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The Divine Command theory encompasses the belief that being
morally right comes from commands from God.
In monotheistic religions, religion who believe in one God, such as
Jewish, Islam, and Christianity, moral obligations are results from the commands
given from either a messenger from God, or through sacred scripture, such as
the Bible. It is through these mediums
such as Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, that we are given guidance or what is perceived
as right or wrong. (Livingston)
The Book of Exodus 20:1-17 from the Holy Bible explains in
detail the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses for His people to follow in order
for them to remain righteous in His eyes.
The Ten Commandments are as follows:
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make idols.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
These Ten Commandments was given to
Moses from God as guidelines for us to follow, in order to uphold our moral
obligation.
But what makes our actions morally
good? In Divine Command Theory in The Passage of History by Simin Rahimi she questions if actions morally good
actions are considered morally good because they are commanded by God? Or are
does God encourage us to do morally good because it’s right? (Rahimi) Most religious
people believe use divine command as their moral compass. However not everyone
believes that divine command is the end all when it comes to making morally
sound decisions.
In Divine-Command, Natural- Law, and Mutual-Love Ethics by Edward Collins Vacek, S.J. He argues “that divine-command ethics is
humanistically inadequate, even though it is the standard bearer of popular
Christian discourse.” (Edward Collins Vacek) In other words, divine command ethics have nothing to do with duties or obligation imposed on ourselves, like deontological ethics.
Works Cited
Edward Collins Vacek, S.J. "Divine-Command,
Natural-Law, and Mutual Love Ethics." Theological Studies (1996):
633-653 .
Livingston, James C. Anatomy of the Sacred Sixth
Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.
Rahimi, Simin. "Divine Command Theory in The
Pass of History." Forum Philosophicum: International Journal for
Philosophy (2009): 307-328.
Picture from:
http://www.encomixprod.com/Tempe-Phoenix-Web-Design/bible-study/ten-commandments-wallpapers
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