If morality is outside God’s control, then God is not omnipotent. In fact the Bible more often than not uses physical terms to describe God. [/members_not_logged_in]. To say that God is moral, is not to say that God has a list of rules that He must follow but simply that God is Life and that He is consistent with Himself and therefore acts in … Case in point? 27. Some argue that being restricted by moral facts does not threaten God’s omnipotence. Plausibly, God knows what is right, God desires for the right to be done, and God is powerful enough to effectively command the right. He says, ^The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a … Does the Bible condone slavery, polygamy, or violence against unbelievers? Good moral character is a primary requirement for admission to the United States as a citizen. Another is that DCT seems to provide a moral theory according to which there are objective moral facts; morality isn’t susceptible to subjective preferences or impermanent social consciousness. 1 . The moral argument is an important one to many theists who wish to rationally justify belief in God to unbelievers or those questioning whether or not God exists. Even worse, if God’s commands are morally arbitrary, then God could command things that we consider to be morally reprehensible, and these things would become right. Copan takes the time to explain many of the Old Testament's seemingly inexplicable and tedious laws. God's moral law presupposes a rational order of nature by which creatures can gain their final goal. To be one’s own standard would be equivalent to being arbitrary since whatever he did would be in accordance with his standard. Paul Copan takes on Neo-Atheists' claims of a petty, malicious Old Testament God. The principle sources of this idea: a) The Decalogue (10 commandments). Making Sense of the Old Testament God. Copan, Paul Is God a Moral Monster? Despite this attraction, DCT is subject to a dilemma, a style of argument that requires commitment to either of two possible, and unfavorable, options. This is because such a command would be morally arbitrary, or without principle or moral reason. These descriptions of God are anthropomorphic, meaning that they are just ways of describing God in human language without really being literal. Blog / Is God a Moral Monster? A disgusting display of special pleading whose horrible moral impact the author can't possibly have thought through to its logical conclusion. Either way we try to define the relationship between the morally right and the commands of God, an unacceptable result follows. Understanding the Covenant-Making God 34. Identifying the nature of the relationship between religion and morality may therefore seem straightforward: the right thing to do is whatever is right according to religious tradition. Premise A4 can be established by appealing to an auxiliary argument: C1, the first premise of this auxiliary argument illustrates the challenge of taking the second horn of the dilemma. Learn more. “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalms 115:3). So, C1, if things are right because God commands them, then God’s commands are morally arbitrary. 11 Moral relativism, then, is a kind of subjectivism since judgments of right and wrong are completely up to the subject—the individual person or group—to decide. God is good, in fact, he’s perfect. If morality is whatever God commands, then either God commands things because they are morally right, or things are morally right because God commands them. Socrates presses Euthyphro by raising the dilemma of whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or whether the pious is holy because it is loved by the gods. One could argue that being sanctified through trials is one way our virtues are realized. Natural law can imbibe Aristotle’s virtue ethics very well, with certain necessary tweaks. Since God is omnibenevolent, God will only issue commands that fit with the moral facts, and God defers to the moral facts in order to make moral commands. Logically, if premises (1) and (2) are true, the conclusion that God exists must also be true. God is not a moral being and often the way the moral argument is used is just wrong. He does not become more virtuous. He is perfect in the sense that he is complete being and lacks nothing. It would be analogous to saying that God is divine, or, like Euthyphro, saying that whatever is beloved by the gods is loved by the gods. It is the exact opposite of morality; it's arguing why you don't need to use your own moral compass if God tells you not to, even to the point of murder. Any complaints that this is wrong would fall on deaf ears, for, according to the second horn, if God commanded it, it is not wrong. Introduction. “Whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17)—implying some don’t. It is unlikely that an atheist, for instance, would endorse DCT. God is not a human and is not bound by a human body, does not have changing passions/emotions, and is not constrained or bound by human morality. Premise A2 sketches options for the relationship between morality and God’s commands: either God’s commands are grounded by moral facts or moral facts are grounded by God’s commands. Natural law teaches that humans have a nature and actions that promote the good of that nature are good actions. “He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35). : Making Sense of the Old Testament God - Kindle edition by Copan, Paul. Premise A5 affirms a background commitment that the Divine Command Theorist likely accepts: God has the divine perfections. July 22nd, 2013 God's Will Brad Alles Here’s a quick review of this series on God’s will before we examine a third way that God guides us, through His moral will. But if morality is arbitrary, then saying that God is good becomes trivial. Negatively, God wills us not to lie, cheat, steal, hate, murder. What is the point of the Euthyphro dilemma and how can this create problems for DCT? We are in his image. Having established the auxiliary arguments, we now see the dilemma completed. C1. In the second case, God’s commands establish the moral facts; whatever God decides is right becomes right in virtue of God’s command. For example, God is said to be just because he gives to people what they deserve. However, orthodox Christians do not think that God is physical, even though there are probably more descriptions of God that seem to indicate him having a material body than being merely a spirit. If God’s commands are morally arbitrary, then God is not omnibenevolent. In reply, I grant that these options are possible. Why or why not. [/members_logged_in], [members_not_logged_in] God is not a moral being and often the way the moral argument is used is just wrong. In this article I am going to explain what it means for a human to be moral, demonstrate why that doesn’t apply to God, and then show why the moral argument usually doesn’t work but how it could work. The gods, then, love the pious for this reason, whatever the reason ends up being. He cannot be moral or immoral since there is no standard that he measures up to or virtues to fulfill. Some things happen that are not God’s will (moral will). The argument is presented as follows: P1: If God does not exist then objective moral values do not exist.P2: Objective moral values do existP3: Therefore, God exists.