Discussion Thread: Evolutionary Ethics and God
According to evolutionary ethics, our ethical beliefs have developed
through evolution to help us survive and reproduce and there is no real
moral obligation behind those beliefs, only a corporate illusion of morality.
[1]However, McQuilkin and Copan note several problems with this way of
thinking. Of these, the most compelling reason to reject evolutionary
ethics asks, “Why trust our beliefs at all if we are just the product of those
material, valuelessness, mindless processes?”[2]Our beliefs, including
moral ones, may help us survive, but what is the premise to believe that
they are true?
Moreover, it is God who makes better sense of not only human dignity
(valuecame fromvalue), but also human moral thinking.[3]The essence
of a biblical ethic is love which Jesus boils down into two commands, love
God and love your neighbor as yourself.[4]Jesus said, “So whatever you
wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and
the Prophets” (Matt 7:12).[5]Because man is made in the image of God,
this “moral-code” (the golden rule) has been stamped on the heart of
each man and woman. As such, this rule has a special place in moral
philosophy and has been the common denominator of all religions and
schools of thought from ancient times until the present, bringing peace
throughout the world through its mechanism.[6]Paul reminds humankind
to walk by the Spirit as the antidote for gratifying the desires of the flesh
(Gal 5:16) which can quickly snuff out this moral code from our lives.
McQuilkin and Copan do not necessarily overstate the case but simply
point back to God in each of their arguments. One cannot explain the full
questions of life – origin, meaning, morality and destiny without a
personal, moral, First Cause, which is God Himself. The psalmist who looks
at the starry heavens above is humbled at the greatness of God and the
smallness of humanity and asks, “What is man that You take thought of
him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Ps 8:4).”[7]Evolutionary
ethics is not compatible with belief in God as the foundation for ethics
because one will never be able to get a coherent worldview without
positing an eternal moral personal First Cause.
If science is all that matters, should the scientist be honest in giving us his
or her findings? This is a moral question. So much research today uses
only the low-hanging fruits while disregarding evidence that does not
support a particular cause. Paul reminds us, “Claiming to be wise, they
became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images
resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Rom
1:22-23). Ultimately, the transformation of the heart is not done by
reasoning. It is done by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit
can convict a person of truth and bring them to the point of recognition
that they need a Savior. The question is, “Are the reasons we are giving
for the hope within us truly the reasons that meet both the mind and the
heart, and are we doing it in the proper way, with gentleness and
respect?” (1 Pet 3:15).
Word Count: 544
[1]Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan,An Introduction to Biblical Ethics:
Walking In the Way of Wisdom. 3rd Ed.(Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
2014), 180.
[2]Ibid., 181.
[3]Ibid.
[4]Fred Smith and Will Honeycut, Presentation: “Foundations of Christian
Ethics,” Liberty University, 2011, 20120 Spring 2021 THEO 650-D01 LUO,
accessed April 4, 2021, at
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/68950/pages/watch-
foundations-of-christian-ethics?module_item_id=7734718
[5]Unless otherwise noted all biblical passages are in theEnglish
Standard Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[6]Zahra Rakhshani, “The Golden Rule and Its Consequences: A Practical
and Effective Solution For World Peace,”Journal of History Culture and Art
Research6, no. 1 (February 2017): 465.
[7]McQuilkin and Copan,An Introduction to Biblical, 182.
Bibliography
McQuilkin, Robertson, and Paul Copan.An Introduction to Biblical Ethics:
Walking In the Way of Wisdom. 3rd Ed.Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
2014.
Rakhshani, Zahra. “The Golden Rule and Its Consequences: A Practical
and Effective Solution For World Peace.”Journal of History Culture and Art
Research6, no. 1 (February 2017): 465–73.
