Quote Originally Posted by bu villain View Post
Actually punishment is not based on morality always. Running a red light is not immoral, especially if you make sure the intersection is clear first but we punish people for it because it makes the streets safer. From a Christian perspective, why should anyone be punished by other people? I thought the Bible says not to judge others and that God is responsible for justice.
All laws flow from an understanding of morality. The government is charged with a moral obligation to protect and enforce rules that will protect citizens.

Now of course this is not the same kind of universal morality that we normally speak of. But for the believer, breaking the red light law, is an immoral act against the laws of God. Because we are commanded to follow the laws of God and the laws of the authorities placed over us (as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God), then we are responsible for obeying traffic laws, and following the legal framework as laid out by the authorities that God has placed over us.

I also believe there is a difference between our internal moral code and our development or the revelation of laws in our universe. One is embedded and we do not need to discover it because it is already within us, and the other needs to be revealed and can be very subjective based on an infinite number of factors.