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Divine Command Theory

Divine Command Theory. Suppose a believer told you that God had instructed them to give £10 to charity – would you be surprised? Why? Why not?. Now suppose. … this mother said that God told her to send her son on a suicide bombing mission What would you say?. You have encountered ….

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Divine Command Theory

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  1. Divine Command Theory • Suppose a believer told you that God had instructed them to give £10 to charity – would you be surprised? • Why? Why not?

  2. Now suppose • … this mother said that God told her to send her son on a suicide bombing mission • What would you say?

  3. You have encountered ….. The DIVINE COMMAND THEORY

  4. The Euthyphro dilemma • According to Plato, a man called Euthyphro was asked: • Does God call good acts “good” because they are morally good? • or are the acts morally good because God told us to do them?

  5. “Hmmmm” said Euthrypho • That’s a poser. Because, you see • If God approves acts BECAUSE they are morally good, then they must have been good BEFORE GOD SAID THEY WERE!!!! • MORALITY IS THEREFORE INDEPENDENT OF GOD. AAAAAAGH!

  6. And on the other hand …. • If acts are good by virtue of the fact that God wills them … then • God could ask us to do ANYTHING and it would be a good act. • Er, yes, that WOULD mean rape, murder, etc would be good if God ordered it • DOUBLE AAAAAAAGH!!!

  7. Furthermore …. • morality would therefore be based on mere whims of God. • God’s commands aren’t informed nor sanctioned by morality. • How could such morally arbitrary commands be the foundation of morality?

  8. And another thing! • It means that statements like “God is good” and “God’s commands are good” are meaningless: “God acts in accordance with his commands” and “God’s commands are in accordance with his commands”. • But that one does my head in!

  9. But hang on a minute … • Divine command theory is by no means the only ethical theory in the Christian tradition. There’s Situation Ethics and Natural Law • so the believer need not panic even if these objections are correct. There are other morality theories to choose from!

  10. And furthermore • If God created all things, then He must have created our moral obligations too! • If God is sovereign, He must have the authority to tell us how we are to live our lives. Why should we expect to understand it all? • If God exists then all morality necessarily flows from Him. Moral lanuage describes God. It does not define Him.

  11. But then again …… • Some people say that Divine Command theory provides a good let out clause for God when He asks fathers to sacrifice their children to Him, or to destroy towns and kill all the inhabitants. He’s God, right, so it must be OK, OK? • Come to think about it, it provides a good let out clause for criminals too..

  12. Ultimately • Believers might argue that Divine Command operates in at least two ways • The general – “Love your neighbour as yourself.” “ You shall not commit murder” • Such commands can apply to everyone everywhere

  13. And the particular which apply only to a few people and at particular times. • “Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Then come and be my disciple. “ • God has the RIGHT to do it – and who are we to judge!

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