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DIVINE COMMAND THEORY, this could challenge God's omnipotence, <,…
DIVINE COMMAND THEORY
WHAT?
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follows Bible, Qur'an, Torah + other scriptures as literal document if God's teaching
God's commands should always be followed, even if we sometimes may not understand why these actions need to happen
DCT can guide us to what is morally correct - rules can prevent sin, and encourage good
ppl are more likely to follow rules from authority; God has authority, so ppl are more likely to follow His commands and keep within the right path
by following rules + God's commands and teachings, society can be a safer, more welcoming place to live
God is infinite, so His law is also infinite; in this sense, God's law can be seen to be of greater significance to man's law
Qur'an, Surah 1: 'Guide us along the straight path'
A. C. Grayling: 'Sin is disobedience to the commands of God; virtue is obedience to them, or, in the more conception of Islam, submission.'
STRENGTHS/ USES
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belief in god ensures those following a morally righteous path will be rewarded with happiness in return
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what god commands must be good - he is insinuated in many scriptures to be separate from sin, so he must know best
god knows what's best for humanity - he is a being separate from sin, and he wouldn't have created his laws if he didn't know
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robert adams 'fixes' the arbitrariness issue with his modified version; moral commands arise from god so they cannot contain random content
EUTHYPHRO DILEMMA
1) are right actions right because God commands them? 2)are right actions commanded by God because they are right
by accepting God's command alone, this suggests this makes something right
there are examples of God commanding to kill, e.g. Abraham and his son, Isaac
if there are standards of goodness that God has to stick to when making commandments, then that means there are some things that God can't command
a critique of the dilemma is that it is thought to suggest either God is bound by a standard out of Himself, or God's goodness doesn't mean anything
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WEAKNESSES/ CHALLENGES
plato's euthyphro dilemma - challenges the omnipotence of god, questioning whether actions are right because god commands them, or whether god commands right actions because they are right
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differences of expectations in different religions, so some rules may be right in one, but seen as wrong in another
pluralism objection - not applicable to all types of religions/ beliefs (polytheism, buddhism, atheism)
conflict with human law - homosexuality is more accepted, but scriptures reject such behaviour
DCT ON MORALITY
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morality is seen as objective, imperial law that isn't dependent on any limited human perspective, and is seen as the result of transcendent decree
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