Divine Command Theory

Question 1

What is non naturalism?

Answer 1

Non-naturalism (e.g. DCT/intuitionism) sees goodness as rooted in something beyond the natural world, such as God’s will or moral intuition, and does not try to define ‘good.’

Question 2

What is DCT?

Answer 2

-Divine Command Theory is the view that morality is based on God’s commands. What is morally right is what God commands, and what is wrong is what God forbids
It is a deontological and absolutist theory grounded in religious authority

Question 3

How is divine command theory a good moral approach?

Answer 3

-Divine Command Theory provides a strong foundation for moral authority by rooting ethical values in the will of a perfectly good and all-knowing God
-According to this theory, what is morally right is right because God commands it, and what is wrong is forbidden by God
-This offers a clear and objective guide to behaviour, especially in religious traditions where God’s law is seen as absolute.

Question 4

What’s an example of a command DCT would say to follow?

Answer 4

-The Ten Commandments serve as direct divine instructions that believers are expected to follow without exception
-As Karl Barth argued, human beings should not try to define morality through reason or emotion, but instead accept that “man’s obedience to God is the answer to all questions about ethics”
-This highlights how DCT ensures consistency and moral clarity, as actions are judged not by shifting human standards, but by the unchanging will of God

Question 5

How does the DCT reflect God’s divine authority?

Answer 5

-Divine Command Theory appeals to many theists is because it reflects the total sovereignty of God. John Calvin, a key Protestant thinker, argued that morality flows directly from God’s will, stating: “The will of God is the supreme rule of righteousness
-For Calvin, God’s will alone determines what is right or wrong, and to question it would be to seek something “greater and more sublime than the will of God — and nothing such can be found.” This makes DCT a natural extension of the belief that God is omnipotent and omniscient
-Unlike secular ethics, which rely on flawed human reason, DCT presents a moral law rooted in divine perfection
-This ensures that believers can trust their moral duties are not arbitrary or culturally relative, but grounded in an eternal, divine source