Divine Command Theory Essay

Euthyphro’s Dilemma is when Socrates asks Euthyphro, “Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?” Euthyphro’s Dilemma is that God determines what is good and evil, right and wrong. This dilemma challenges the Divine Command theory because according to Euthyphro’s Dilemma we would be obligated to do something wrong because God commanded it. This conflicts with the Divine Command theory because it would imply that cruelty could be morally right if God told us to do so. The idea that cruelty can be morally right goes up against the belief in the Divine Command Theory because it proposes that an action's status that is morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God

In “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God”, Johnathan Edwards uses fear to create images that help his audience experience the consequences of sinful behavior. He uses imagery and figurative language to persuade his readers. He wants us to get a mental picture of Hell in your head and he wants us to fear the wrath of God. One such image was when Edward wrote, “When men are on god’s hands and they could fall to Hell, natural men are held in the hands of God, over the pit of Hell.” God could let us fall into the eternity of burning flames anytime He wants to. Edward is trying to persuade people, especially sinners, to turn to God and to look to Him for Salvation. “The devil is waiting for them, Hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them and swallow them up”, in this quote, we can imagine the horrors of Hell and what’s waiting for us. The devil can make us do anything and make it seem like it’s blameless for us,

The divine command theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s duty defined morality, natural law theory, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics are the five types of ethical theories. The divine command theory states that what is morally right and wrong will be decided by God. Utilitarianism states that “Action “A” is morally right if and only if it produces the greatest amount of overall happiness. Kant’s duty defined morality states that what is important is acting for the sake of producing good consequences, no matter what the act is. Natural law theory states that people should focus on the good and avoid any evil. The last theory is Aristotle’s virtue ethics which states that we should move from the concern towards good action and to focus on the concern with good character. This paper argues that Aristotle’s virtue ethics is better than the other ethical theories.

The Ancient Israelites and the Mesopotamians are both early societies in the Middle East. These societies have similar social similarities, such as having the society being patriarchal. They also had the same political laws such as men were recognized as the head of the household. Another similarity is with inheritance. Usually men would inherit property, money, or other values. They both had organized and centralized religion.

Philippa Foot presented a series of moral dilemmas when she discussed abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect. One famous problem of her was the trolley dilemma: “..he is the driver of a runaway tram which he can only steer from one narrow track onto another; five men are working on one track and one on the other; anyone the tack he enters is bound to be killed.” (Foot, 1967, p. 2) What should the driver do? Despite what he does, he will harm someone!1

John Proctor, a man of his name in 1692 was a lying, cheating man who could not stay true to his marriage and his family. Proctor may have worked hard and provided for his wife, but adultery was frowned upon, and not taken well in 1692. Is it a coincidence he can’t remember the 10 commandments, or is Proctor just a nasty man with no morals? Although Proctor may have been this at the beginning, did his mistakes make him change to a better man when his wife was given up for witchcraft? Proctor may have committed adultery, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his wife Elizabeth. Everyone has made of mistake at some point in their life. Proctor wanted everything for her and his family, and after all love does change people in many ways,

The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that states that God decides what is morally right and what is morally wrong. The theory argues that to be morally good one must do what God says and abstain from doing what God forbids. The question that is going to be discussed in this essay is if The Divine Command Theory provides an acceptable account of what makes an action morally right and others morally wrong. In this essay I will argue against the previously mentioned statement using the following arguments: The inconsistency between theists, the dependence of morality on religion and finally, Euthyphro’s dilemma.

In Antony’s paper Good Minus God: The Moral atheist, she is questioning the label of “bad” that has been placed on atheists. To help aid her throughout her paper, she uses the differences between the divine command theory (D.C.T) and the divine independence theory (D.I.T). According to Antony (pg. 5) “Whatever the gods love — bingo! — That’s pious.” This is what she uses to define the D.C.T. Antony defines the D.I.T (pg. 6) to be “that the goodness of an action is a feature that is independent of, and antecedent to God’s willing it.”

would have them do unto you. Why are the commandments so important in today’s society?

He has some saving graces. He is a principled individual and in this regard is prepared to perform what he accepts to be his obligation to the gods — despite the fact that it includes bringing charges against his own particular father. It creates the impression that what Euthyphro's dad has done under the current conditions was reasonable under Athenian law, and it was very improbable that he would be rebuffed. By and by, Euthyphro trusts it is his religious obligation to report what his dad has done, which is his fundamental explanation behind doing it. Having satisfied his obligation as to the occasion, his still, small voice will find a sense of contentment. Moreover, Euthyphro is particularly restricted to Meletus and on numerous focuses is in entire concurrence with

As modern day people, we allow our environment to impact the way we make decisions, how we speak to people, and how we resolve conflicts. The influence of outside pressures from society, moral obligation, and physical disabilities does not allow many individuals to pursue their dreams. In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the tragic story of a farmer and the unfortunate events that led up to his current life. This is then used to reveal the conflict of societal standards that challenge Ethan’s personal desires and keep him from pursuing his dreams.

The civilizations that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics.

The discourse between Socrates and Euthyphro clearly depicts a dilemma when it comes to the question on holiness, moral goodness and the will of God. While Euthyphro is of the opinion that what is dear to the gods is holy, and what is not dear to them is unholy, (Indiana University 6) Socrates seems to be of a different opinion. This discourse occurs at a time when there is a belief in many gods in Greece, each god having different duties. The gods are also known to disagree on a number of issues. Socrates, in trying to counter Euthyphro’s idea he opines that since the gods disagree, they must have different concepts of what is ethical and what is not. Socrates clearly states, in support of this opinion that that according to Euthyphro’s account,

The divine command theory is a theory of an act is morally right because it is commanded by God and an act is immoral because God forbids it. The divine command theory has faced significant arguments that arose from Plato’s Euthyphro Dilemma. In Euthyphro, the dialogue started with Socrates questioning Euthyphro what is the state of nature, of being pious, in response, Euthyphro declares that being pious is the good with whatever the God or superior commands. This arose the following question, “Are acts pious because the gods love them, or do the gods love actions because they are pious?” (Landau pg67). Specifically, does God command us to do whatever because it is morally right, or is whatever we do morally right because God commands us to

Morality has long been used by human being as a basis for their actions. Believers of God think that doing good deeds is being moral and thus these actions will save them from their sins. They believe that following God’s will, that is the 10 commandments and in the new commandments stated in the New Testament is the written and visible basis for these actions found in the Holy Bible. .