Divine Command Theory (DCT)

• What is the Divine Command Theory?

  Moral knowledge is cognitive and known through God's commands. God speaks
• Examples of God speaking

  1. God commands Moses to take a tablet of stone, ascend Mount Sinai and receive the Ten Commandments (in Exodus)

  2. God commands Joshua to sack the city of Jericho and kill all living creatures, men, women, children and animals

  3. God speaks to Moses and reveals his character
• Why do divine commands give us a reason to be moral?

  To please God or because we are afraid of the consequences if we do wrong
• What is the theory in Protestant Christianity?

  1. God is the creator of everything so there must be a link between creator and created as reflected in Genesis 1:26-27, that humans are created in God's images. This means that humans are like God in having a rational and moral character

  2. Human behaviour should follow God's commands

  3. The commands bring together a community. For example Moses united people with the Ten Commandments
• What does Karl Barth say about the DCT?

  The commands of God set Christian ethics apart from general discussions about what is good, and overrides secular human debate on moral issues. Christians should listen to and seek to understand secular ethical principles, but its approach should be critical because in the end, God has commanded what is good
• Strengths of DCT

  1. For religious people, DCT grounds their moral behaviour in the teachings of God. They know that God's commands are right because he is all knowing and all loving

  2. The rules are universal. Avoids the problem of subjectivity

  3. The system is clear and straightforward

  4. God does not have any of the weaknesses of human judges. He is omniscient and omnipresent
• What is the Euthyphro Dilemma?

  The two horn argument: 1. Moral goodness is good because God commands it. 2. Moral goodness is good because goodness is independent of God.
• What is the problem with the first horn?

  If God commanded something that was illegal or frowned upon in our society, would we have to follow it? According to DCT, yes. Moreover, does everything that God commands become moral law? If so, humans would be more restricted. The issue with this horn is that if moral goodness is good because God commands it, then that means we have no freedom in making choices
• What is the problem with the second horn?

  If God is not in charge of the laws of right and wrong then he is limited to the laws of morality. We can then judge his actions in commanding Joshua to slaughter the innocent. If goodness is independent of God, we do not need God
• Weaknesses of DCT

  1. Euthyphro dilemma

  2. The problem of autonomy. Many believe that to be morally good you have the freedom to make a choice. DCT does not offer a free choice because the promise of heaven and the threat of hell means that people will choose to follow God's commands

  3. The Bible contains immoral commands. For example, slavery is accepted whereas in modern society it is not acceptable.