The Divine Command theory can be interpreted in two ways. From the Euthyphro Dilemma point of view, morality is either created by God or exists without him and is related by him to people (Carneades.org, 2013). If God is the creator of morality, anything, even murder, can be viewed as right, whereas if it is not, God himself should abide by the rules he places upon people (Carneades.org, 2013). In this discussion, I will try to answer two questions using the Euthyphro Dilemma.
In Abraham’s story, he is prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, because God commands it. Although the sacrifice never takes place, Abraham leads his son to slaughter (Bible Gateway, 2011b). Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited also depicts Abraham as willing to kill his child, although he does question this command (Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers, 2008). From the Divine Command Theory’s perspective, the sacrifice can be viewed as righteous because God demands it. If God commands something, it is good because there is no higher power and no greater good than him. That is the main reason behind Abraham’s readiness to burn his son on a sacrificial fire. Nevertheless, if we consider the Euthyphro Dilemma, morality is possible without God (Carneades.org, 2013). It can be argued that the sacrifice God demands from Abraham is unethical. If God did not create the moral rules and should follow them himself, he should not ask his believers to kill in his name.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah shows that the Divine Command should not always be accepted. In this story, God Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom and not to punish the innocent together with the guilty (Bible Gateway, 2011a). Abraham questions God’s intentions towards the city, and it is evident that he doubts whether everything God commands is good. As God assures his follower that he will spare the city if even just ten people are innocent, it can be argued that there are specific rules that even the deity should follow (Bible Gateway, 2011a). Thus, the rules of moral conduct are not created by God but by someone else. Overall, one can believe in divinity but question God’s command.
References
Bible Gateway. (2011a). Genesis 18 – Common English Bible. Web.
Bible Gateway. (2011b). Genesis 22 – Common English Bible. Web.
Carneades.org. (2013). The Euthyphro Dilemma [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Karen O, & The Million Dollar Bashers. (2008). Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers – Highway 61 Revisited [Video]. YouTube. Web.