… So, suppose God is about to issue the Ten Commandments. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Is God a Moral Monster? In taking the second horn, that things are right because God commands them, the Divine Command Theorist will be required to concede that God is not truly good. The Bible often uses various figures of speech and metaphor to talk about God. A Law Engraved on Man's Heart (1954) Man participates in the wisdom of God and in the goodness of God. In the simplest terms, evil is … This is in contrast to the prologue/epilogue to Hammurabi’s Code, which, rather than offering historical narrative, contains lofty language about Hammurabi’s being endowed by the gods as a benevolent earthly sovereign to be a just ruler on earth. The Moral Attributes of God. So, we arrive at A3: If God commands things because they are morally right, then God is not omnipotent. But he doesn’t deny that in the absence of God there would still be moral goodness. Is God a Moral Monster? If God never gave the command, then these kinds of killing would be morally acceptable. The moral law is God's fatherly instruction, showing the rules that lead to heaven and the evils which lead away from God. The perspective goes that Jesus wasn’t a god or even divine, but he was a good man who taught profound truths, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Mo St. Thomas Aquinas – On the Five Ways to Prove God’s Existence, 18. God is also restricted, plausibly, by logical facts. We are made in his image, but as already argued, he is not moral in the sense that we are. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. how they don [t want that kind of a God who is a horrific moral picture. (2) Objective moral values do exist. Machiavelli is a typcial ethical egoist. According to the first horn, God will guarantee that any command given fits with what’s morally right. He is also a professor in Palm Beach Atlantic University. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2011 Introduction Paul Copan is a Christian theologian, apologist, and an author. It is the exact opposite of morality; it's arguing why you don't need to use your own moral compass if God tells you not to, even to the point of murder. Some things happen that are not God’s will (moral will). Read 3 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. God cannot, for instance, make a round square, but this may not seem to be much of a threat to God’s power. Log In or Register Understanding the Covenant-Making God. Explore the many resources SES offers and the various ways you can be involved in ministry while at SES. Part 2 God: Gracious Master or Moral Monster? See more. One major point made by Copan is the question of how truly loving or terrible God is. The usual approach is to maintain that the Bible is "God's Word" and that the moral rules contained therein are God's moral rules. An amoral (non-moral) God would be non-rational and therefore non-personal, non-relational, non-thinking, non-living, non-real! We have a horrible habit as humans of making God like us rather than recognizing that he is not like us. Justification for this claim derives support from the idea that religious moral codes have origins in divine will: “Morality is whatever God commands.” The theory that identifies the morally right with what God commands is called, unsurprisingly, ‘Divine Command Theory’. She specializes in metaphysics and philosophy of religion, and she is a recipient of the AAPT Grant for Innovations in Teaching. Is God A Moral Compromiser? Another option is to deny the explanatory relationship between morality and God’s commands. 12 Loftin, 60. Further, if one thinks that God and morality are inextricably linked, it is implausible to argue that there is no explanatory relationship between them. My Account A median of 45% across 34 surveyed countries say it is necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values. In the Old Testament, the Lord wrote His moral law on tables of stone (Deut. God's Ways and the Binding of Isaac 42 God is both omnipotent and omnibenevolent. (1) If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist. moral definition: 1. relating to the standards of good or bad behaviour, fairness, honesty, etc. As a background commitment, the Divine Command Theorist is likely motivating the theory in the context of a religious tradition that accepts the divine perfections, or attributes of God. Is God a Moral Monster? However, this does not translate into God being moral in the way that we are. To say he can’t violate his nature is also unhelpful as nothing can violate its nature. We, as a society, have moved away from absolutes. An Introduction to Western Epistemology, 36. "For Christ is the end of the law, that everyone who has faith may be justified" (Rom 10:4). He planned that His law should also be written on the hearts of the people. When Job wants to take God to court the obvious question is raised, “Who would be the judge?” God’s answer to Job as to why God allowed such evil to befall Job is basically, “I’m God and you are not.”. Otherwise, they would be right because God commands them, and not the other way around. Premise A4 represents the second horn of the dilemma for the Divine Command Theorist: If things are morally right because God commands them, then God is not omnibenevolent. If whatever God says goes, then if God decreed that adultery was permissible, then adultery would be permissible. One is that it captures the sense that religion provides guidance for living an ethical life; God provides this guidance through giving commands and shaping religious moral codes. Looking at human society, human societies have differing standards of morality. Nevertheless, I believe a few simple arguments demonstrate that morality requires a god. However, public opinion on this question, as well as the role of God, prayer and religion varies by country, region and economic development. He can be a caring God, or He can be a scary God. But, in taking this horn of the dilemma, the moral facts instead have power over God. Synonym Discussion of moral. 