A Superior Morality

What would cause a village of cannibals to give up head-hunting? In the case of the Yali, a primitive tribe in Papua, Indonesia, it was the Bible. When they read the command against murder and about loving one’s neighbor, they stopped eating their enemies._¹

The late US president Woodrow Wilson revered the Bible: “The more you read [it], the more it will become plain to you the things that are worthwhile—loyalty, right dealing, speaking the truth, readiness to give everything for what they think their duty. …and the things that are guaranteed to make men unhappy—selfishness, cowardice, greed, and everything that is low and mean.”

Despite examples like the Yali and Wilson, the outspoken, dogmatic atheist Richard Dawkins believes that the Bible, though great literature, is “not a moral book.”² And British philosopher and atheist A.C. Grayling recently published The Good Book, a secular humanists’ alternative to the Bible and its morality.

So, is the Bible a moral compass for humanity, or not?

Imitating Your God

Humans are wired to imitate. As children, we admire an older sibling, our parents, or a pop star. Then, as we grow into adulthood, we solidify our belief in an ideal, whether God or something else. Yet, in the end, our best behavior can only reach the moral level of that ideal.

So, tell me who you worship, and I will tell you what your moral code looks like.

In the creation story of ancient Mesopotamia (17th century BC), the upper-class gods forced the lower-class gods to perform works of drudgery. When the latter went on strike, the god Enki created humans, whose mission would be to serve the gods, hand and foot. What a disheartening fate!

Mesopotamians had no concept of love for the gods because their gods did not love them; instead their worship was characterized by fearful servitude and a hope that the gods would reciprocate with acts of benevolence. Not surprisingly, the idea of love for others was also absent.

Modern humanistic morality—admiring the best in homo sapiens—shows little improvement over ancient pagan ideals. All it can offer is to reflect the fickleness of human nature.

What a contrast these views are to the religion of Israel, in which a God of love created humans to reflect His character of unselfish love. And because God was holy, His people were to be holy, too. Lev. 19:2.

The Bible admonishes upright behavior, springing from love to God and one’s neighbor. Matt. 22:37–40.

Purity, integrity, a sound work ethic, temperance and abstinence, respect, humility, and even loving one’s enemies is a result of conforming to the example of God Himself.

Another trait of God is impartiality. All humans have the same standing before Him, be they king or pauper. The fourth of the Ten Commandments prescribes the same rest to both masters and servants, regardless of gender.

Ex. 20:10. Hebrew prophets fiercely rebuked kings, something unheard of in the ancient world, and called for the just and merciful treatment of orphans, widows, and the destitute.

Many of these ideas from Scripture feel modern, even though they were penned in antiquity. Indeed, living out the Bible’s principles has borne fruit in flourishing economies, scientific progress, functional families, and fulfilled lives. With this in mind, just how much could the Good Book change your life for the better?