Euthyphro Pious Essay

Euthyphro tries again to find the ground of ethics by declaring that 'the pious is what all the gods love, and the opposite, what all the gods hate, is the impious (9e). ' At first this statement appears sound and reasonable but Socrates is not convinced that it identifies that by which the pious is made known. His next question to Euthyphro is a beautiful example of his brilliance and intelligence. It has no doubt been a thorn in the side of theologians ever since. 'Is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods (10)? '
In its most basic form, if something is pious because it is loved by the gods then whatever the gods love is pious. If the gods loved ritualistic murder then that would be considered pious because being loved is its only qualification. If something is loved by the gods because it is pious then the attributes by which something is known to be pious exist independently of the gods. What makes something pious will remain valid regardless of whether the gods exist or not. In the field of ethics God is made redundant. …show more content…
The commands of God may run contrary to moral intuition but as right and wrong are being dictated instead of subjected to rational analysis there is a greater risk that man will end up committing atrocities in the name of pious action and God 's will. History stands as a testament to this fact. What exacerbates this problem is that religious texts are open to interpretations. Man is the filter through which God 's word can be twisted and bent to serve whatever dark agenda he pursues. It is this idea that whatever God chooses to command is good that leads to abhorrent acts being done with righteous fervour. If it can be demonstrated that god desires or commands an otherwise immoral act then the voice of reason is put