2:1). “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalms 115:3). 13 Michael Shermer, The Science of Good and Evil (New York: Holt, 2004), 149. How to use morale in a sentence. Kristin Seemuth Whaley is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Graceland University. Subscribe to follow this blog and receive email notifications of new posts. Euthyphro replies that the pious is loved by the gods because it is holy; the pious is pious for a reason independent of the relationship between piety and the gods. Paul Copan's Is God a Moral Monster? Is the God of the Old Testament nothing but a bully, a murderer, and an oppressor? A Divine Command Theorist might prioritize the connection between God and morality over the divine perfections, and they may consider this to be necessary, albeit unpalatable, concession. “Moral relativism” is the rule of the day. Positively, God wills us to tell the truth, be honest in all dealings, love one another, be gentle and kind, and so forth. He is not judged by any standard. 2 The New Atheists and the Old Testament God 20. They are not rules or laws God has created (and could therefore alter recklessly), but are instead immutable, dependable qualities of his nature reflected in our universe. (By the way, this is an excellent book that deals with God not being a moral being.). Thus, to say that God is moral is to say that God is rational. The connection between God and morality seems attractive because of the divine perfections, and conceding the divine perfections weakens the case to think that God and morality are inextricably linked. We arrive at A4: If things are morally right because God commands them, then God is not omnibenevolent. Is God A Moral Compromiser? 2:15), so that they have some sense of what God requires of them. You can find more information about Dr. Seemuth Whaley’s work at, Next: Letter from the Birmingham City Jail, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. We, as a society, have moved away from absolutes. Premise A3 represents the first horn of the dilemma for the Divine Command Theorist: If God commands things because they are morally right, then God is not omnipotent. In Summa Theologiae I. God Is the Moral Standard “How do you define right and wrong?” This question has never been more important than in these times of eroding morals and constantly changing values. But this does not demonstrate that God is a moral being in the sense of having to act in a certain way lest he be in violation of a moral law. And again, to be his own standard borders on incoherence. As we will see, taking either option requires serious theological concessions. Below is how the argument as a whole operates. How to use moral in a sentence. If things are right because God commands them, then God is not omnibenevolent. A Brief Overview of Kant's Moral Theory, 53. The moral law finds its fullness in Christ. This relationship between God’s commands and morality makes it the case that God could command anything whatsoever and it would be morally right simply because God commanded it. B1. If the morally right is what God commands, there is a true measure of our actions and a genuine responsibility for our behavior. The prevalent modern concept of God as an all-powerful, yet perfectly moral being, can be traced back over 3,000 years to the Torah. 3 Great Appetite for Praise and Sacrifices? This even includes goodness in the area of morality and virtues, but without making him moral in the way that we are. My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. We can instantiate the same kind of dilemma for Divine Command Theory, inquiring about the nature of morality. It is trivially true that a moral command is a command. Case in point? God could command, ‘Thou shalt put on thy right shoe before thy left shoe except on every third Thursday of the month, in which case thou shalt put on thy left shoe before thy right.’, and it would become immoral to put on your left shoe before your right on a Monday. “Good” is to do right, that is, to adhere to right principles in one’s behavior and interactions. Address at the Apologetics Canada Conference 2012. 2. —Davies, Brian. According to this accusation, God is a “moral monster” since He “created” evil—or because He neglects to do anything about evil. What I mean by the former is that God does not abide by moral commands, nor does he fulfill obligations or virtues in the way that humans do. In short, humans are moral beings because we have a certain nature. But the Israelites were content to regard it simply as an external code and their observance a matter of surface obedience. One of the arguments against the God of the Bible is the kind of God we find in the Bible—specifically, a God who can appear to be a moral monster. Divine Command Theory, or ‘DCT’, is attractive to religious practitioners for a couple reasons. Having deferred to the moral facts, God’s commands are therefore somewhat restricted, and we arrive at B2. Paul Is God A Moral Monster Analysis. More work needs to be done to establish premises A3 and A4, and we will see auxiliary arguments for these premises shortly. God, Morality, and Religion by Kristin Whaley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. So the moral argument needs to say something different than our morality needs to be accounted for in a being who is also moral. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples Take moral commands. What I mean by the former is that God does not abide by moral commands, nor does he fulfill obligations or virtues in the way that humans do. If God commands things because they are right, then God is not omnipotent. An Introduction to Russell’s “The Value of Philosophy”, 6. God makes these commands because murder and stealing are wrong. This argument can be found in a number of writings, including those of the author and theogian, C.S. St. Anselm – On the Ontological Proof of God’s Existence, 20. 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