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I'm not going to attempt an exhaustive reply to each of the points you and Craig have made, because many of them I believe are valid. I frankly don't know how far I'd take my own thesis, that the conscience contains a pre-formatted moral code. I suspect it does (or did, before a person is led away of their own sinful desires), which would explain why all cultures have an aversion to murder. True, it could be the remnants of revelation passed down through those cultures that is the source for their "moral" stance against murder, but I doubt that's all it is. It could be that the role of the Bible is to restore the conscience to its innocent state by educating it about the ways of God. Man's own desires lead him away from God and the innocence he had at birth. The Word is the only place we can go that provides the necessary information to restore a corrupted conscience to its sinless state through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not at all suggesting that we are able to divine our own way to salvation sans revelation. It is just a commentary on the last century and a half of Christendom when I say that many confuse the idea of the Bible being the source of morality vs. it being our means of knowing something about morality. I don't think your analogy about the meat market vs. the cow is too silly. Kids really do grow up these days thinking that meat comes from markets, not cows. :-) It's not unimportant to teach kids the truth of the matter. I go back to the idea that the Bible does not contain an exhaustive list of every possible sin, nor does it contain an exhaustive list of every way to please God. The fruits of the Spirit are infinite, and the works of the flesh are infinite. Neither can be codified. Which leads me back to the fact that it was prophesied plainly that God would write His law on our hearts and in our minds. Does anyone have thoughts on what that means, exactly? I certainly don't have a crystal clear fix on it. I'd be interested in others' thinking on it.
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