Without God, Who Decides What’s Right or Wrong?

The question cuts deeper than most people realize. If there is no God, then who decides what is right and what is wrong? Is morality something humans create, vote on, or change as culture evolves? Or does right and wrong exist independently of human opinion? This issue sits at the center of faith, justice, and truth.

In a godless worldview, morality becomes subjective. What is considered right in one culture may be considered wrong in another. What is condemned in one generation may be celebrated in the next. History proves this. Slavery was once legal and defended. Segregation was once normal. Genocide has been justified by governments. When morality is decided by humans alone, power often replaces truth.

The Bible directly addresses this problem. Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Scripture warns that human judgment, when detached from God, is flawed and dangerous. What feels right is not always right.

Without God, morality is reduced to preference. If there is no higher authority, then no action is truly evil, only unpopular. Murder becomes wrong because society says so, not because it violates a sacred law. But if society changes its mind, the moral line moves. This is why moral outrage becomes inconsistent in a world without God.

Scripture presents God as the foundation of moral truth, not culture or consensus. Micah 6:8 declares, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Right and wrong are not invented by humans. They are revealed by God.

Romans 2:15 adds another layer, explaining that even those who deny God still possess a conscience, “Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts.” This suggests morality is not learned solely from society but is embedded within humanity. The conscience points back to a moral Lawgiver.

When God is removed, justice becomes negotiable. Truth becomes flexible. Accountability disappears. But when God exists, morality is anchored. Wrong remains wrong even when everyone supports it. Right remains right even when it costs something. Isaiah 5:20 warns of what happens when this order is reversed: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.”

The question is not whether people can behave morally without believing in God. Many do. The real question is whether morality itself makes sense without Him. Scripture answers clearly. Psalm 33:11 says, “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” God’s moral standard does not shift with time or opinion.

Without God, morality becomes a debate. With God, morality becomes truth. And truth does not belong to the loudest voice or the strongest power. It belongs to the One who created life itself.