The Moral Argument

Dr. David Baggett first wrote Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality (Oxford University Press, 2011), then God & Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning (Oxford University Press, 2016), followed by The Moral Argument: A History (Oxford University Press, 2019) and finally, David finished the tetralogy in 2024, with A Personal God and a Good World: The Coherence of the Christian Moral Vision (Oxford University Press, 2024).

It is not hyperbole to say that no one in all of history knows more, or has written more, on the moral argument for God, than David Baggett. In this essay, The Moral Argument, Dr. Baggett surveys and summarizes the moral argument for the existence of God.

What follows is a five-fold moral argument for God’s existence. We begin with the natural assumption that there are objective moral facts. This is to say that there are moral facts about values, such as human beings have intrinsic dignity and worth; there are also moral facts about rights and duties, like human beings shouldn’t be subjected to cruel torture just for fun. Most people, believers and unbelievers alike, admit that such facts exist. It should take a strong argument to give up such common sensical convictions and beliefs of deep ingression. We are entitled to a fair bit of tenacity in holding onto them.

The notion that there are such moral truths is called moral realism. A moral realism view is one that believes at least some moral claims are true objectively. This suggests that their truth is not merely a function of human preference or sentiment or choice, but that they are objective, akin to 2+2=4. Moral arguments for God’s existence are based on the existence of objective moral facts and values, as well as other moral realities presumed to exist like moral freedom, moral rights, moral regrets, and more. We can fruitfully confine our focus for the moment to objective moral duties and values.