Guilt transcends all people. The reason that I believe that it does this is because one, we continually and constantly witness and experience it, and two, according to Ecclesiastes 3:11, “God has put eternity into man’s heart.” I think the fact of so many religions in the world proves that man has eternity in his heart. It is generally estimated between 3000 and 4000 religions in the world today (though I find that estimated number climbing in atheist circles because they think that the more there are equals more absurdity). Man has eternity in his heart and the number of religions does not necessitate the absurdity of religion, but these numbers instead show a deep desire to eradicate guilt in human beings.
Romans 2:14-15 shows us the existence of morality into humanity, which points to the transcendent good. It reads, “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.”
If there is a law on our hearts, convicting us between right and wrong, then this law transcends human beings. Mankind seeks to eradicate guilt because he ultimately knows that there is the right thing to do, and through self-examination, we know that there are times when we have not done the right thing. Goodness transcends us and so this is why there are so many religions… partially because of human blindness to truth, but also because human beings innately seek goodness.
We are born with a longing for eternity, and peering into eternity causes us to reflect on our own existence. Specifically, our own goodness.
I think that human beings naturally strive to be guiltless. The problem is that many people simply try to justify their behavior, which is arguably a form of eradicating guilt, and by doing so make themselves out to be their own god of sort. This is the Great Delusion… That a person can fix his or her own problem of sin, or that there simply is no sin. The Bible tells us that “It is by grace you have been saved through faith… not by works…” (see Ephesians 2:8-9).
Argument from guilt
The point of this article is to assist people in getting to the Moral Argument. Guilt points directly toward the moral argument for the existence of God.
If guilt is experienced by all people in all cultures, times, and places, then the standard for morality transcends us.
1 Guilt seems to transcend humanity (You and I have experienced guilt).
2 If guilt exists, then morals exist (Morality is a necessary condition for guilt to occur).
3 Morals exist because God exists (The laws of morality exist because there is a lawgiver).
If someone were to argue that some people do not experience guilt, then we would consider something in them to be broken, so to speak. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:1-3, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” The phrase, “consciences are seared” means that their moral compass has been and is uncalibrated. In other words, broken. They do not know their right from their left, and their instrument panel is sparking and smoking.
This further helps us understand that guilt is transcendent. Even speaking outside a biblical perspective, we know that there is something broken with certain criminals, which is one reason why we lock them away. Societies acknowledge that some moral compasses are uncalibrated based on sending people to jail.
The fact that guilt exists proves to us that morals exist. We know right from wrong. If we see that there is a law in our hearts as Romans 2 says, then there must be a lawgiver. For every law there is a lawgiver. If only atheism were true, then why would anything matter? In atheism, there is no meaningful guilt, but there is also no hope, no purpose, no value, and no meaning to life.
Guilt and Shame
I think it is beneficial at this point to clarify what guilt is not. Sometimes, people confuse the differences between guilt and shame. When we do wrong, we can have a healthy view of our wrongs, and we can have an unhealthy view of them. Guilt says, I did something wrong. Shame says I am something wrong. See the difference? When we wear the guise of shame, it changes us negatively, hinders our productivity, lowers our confidence, and causes us to devalue ourselves.
Shame, I would argue, sometimes leads us to holding a standard of righteousness higher than what God does for us. Sometimes we beat ourselves up after we sinned or did someone wrong, even after we confess our sins and receive forgiveness. The thing is, If God has forgiven you, why would you continually go back to it? Let. It. Go. After all, God does.
This is why we must see guilt for what it is, the Holy Spirits conviction, and confess our sins. If we do, He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This should ultimately change our view of ourselves. Being cleansed from all unrighteousness and having, as one who trusts in Christ alone, relationship with God, reminds us why we have value. True, real, and meaningful human worth… All because of Him.
This is an interesting post, but I'm not sure that I agree with the logic to deduce that "Guilt points directly toward the moral argument for the existence of God." It seems like you're taking a statement from Ecclesiastes 3:11, “God has put eternity into man’s heart” to reason that morals exist because of God. What if there is no God? If we acknowledge that Ecclesiastes was written by a human, it can be deduced that morals are an innate part of being human, and no divine intervention is needed for morality to exist (because God doesn't exist, and yet we are moral beings). We should give credit where credit is due, and understand that morality and empathy are evolutionary developed over millions of years, because humans thrive in social settings and we all do better when we lift each other up.
ReplyDeleteIf there is no God, then morals do not truly exist. If we invent morality (even through the processes of millions of years), yet at the time of our death cease to exist, then the question cannot be answered as to why life ever had any value to it. Whether we lived as Mother Theresa or Adolph Hitler, it wouldn't matter, but because morals do exist, it does matter how we live our lives.
Delete1. If moral values and duties do not exist, then God does not exist.
2. Moral values and duties do exist.
3. Therefore, God exists.
"If we invent morality" - yes I agree with this hypothesis ("we" being "humans")
Delete"yet at the time of our death cease to exist" - I also agree with this. I think this life is all we get and there is nothing after death.
"then the question cannot be answered as to why life ever had any value to it" - I don't think this logically follows from the two previous statements. I think the question of whether or not life ever had any value to it can easily be answered by every living person. Our lives have meaning to and are enriched by those who we love and care for. People who understand that we are here to help each other in *this* life, who believe that living a moral life is worthwhile simply to make *this* world a better place, with no expectation of any eternal rewards or punishments. Because, at the end of the day, *this* life is the only thing that we know is true.
If all human beings cease to exist at the end of our lives, then what is the point of life? If the world will one day will be consumed by cosmic activity and there is cold, lifeless debris floating through space, why would life at all ever have mattered? If we do not live longer than our physical bodies, then life has no value. Nothing would matter. But thankfully, we do live longer than our bodies, because God exists. We can come to be saved from our moral failures through the work of Christ on the cross.
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