From the Christian perspective, morality does not have an origin. It did not have a beginning. Instead, it was revealed from the eternal God. It reflects His eternal nature. So we wouldn’t say there was a time when morality did not exist. We would not say that God created it. We would say morality has always existed because it is that which is revealed out of the character of God, and since God always existed, then morality has always existed.
Non-Christian Morality
However, from the non-Christian perspective, depending on which theological or atheistic starting point a person uses, there are problems. The Islamic God, for example, is eternal. Muslims would also say that morality is revealed out of the character of Allah. But, in the Quran in Surah 4:157, it states that Jesus was not crucified. Instead, it was made to appear that He was crucified when He really wasn’t. The Muslim commentaries say it was Allah who made someone look like Jesus, who was then crucified. This means that Allah is a deceiver. Deceit is immoral – and self-refuting. Therefore, Allah can’t be the source of morality. There are other theological systems like Islam that we could examine, but it is not within the scope of this article to tackle each one.
From the atheistic perspective, morality cannot be a universally objective fact that resides in a universal mind (God). Morality is developed from human reasoning. This means it is subjective and depends on opinions, societal norms, intuition, or reducing harm (see below). But people’s opinions don’t make something universally true. Societal norms change, so something morally good in one century might be morally bad in another. And, intuition amounts to how one person feels about morality. But like a personal opinion, intuition doesn’t make something morally right or wrong. So atheists might be moral, but they have no universally applicable moral absolute truths. Therefore, they are ultimately subjective and originate with people.
If Morality is Based on Reducing Harm
Some people (usually atheists) think that reducing harm is the standard of morality. But why is that the right standard? Is it right because people say it’s right? Such starting points are subject to opinions about what harm is, when it should be reduced, and to what level. Without a universal standard justifying why “reducing harm” is the right starting point for morality, then it is arbitrary.
If Morality Has An Origin
If morality has an origin, then it is not eternal. If it is not eternal, then it has a beginning. If it has a beginning, it is contingent on something that brought it into existence. But this suggests there was a time when there was no right and wrong. But from where did morality arrive? Did people invent it? If so, that goes back to the problem of subjective experience and preferences addressed above. That is problematic.
Conclusion
Morality is a difficult topic for many people. But for the Christian it is pretty simple. God has revealed what is right and wrong out of His character. It didn’t have an origin. God revealed it out of His own perfect and holy nature. Therefore, Christians recognize what morality is and from where it comes. It does not have a beginning because it comes from God, and God has no beginning (Psalm 90:2). Therefore, morality is eternal in the character of God, and He reveals it to us.
