Divine Command Theory

Question 1

What makes an action good or bad?

Answer 1

God’s commands

Question 2

Is it absolute or relative?

Answer 2

Absolute

Question 3

Where is the evidence of the commands?

Answer 3

Bible- 10 commandments
Torah- 10 commandments
Q’uran- shariah law

Question 4

Why would people do moral actions?

Answer 4

They go to heaven and if they don’t they get punished with hell

Question 5

What might make you question god?

Answer 5

Some OT laws are weird and out of date
Innocent people dying
Evil and suffering
Noah’s ark
Story of Job
Abraham asked God to sacrifice his son
The plagues of Egypt
God commanding Joshua to burn down the city of Jericho

Question 6

Who is Euthyphro?

Answer 6

A character in Plato’s dialogue

Question 7

What does Euythphro think?

Answer 7

He can trust the gods because morality comes from them

Question 8

What does Plato ask euthyphro?

Answer 8

Is something good because god says it is good or is it good independently of god?

Question 9

What is the problem with Euthyphro’s belief?

Answer 9

This means that anything could be good, even murder

Question 10

What is the problem with Plato’s argument?

Answer 10

If god doesn’t determine what is good, something else must, do god is not omnipotent

Question 11

Who defended DCT

Answer 11

Robert Adams

Question 12

What did Adams argue?

Answer 12

That because god is omnibenevolent (all loving and perfectly good) anything He commands will be good.

Question 13

Why do we perceive some of god’s actions as bad?

Answer 13

We only have finite knowledge and don’t understand the whole picture, god has infinite knowledge, epistemic distance