Holocaust if morality is objective?” This a great question. If we look back at Romans 2:14-15, we see that in verse 15 Paul notes that the thoughts of gentiles will either accuse them of their wrong or defend their wrong. In many cases, we see people defending their wrongdoing, as opposed to admitting their wrongs. This is the case with Adolf Hitler and his regime. I want you to ask yourself this question: was the Holocaust objectively or relatively wrong? Then ask yourself this question: Does my answer point to God’s existence?
Conclusion
We can know God by his effects on the world and our minds. Paul states in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” The moral code that we all abide by is a direct effect of the living God. If you are dealing with doubts in your faith, I would encourage you to process the moral argument for God. Does objective morality exist? If it does, then we can be confident that God exists. In God’s Word and in the world He has created, it is clear that an objective moral code exists, and therefore we can have confidence that the living God exists.