Will Of God Case Study

Improved Essays
1. Could the will of God be the only guide to which actions are morally right? 1100-1300 words

The question of whether the will of god determines what actions are morally right utimately rests on the assumption that he exists. As there has been no scientific proof on either side of that particular argument, this problem quickly stagnates. It is often left with people agreeing to disagree, or trying to change the other person 's belief to match their own. If god does not exist, then there is clearly no point in acting according to Christian morals. Without the threat of heaven or hell after death, we would most likely form social expectations resembling morals, but they would not be binding. However if we take a philosophical approach and assume
…show more content…
If anything god says is to be taken as good and true, then he cannot be wrong. If he cannot be wrong, then there is nothing to make his commands right either. For example, if a game was created with the rule that a specific person could never lose, it would be meaningless to say that he is good at that game. No matter how many times he won, there would be no skill or wisdom involved as it is not possible for him to lose (LaFollette, 2007). In this same way there would be no point in worshipping god 's goodness, as it is nothing exceptional if he has no choice but to be …show more content…
if you were take the word of the bible as the source of the will of god, his word is unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever ” (Hebrews 13:8). God 's will is unchanging, therefore morals are unchanging as well. This argument does become problematic because the bible also states that god is all powerful, and therefore can do anything, which would include changing his word.

Counter arguements

As the divine command theory is logically exhaustive, a supporter must choose one of the above options to follow. However as both of them lead to be false, Divine command theory cannot be supported, and therefore god cannot be the only guide to which actions are right or wrong.

Divine command theory what makes an action right is that god commands it to be done what makes an action wrong is that god commands it not to be done morals cannot change as it is the word of god, society doesn 't matter reasons for actions do not matter, only that the action is

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In essence, God decides morality, the basis of right and wrong. If God says something is right then it is morally right; if God says something is wrong then it also is morally wrong. However, flaws in this theory have caused many people to deny it and believe in Saint Thomas Aquinas Theory of Natural Law. This theory is divided into three parts: the world has values and views built into its nature, describe not only how things are but also how they ought to be, and how do we determine what is tight and wrong. The two theories are opposite in terms of viewpoint but in today's world, but of them are rejected because of conflicting issues.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mormon Polygamy Report

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many people, who are deeply religious, view ethical principles as unchanging and concrete because GOD has given them. They hold to certain ideas, behaviors and prohibitions because God tells them what is right and what is wrong. In most religions they have a texts that they consult that is considered divine revelation, not to be argued or questioned. They often believe that a system of ethics is not possible without religion.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hidden Worldview Analysis

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My heart will decide what is right and wrong not a higher power or someone else. I determine what is considered valuable. If I want something I simply get it. Without thinking of the harm done to others in the process. I am my own God.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Protagoras, a Greek thinker and teacher, while commenting about his affliction to human reasoning and logic, quipped, “Man is the measure of all things.” (Jowett, 1871, p. 17) Just as Protagoras held this philosophy, and the reliance of man to act as man, it is unlikely he could have ever known how Socrates, some many years later, would prove him right. This affirmation was best evidenced by the philosophical argument held between Socrates and Euthyphro regarding man’s moral obligations, and holiness.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Divine Command Theory explains that actions are good if and only if God commands them, and actions are bad if and only if God forbids them. This makes the Divine Command Theory independent of human thought and feeling, it is God who determines what actions are moral. If we were to disobey God that would be an immoral thing to do and thus, we would be punished. We are motivated to follow this theory because it is the only reason why we still follow moral laws.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Euthyphro Dilemma The Euthyphro dilemma is an argument that was brought about by a question asked by Socrates during Plato’s Euthyphro. The question is seen to object the Divine Command Theory. Socrates asked, “is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” or in other words, “Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?”…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people have justifications for why they do certain things. Some justifications are based off of happiness, desires, god or morals. People who use happiness and desires as their justification use theories of the good. While those who use god and morals use theories of morality. Some theories that fall into the theories of morality are the divine command theory, consequentialism, and social contract theory.…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Wal-Mart

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Whether the results stand positive or negative, morality from our actions can be right or…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are they right or are they wrong? Moral opinions are different among people and are not any clearer in the Bible. We cannot know for sure on some subjects, which are right or wrong. We can on speculate about them and try to make whichever decision feels better. If God gave us morality we would automatically know what was considered right and what was considered wrong.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Bible and prayer offer the only acceptable guidance to determine a morally appropriate…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    People in life who believe in God often base their lives around his existence. Their morals might be based on what God, or their religious text says, rather than their own logical and rational brain. As religion and God have gained popularity over the centuries, this idea of morals lying in God’s…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    This suggests that no action can be held as being morally good unless God commands it. However a major problem with this is that Gods commands are seen to be arbitrary. There is no moral reason for Gods will, as he invents morality. This leaves morality with no rational structure. We can exemplify this with the following example; God commands that one should honour and respect their mother and father, and this is morally right.…

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No matter what we think or believe, things are what they are because that is how they exist in the universe. There is a higher power who says what is morally good and how we should live our lives. If I had to respond to an opposing argument, I would have to say that you cannot have a cookie cutter approach to morality. Society needs rules to function because they are absolutes, providing a structure we can all live by.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Curtis “Stickman” Brummitt Looking at the history of humanity, one can see that we are a people whom claim to have strong ties to morality, with the ability to actively determine right and wrong, yet every day we stray further and further from the rightness we so often claim to possess. Poets and writers, already known for criticizing humanity for its every flaw, have unsurprisingly leapt at the opportunity to again berate humans for their disregard for doing the right thing. “We must cultivate our garden.” The final crew in Voltaire’s Candide meet up with a wise, normal Muslim man near the end of the book.…

    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Well, think of how the world would be if everyone did whatever they wanted and didn’t think of right or wrong while carrying out their actions. It is very ideal to have specific morals of what’s right and wrong, Without morals, where would life take us? Would there even be a meaning to life if everyone just did what they pleased without any significance behind it? If you don’t consider your values and beliefs, life could be a mess. Morals are in existence to guide your life to goals rather than be controlled by unhealthy habits and actions.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays