divine command theory

Question 1

divine command

Answer 1

• divine: god like
• command: order/demand

Question 2

difference between religious & secular ethics

Answer 2

• dct religious theory of ethics as suggests moral commands come from god
• alternative view is ethics is a secular affair
• secular ethics means non-religious ethics & based on moral intuition and justified in terms of application of those values to moral dilemmas
• secular moral arguments aim to apeal to everyone
• in many cases, moral conclusions shared by secular/religious people as all share common experience/reason as many secular values in line with those of one or more of world religions
• it’s not seen in result of moral reasoning nor in values that underlie the reasoning
• point which religious ethics parts with secular ethics concerns religious sources of authority where secular ethics cannot share for example:
  - belief here is a god whose wish is people behave in certain ways
  - particular moral commands found in religious scripture & believed that god set down particular rules. example, moses coming down mountain having been instructed by god to write 10 commandments
  - obediance to will of god is key feature of deciding right/wrong
• belief in god may be sufficient warrent for a moral choice

Question 3

what is divine command theory

Answer 3

• whatever god commands must be good as god is source of all goodness & what he forbids must be evil
• leaves open the question of how we know what god commands/forbids
• different religions/denominations take different views on what god requires int terms of morality
• example, buddhists & hindus argue against eeating meat as caused unnecessary animal suffering whilst other religions approve meat eating & may have specific laws on how animals treated
• shouldn’t assume in every situation there’s going to be definitive religious rule applicable to all commanded directly by god
• fundamental principle of dct is people should act in way reflecting will of god
• in protestant christiantiy, dct has straightforward rationale:
  - god creator of everyhing
  - organic link between creator & created as reflected in genesis 1:26-7
  - human moral behaviour should literally follow god’s commands
  - for protetants wgo live by sola scriptura god’s commands seen in scripture

Question 4

john calvin

Answer 4

• in institutes of christian religion calvin uses dct o justify his view of predestination - no free will
• ‘will of god is supreme rule of righteousness so everything he wills must be held to be righteous’
• key argument here is god cannot be ‘caused’ to do anything for it would imply there’s a force external to god whereas god is believed to be omnipotent
• to challenge or question god’s will is to ask for something greater
• for calvin, dct is natural result of absolute power & sovereignity of god

Question 5

karl barth

Answer 5

• similar argument given by bath in his church dogmatics
• ‘makes god’s command the judgement of what he has done’
• argues that though he isn’t suprised people have always tried to understand the general ethical problem & to define what is good this is not his concern in terms of christian doctrine for man’s obediance to god is answer to all uestions about ethics
• commands of god set christian ethics totally apart from general discussion about what is good or right

Question 6

what do catholics think

Answer 6

• similar argument to barth & calvin
• although recognising fallibility of individual christians catholics believe christ gave to the leaders of his church the authority to make pronouncements
• doesnt make pope infallible in ordinary matters but special procurements are infallible
• for catholics they represent the will of christ and should not be challenged on basis of human reason or evidence

Question 7

strengths of dct

Answer 7

• for religious people, dct grounds their moral behaviour in teachings of factually-existing god. most believers see god as all-knowing & all-loving so have advantage of believing hat god’s commands must be right & must be best ways of promoting love
• the rules are universal & right for all times and places and avoids problem of trying to sort out different moral ideas in different countries at different times
• system is clear & straightforward, what god says is ‘good/bad’ is so
• most christians link god’s moral commands with promise of life after death

Question 8

weaknesses of dct

Answer 8

• we cannot tell if the commands are as god gave them as we have no original of ot so texts we use today are in attempts to reconstruct what might have been original meaning
• bible contains immoral commands for example, slavery where in the letter of paul to titus where says ‘submissive to their masters’ appearing to condone slavery & homosexual behaviour in leviticus 20:13 ‘if man lies with male as with a woman both have committed an abomination’

Question 9

weakness od dct - euthyphro dilemma

Answer 9

IF ACCEPT CONDUCT RIGHT AS GOD COMMANDS IT:
- gives idea whatever god commands must be good by definition & not in position to challenge it from own experience
- leads to problem of god making immoral commands where ot has stories in which god commands slaughter of innocent kids
- these things go against biblical images of god & his requirements for justice, love
- are we then justfied in calling any recorded command from god right just because it appears in scripture
IF YOU ACCEPT GODS COMMAND IT BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT:
- god commands an action as is good in itself but leds to problem of how does god know its good
- only answer is god recognises there’s a moral law external to himself & has to obey it and in that case god is subject to moral law and loses his omnipotence

Question 10

conclusion

Answer 10

• clear no solution to euthyphro dilemma that’s universally accepted
• divine command ethics not without its philosophical and practical problems
• left with key issue of if god’s commands are in line with human ethical thinking & intuitions they appear unnecessarily but if contradict them we have problem of trying to reconcile them with belief god is benevolent