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Weaknesses and strengths of divine command theory
Strengths and weaknesses of Divine command theory
Weaknesses and strengths of divine command theory
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On page 39 of MP, Barcalow states “It is right to obey God’s commands and wrong to disobey.” In the eyes of a Divine Command theorist, God’s commands, as scribed in the holy texts or sacred writings, are to be obeyed absolutely. The aforementioned quote from MP (Baracalow) demonstrates this belief. Believers of DCT are more inclined towards accepting whatever they have been taught as Divine Commands and allow it to dictate morality. Since none can be allowed to challenge sacred writing, which claims to be God’s command by itself, people submit to what they deem is a higher being.
The first version of DCT, on page 40 of MP, Barcalow, claims that “God’s command makes things morally wrong or right.” This means that any action is only deemed
They respond to the superiors order as though there were from God. (Luke 10:16,) “Anyone who listens to you listens to me.” Instant response to command and the ability to giving up ones will, discontinuing work at the sound of the bell as a result of obedience, and this portrays the fear of God. Obedience will be acceptable to God and agreeable to man if done without complaining, Luke warmness, grumbling, and without delay. Obedience is motivated by love because their desire is to seek and do the will of God, in imitation of the master they are serving. (John 6:38). Furthermore, obedience must be done freely and in a joyful spirit. St. Paul in 2cor 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful
Kant argued that the Categorical Imperative (CI) was the test for morally permissible actions. The CI states: I must act in such a way that I can will that my maxim should become a universal law. Maxims which fail to pass the CI do so because they lead to a contradiction or impossibility. Kant believes this imperative stems from the rationality of the will itself, and thus it is necessary regardless of the particular ends of an individual; the CI is an innate constituent of being a rational individual. As a result, failure ...
This commandment is used by Catholic Church as a guide to business integrity. It states that “you shall not steal” (New Jerusalem Bible, Exod. 20.15). It prohibits unjust acquisition of goods and property that belongs to one’s neighbor. It dictates justice in handling other people’s property because they were acquired through hard work. In this respect, the authority is mandated to provide law and order so as to protect people from unscrupulous businessmen. This commandment directs that someone should not consider the goods he/she legally owns as restricted to himself/herself, they should be shared with others. The Catholic Church is against the law of the market place that advocates for individualism and capitalism. It argues that this law fails to uphold social justice because there are some needs that cannot be satisfied by such a law (Lennick and Kiel 134).
Through my research and findings of obedience to authority this ancient dilemma is somewhat confusing but needs understanding. Problem with obedience to authority has raised a question to why people obey or disobey and if there are any right time to obey or not to obey. Through observation of many standpoints on obedience and disobedience to authority, and determined through detailed examination conducted by Milgram “The Perils Of Obedience,” Doris Lessing “Group Minds” and Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”. We have to examine this information in hopes of understanding or at least be able to draw our own theories that can be supported and proven on this subject.
“The Ten Commandments are different in that they don 't list consequences. The commandment doesn 't read, "Don 't steal, but if you do, here 's what happens." That kind of formulation is reserved for the legal sections of the Hebrew Bible, which are cast in the “if ... then ...” framework (technically called “casuistic”) typical both of ancient Near Eastern law collections such as Hammurabi’s Laws, as well as our own modern laws. By contrast, the Ten Commandments are a list of norms that have moral import” (Hoffman, n.d., para. 8). The Decalogue were given to Moses from God, who then passed them on to his people. Moses repeatedly warns against forgetting them, and disobeying them (Arnold & Beyer, 2008, p. 14). The Ten Commandments are absolutely applicable to modern day Christians, and we should beware the thought and practice of not following them in our
taught the importance of the commandement "you shall not kill". The church has said that
In his or her life, a Christian tries to obey the 10 commandments. Throughout history, these rules have been proclaimed by Moses and Isaiah and Jeremiah, taught by Jesus, interpreted by the apostles, like Peter and Paul, and other teachers within the traditional Christian understandings of what is right and what is wrong. Document 1 lists the 10 commandments, but there is a couple that emphasizes what one should not do. “You shall not steal, You shall not give false evidence against your neighbor, You shall not covet.” A follower of this religion would look up to these listings and obey them whenever in doubt or have difficulty making a tough decision. God also quotes in Document 9, “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” This explains how if you show mercy towards Him, you will get mercy back. In other words, it is related to the ‘Golden Rule’ which is to treat others the way you wish to be
