Divine Command Theory

INTRODUCTION

Last week we examined the two families of moral philosophy: moral objectivism and moral nonobjectivism. One of the ideas within moral objectivism (the idea that at least some morality is objectively true and independent of opinion) is the Divine Command Theory. That's what we're going to study this week.

Let's begin by defining it.

Divine Command Theory: the idea that the true standard of moral right and wrong is God's Law.

Thus, morality is what is divinely commanded. Now, some of you may have hesitations about this theory and may not like all that it has to say. What we're going to do is try to mold this theory so that it lines up with Scripture and we'll do that by trying to fill the holes that traditional Divine Command Theory leaves.

TWO VERSIONS

Two versions exist that try to explain how the Divine Command Theory works:
#1 God's commands do not make things right and wrong; He commands them because they are right or wrong. Thus, morality is logically independent of God's will.
#2 God's commands make things right and wrong. Thus, morality is logically dependent of God's will.

This is like a "which came first: the chicken or the egg" scenario. Does the standard of morality pre-date God's law or do God's laws create the standard of morality? We'll sift through both of these as we look at the supposed "problems" of Divine Command Theory.

"PROBLEMS"

Problem #1: Not everyone believes that God exists.

How do we resolve this? Well, frankly, a simple response would just be "So?" Just because someone does not believe in God's existence doesn't cause Him to disappear. In short it doesn't matter what you think. Here's a quote from a pastor Eric Ludy:

"Two plus two equals four. And no matter what you do, it will always equal four; no matter how you feel about it, it will equal four; no matter your experience on planet earth of having bad experiences with the number two, it makes no difference! Two plus two equals four! In other words, you have no say in it. It is true outside of you. It is known as a fact. And God is fact! He is not wishful thinking. That is a very important thing for you to notate in your soul because the enemy will make an appeal and he will say, 'Look at this. The natural evidence says this God is merely a concept, God is merely an illusion, God is merely a thought.' No, God is fact. God is real. God is true... There is a north whether you acknowledge there is a north or not. Two plus two equals four whether you acknowledge it or not... Two plus two equals four - it always will. God is who He says He is and He defines truth. Whatever God says goes!"

Problem #2: How do we know what God's law is?

Simply, we learn it from the Bible. But there's different interpretations and understandings of the Bible so now what do we do? You can go into a lot of detail about this, but first you take God at His word and believe what He says. Second, you interpret Scripture in light of its historical and cultural context, in light of the original language, and in light of the entirety of Scripture. If you do that, you can get a very good understanding of God's word.

Additionally, I think we can know what God's law is naturally: through conscience and logic. We all have a conscience given to us by God that does a rather good job at exposing moral rights and wrongs to us. Also, I would hold that you can logically draw conclusions of what is moral and what is immoral. Now, we can't rely solely on conscience and/or logic, but they sure can help.

Problem #3: If God's commands make things right and wrong, is morality arbitrary?

Let me re-explain it with a question: under the second version of Divine Command Theory (where God's laws make morality), couldn't God make rape, torture, and human sacrifice morally acceptable?

In the technical sense, could He? Sure. But would He? No. From what we can understand of God, He seems to take two things into account: His glory and practical consequences. Rape doesn't glorify him and the consequences of it are not at all positive. Am I appealing to some kind of standard of what is "glorifying" and what are "positive" consequences when I say this? Sure. But I'm interpreting in light of what God has already done, not by what I think God should do or what God should obey.

You see, if you answer "no" to the question of could God make rape, etc. morally acceptable, then you are appealing to a law or standard that you perceive to be higher than God. Logically, then that mental standard is the real god and the "above all." If you think there's something higher than God that you can understand and figure out on your own, then you might as well do-away with the idea of God completely! But the truth is that there is nothing higher than God.

Now, rather than siding with either of the two versions of Divine Command Theory listed in the second section, I think you can devise a sound theory that fuses both. They do seem to work in harmony when you think about it. Even though God makes morality, logic seems to be perfectly in in step at the same time. So a combination of the two seems to carry a healthy amount of validity. If you have a great way of explaining it, please comment below as this is something we didn't discuss in detail during the actual Dinner and Dialogue.

VERDICT

So here's the conclusions I believe we can draw from what we've learned.
- God determines morality and has the final say.
- God exists whether you like it or not. (I love phrasing it that way for some reason)
- God has revealed His law through Scripture
- Nothing, no standard or law or ideal, is higher than God.

Comment any disagreements or edits you might have.

BIBLICAL EVIDENCE

Finally, here are some verses that touch on several of the points that were addressed.

Psalm 33:4 - For the word of the LORD is right and true...

John 17:17 - Sanctify them by your truth; your word is truth.

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was God.

Colossians 1:17 - He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Ephesians 4:6 - One God and Father of all, who is over all...