Bulletin Articles
Who Has Moral Authority?
A person’s worldview is at the core of understanding reality, including the standard of moral behavior. At bottom, one will believe that moral authority comes from a source external to human beings (e.g., God), or that it comes from humanity (what we feel or what others say). All people accept some kind of moral authority and live by limitations that they believe are imposed by that authority. There is no escaping this, for the moment people judge others about anything, they are doing so based on a moral standard that they think others are violating, and showing where they think the limits are. The problem is that if we do not have a legitimate standard, we are being arbitrary and acting on preference rather than a true, universal principle to which all are accountable.
Christians believe in God. We believe Jesus is God in the flesh and the Spirit of God has revealed the mind of God (1 Cor 2:6-13). We accept the moral authority that comes from the divine. We have not lived perfectly in line with this — all are guilty of sin — but we also believe that the same One who has moral authority over all offers grace and forgiveness for our failures. That’s part of the point. God, as the Moral Authority who has been violated, also has the power to give grace (see Eph 2:1-10). If moral authority is non-personal or non-existent, it cannot offer grace or mercy.
It’s not uncommon to hear about those who have left God and now feel some new sense of freedom. Some who have embraced a new moral authority (self or others) can be harshly critical toward believers whom they claim they were just like. Though they have cast away the authority of God, they still have no problem telling people what they ought or ought not to do. But now they are working from a different foundation and standard. Everyone accepts lines and boundaries regardless of how free they think they are. No one legitimately interprets “I’m free” to mean that they can do anything and everything they want to do no matter the cost or who gets hurt. They still have boundaries. Why is that? Why does it matter?
If unbelievers are correct that there is no God and that moral authority is derived from human desire, experience, and interest, then the irony of that position is that it has no moral authority at all because everyone’s authority is as valid as theirs. If everyone can determine their own authority, then no one really has authority at all except with self. With no God, morality becomes an illusion of raw matter that bears no ultimate justice, right, wrong, or meaning, and no final destination with any grace or hope. As atheist Richard Dawkins claimed, there would be “no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference” (River Out of Eden). Worldviews have consequences.
If they are correct, neither they nor we will ever know since in the end our existence dissipates into nothing. This is not evidential proof, but it does lead to this question: Why should we be so concerned about how unbelievers will judge believers? If they cannot provide a solid foundation for universal moral authority or action beyond human desire and experience, then their views on anyone’s moral behavior are just exercises in their own personal preferences that they want others to validate and embrace. If some gain power, they will try to enforce it. Don’t buy it. If they choose to take that view, then so be it, but we see no reason to grant them any of the moral authority that they will surely try to wield. Christians have long been slandered and judged by the world (1 Pet 2:12). Yet, “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?” (1 Pet 3:13).
We do not want to force our views on anyone. All we can do is lay out options and argue for what we believe to be true and reasonable. If unbelievers don’t want that, then we move on to others who do want that conversation. We should never be party to physical violence as a method of getting people to live like we believe they should. We are not the moral authority or final judge. God is. We are Christians who believe in the God revealed in Scripture, and we will try to be lights to the nations by spreading the gospel. If others slam the door on us, we will dust off and move on, but we must not give in to a moral position that has no basis greater than brute materialism and personal preferences. We believe one day all will understand the catastrophic failure of disbelief. The stakes are high, and none of this is without consequence.
The decisions we make, the reasons we give, and the assumptions we make about reality are interconnected. We cannot pretend it doesn’t matter, unless you believe it really doesn’t.
