The Divine Command Theory

Divine Command Theory

In The Elements of Moral Philosophy James Rachels defines the Divine Command Theory as, "the basic idea that God decides what is right and wrong"(51). Those that believe in this theory believe that what God commands as good and evil is the absolute truth and should be followed without question. Using the definition of this theory, one could logically conclude that "if every act that God commands is good and every act that God forbids is bad, then no matter what the act is, it is either good or bad based on God's command" (Augustine). The Divine Command Theory is a cogent argument and meets the criteria outlined for the objective ethical framework. It would be absolutist, since the only deciding factor of truth is God. With the large number of people that would be automatically judged immoral just for being agnostic or atheist, as well as the inability to examine individual situations, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages in this theory.

For theists, the Divine Command Theory has some very positive aspects. As explained in The Elements of Moral Philosophy it immediately rids the problem of the objectivity of ethics, as it takes all of the personal feeling out and leaves all decisions to God. The theory provides a metaphysical basis for morality as well as reasoning to support morality, since you will one day be held liable for defying God for any decision made that he deemed immoral. There are also theological reasons why a theist would agree with this theory. To theists, God is seen as the almighty, and the creator of all things. In this case, all things would include our moral commands, obligations, and guidelines. God is also considered sovereign, which means he is able to tell us exactly how we should live our lives. While some would argue the benefits of this theory, there are many who have obvious objections to the basic principles of the Divine Command Theory.

The most famous argument against the validity of the Divine Command Theory is the Euthyphro dilemma. It was written by a Greek Philosopher named Plato, who wrote in a conversational style, and always used his teacher Socrates as the main speaker. The Euthyphro dilemma starts with Socrates posing one of the most famous questions in the history of philosophy, " Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?"(Austin). This question was thought to discredit the Divine Command Theory because whichever way that the theist answered, there were going to be problems that he could not answer his way out of. An answer of yes to the first question would bring about the independence problem. This problem means that it stands to reason that if God wills morally good acts then they were already morally good, independent of God. Agreement to the second question posed means that the theist runs into the arbitrary, and abhorrent commands problems. The arbitrary problem states that "divine command theory appears to base morality on mere whims of God. If divine command theory is true, it seems, then God's commands can neither be informed nor sanctioned by morality."(Austin). The abhorrent commands means that if God were to command evil or torturous acts, then under the theory, these acts would then be automatically morally acceptable.

According to Webster, the definition of impartiality is an inclination to weigh both sides of an opinion or a view equally, without prejudice or bias. The Divine Command Theory is absolute in its assertion that God is the ultimate decision maker, and therefore does not stand up to impartiality at all. Under the assumption that Gods will be done, there is no gray area, and therefore no room for any other opinion but Gods. Individual details and circumstances have no bearing on right or wrong in this theory, regardless of their impact. You can see the problem with the lack of impartiality in the Divine Command theory when you see how it relates to a morally sensitive issue like abortion.

Abortion is a very personal issue, and many are had by women who have faced horrible situations, such as incest and rape. A believer of the Divine Command Theory would look at abortion as wrong and immoral, regardless