The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that basically proposes that God is the sole distinguisher between what is right and what is wrong. The textbook describes that under this theory, God commands what is moral and forbids what is immoral. Critics of this theory state that if God is the sole decision maker of morality, immoral actions could be acceptable if He willed it, and thus, God’s authority would be subjective and arbitrary. However, proponents contend that God would not allow immoral actions because he is omnipotent and all good. To follow the Divine Command Theory, one must believe and trust that it is in God’s nature to do good, and He will not act against his nature. By believing in this, one would dispute the critics’ argument by proving that God his not making
The Divine Command theory of ethics is a theory that states that an act is right or wrong and good or bad based on whether or not God commands or prohibits us from doing it. This means that the only thing that makes an action morally wrong is because God says it is. There are two sides to this theory; the restricted and the unrestricted. The restricted theory basically says that an action is obligatory if and only if it is good and God commanded it; the unrestricted theory states that an act is only obligatory if it is commanded by God, it is not obligatory if it is prohibited by God and it is optional if and only if God has not commanded nor prohibited it.
... that god gave to Moses in the Bible. Their god wants them to live by those commandments, but the interpretation of these commandments relies on man. If all men lived their lives according to how their higher power would like us to live, mankind would flourish. Free will allows men to make their own decisions, though, and many individuals make greedy decisions. This leads to corruption, which damages the growth of mankind. The existence of a higher power is still a mystery and forever may be. If there is a higher power, he does not make our decisions for us, but rather watches us hoping that we make the decisions that he leans us toward. Human beings live their lives free to make any decision that they please. Until a higher power shows himself to man and tells us that every part of our lives are dictated, I will refuse to believe that our world's god is a dictator.
Divine command states that what is moral is determined by what God commands, and that to be moral is to follow his commands. For example, Jehovah’s witnesses do not allow blood fusions because their scriptures say humans are not allowed to drink blood; although blood transfusions are allowed for children. Even though modern society does not condemn blood transfusions many Jehovah’s witnesses do not allow blood transfusions because they believe God does not allow blood transfusions. God is the almighty, and what he commands is morally right. Another concrete application of divine command theory is the five pillars of Islam. One must devote his life to following the five pillars; the pillars are correct because God insists upon it. Every Muslim is obliged to believe that there is no other God than Allah, ritual prayer must be done five times a day facing the holy city Mecca, fasting must be done during the month of Ramadan, give at least 2.5% savings to the poor, and make a visit to Mecca at least once in a person’s life time. People follow divine command to the fullest because it is moral to follow God’s commands.
IS WITCHCRAFT! This takes away a person's ability to make a free choice to obey
In order to understand divine command theory we must first understand the nature of God and Morality. So we will start by taking a look at what makes an action moral. Once we understand what makes an action moral, we can then try to understand the author's’ viewpoint on the divine command theory of ethics. Understanding the viewpoint will allow us to dissect the author’s viewpoints and come up with counter-arguments that the author must then contend with.
The universal law formula of the categorical imperative ("the CI") is an unconditional moral law stating that one should “act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” A maxim is the motivating principle or reason for one’s actions. A moral act is an act by which its maxim can become universal law that would apply to all rational creatures. As a universal law, all rational creatures must act according to this maxim. The CI requires one to imagine a world where the maxim one wishes to act by becomes a universal law, in which all people must act according to this maxim. If one wills this maxim to become universal law that all rational creatures must follow, but there is a contradiction in conception or will, than this maxim cannot become universal law, and thus, the act is not morally permissible. A contradiction in conception occurs when by willing one’s maxim to become universal law, one is imagining a logically impossible world, for there is a contradiction in the very idea of every rational creature acting on this maxim. In contrast, a contradiction in will does not yield a logically impossible world, but there is a contradiction in willing what it is one proposes to do and in wanting the maxim to become universal law.
Let's take this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion. If the Divine Command Theory were true, then the ...