Divine Command Theory

Question 1

What is Divine command theory

Answer 1

Divine command theory say it is our duty to obey rules that are commanded by god and any acts that are forbidden by god are necessarily bad or wrong

Question 2

God as the origin and regulator of morality

Answer 2

This theory claims that moral knowledge is possible and objective.
We can understand clearly what is right and wrong with reference to what god command

So ethics is not relative to the preferences of culture. It is absolute

It is dependent upon the theistic claim. That there is one god who is

Omnibenevolent

Omnipotent

Omniscinet

Omnipresent

God has created all thing including the law. In genesis it claims that everything god made was good

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good”

Question 3

Definitions of words 
Meta- ethics

Answer 3

This literally means beyond ethics this branch of ethics studies the meaning of ethical language and the foundation and scope of ethical knowledge 

Question 4

Right and wrong as objective truths based on gods will/ command

Answer 4

God’s commands are a standard for moral behaviour. Right is right only because God has commanded it and wrong is wrong only because it is forbidden by God. Moral actions are defined by God’s will. These rules apply universally, regardless of time and culture. This objective standard originates from God rather than being something external to him.

Question 5

Moral goodness is achieved by complying with divine command

Answer 5

A moral agent must obey the commands laid out by God, by following
the commandments in scripture or church teachine.
in normative terms such a theory is deontological since it becomes the duty of the moral agent to obey God’s commands. Our relationship with God is vital for ethical behaviour because those in fellowship with God can better understand his will.

Question 6

Divine command as a requirement of gods omnipotence

Answer 6

If god is truly all powerful, it is vital that he is not controlled or subject to the powers of morality
If God‘s goodness was because of his obligation to laws, then the rules would be a higher authority than God to understand God as a truly omnipotent, we must comprehend him to be the origin of both goodness and commands

Question 7

Define command as an objective meta physical foundation for morality 

Answer 7

Biblical writers viewed morality theologically. This means that they saw the origin of morality not as from us but from within the nature and activity of God. The definition of the word right is simply ‘commanded by God’ and wrong is “forbidden by God”. Such rules are the foundation for all ethical behaviour. No circumstances or good intentions can make
acts that are fordicaen by bod tigat

Question 8

Who was Robert Adams? 

Answer 8

Robert Adams is an American philosopher who taught at UCLA Yale and the University of Oxford as a professor of moral philosophy and metaphysics 

Question 9

What is Robert Adams divine command theory? 

Answer 9

Robert Adam made this theory to combat
the euthyphro

Adam says that the following statements are the same
It is wrong to steal
Stealing is against God’s commands
Morality is not simply based on a command from God. It is intrinsic to his unchanging omnibenevolent nature.
More goodness is not arbitrary or cruel because God nature is intrinsically unfailingly benevolent
To command anything that is not good would be a violation of God‘s nature and essence.
Well, it is not logically impossible for a loving God to command cruelty it is unthinkable giving God‘s nature since morality is an essential characteristic of God anything moral will always reflect God‘s character 

Question 10

What are the challenges to this theory?
The first is the euthyphro

Answer 10

 The euthyphro dilemma is a challenge to divine command theory it dates back to Pluto‘s work. It is a dialogue between euthyphro and Socrates discussing how we know what holiness is.

Is the holy approved by the gods because it is holy?
The gods are the only good because they live up to an independent standard
They are no longer the ultimate moral authority for example God sees that truthfulness is right but he doesn’t make it right. Why should we obey God then?

Is the holy holy because it is approved by the gods
The gods can approve of and command anything they’re like. And it would be good because it is approved by them. They could call lying good and it would be approved. This doesn’t sound like a God worth worship.

Robert Adams modified divine command theory attempts to resolve this problem by understanding goodness as being at the heart of God nature rather than external to him or arbitrary 

Question 11

What is the second horn of the
Euthyphro dilemma
It is the arbitrariness problem

Answer 11

The second horn is called the arbitrariness problem
If the definition of good is what is approved of by God he could command something random and declare it good this means that whatever God decides good does not have to have special qualities
That allow it to be judged this way
the goodness of such an act is purely because good has decided it

Robert Adams attempts to resolve this by underlining that God cannot command random things as good since it would be against his intrinsically and supremely good nature to do so

Question 12

What is the pluralism objection? 

Answer 12

there are many ethical systems around the globe that claim authority with reference to God or gods some of these systems conflict. How do we know which system is right? Such systems have some features in common but they also have differences to even if we could establish one clear ethics there are different interpretations of how laws are meant or apply
For example, Christian teachings forbid divorce in Matthew 5. 32
Yet allowed in Deuteronomy 24