C.S. Lewis's Moral Argument for the Existence of God
By: Dan Baxter
C.S. Lewis’s argument for God can be explained in three simple steps. First of all, there is a moral law. Some consciousness must have created this moral law. This consciousness is God.
In his work Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis came to the conclusion that there must be a moral law to the universe. Lewis proved this in a few ways. This first is that there is a standard of moral behavior in society. This standard is not usually denied, but those who break it simply use excuses for why it was alright in certain situations. Lewis also states that, because people fight over what is right and wrong, they acknowledge that such things as right and wrong exist. Lewis also goes on to conclude that moral law cannot be based on instinct because of situations in which a person endangers his own life to save another’s. Moral law is also independent from society and is universal or else it would be based on opinion. In other words, Lewis is trying to explain that morality is objective. Since morality is objective, there must be a set moral law. Everyone, Lewis says, is subject to this moral law.
Lewis then proves his second premise that there must be a lawmaker for this moral law. Lewis admits that there is no physical evidence set in nature for such thing as a moral law and thus no physical evidence for a lawmaker. The fact that there is one however suggests that something created it. Lewis is able to come to three conclusions about this consciousness. First of all, he must be omnipotent in order to make the law universally valid. Second, he must be omni-benevolent to make all people subject to that law. Finally, he must be concerned about us and how we act because he makes us subject to it. The mind that created this moral law, Lewis says, is God.
Using these two premises that (1) there is a universal moral law and (2) a consciousness created this law, we can determine that God is that creator. Lewis also addresses opposing viewpoints to his proof by showing their errors. The first of these is that moral law is simply what he called “herd instinct.” Lewis explains that this is not true because in some cases the right thing to do involves putting oneself in danger and going against “herd instinct.” The second argument against Lewis’ proof states that moral law is simply decided by society. Lewis explains that this cannot be possible because it would make those who tried to reform society for the better, such as Martin Luther King Jr., immoral which is certainly not true. Another option is that morality is decided individually. Lewis explains that this would make morality irrelevant because each person could change his morality as he saw fit and tyrants throughout history, such as Hitler, would be moral by their own standards, which is ridiculous.
C.S. Lewis does not cite any specific historical sources in his proof that God exists. He does however use concrete examples from history such as Hitler or Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King Jr.
I find C.S. Lewis’ argument to be an excellent proof for the existence of God. He is very careful not to make any thinking errors. He states his premises so that they are not vague and also proves them to be sure they are not false. He then directly links them to a logically following conclusion. By using examples of people in history and disproving those opposed to his conclusion, Lewis supports his argument even more. Because of this, I find his argument to be a persuasive argument for God’s existence.
Sources used:
DePoe,
John. “Arguments from Morality for the
Existence of God.” Accessed:
Fernandes,
Phil. “The Moral Argument.” Accessed:
Lindsley,
Art. “C.S. Lewis: His Life and
Works.” Accessed: