A Question for Divine Command Theory

I think most people would agree that the following proposition is true: "Rape is immoral". My question is this, under what conditions would "Rape is immoral" be false? The more general question is: Can God change the moral status of an action?

I look forward to your thoughts....

SorenK

Be prepared to hear lots about "God's unchanging nature" and the like, my friend.

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It's party time for the guys in the tower of Babel
Sodom meet Gomorrah, Cain meet Abel
~Elton John


I couldn't if I tried.

Hmm, the lack of response here causes me to wonder . . . hmmmm

I believe that if you look at the teachings of Jesus carefully, you find that the end of all our actions -- in order for them to be righteous -- means precisely that any form of malice or offense towards a subject must be eschewed for whatever ends possible. The entire New Testament is full to the brim of indications and downright claims that love is the end of the law, which leads us to conclude that the law is in itself a naught to those who love. With this in mind, a lie is justifiable. Perhaps this should have been the example; for I find under no situation is rape to be justified, for in rape you find a form of ill-will towards the subject for the afflicter's greater unjust gain.

Moreover, the case of Abraham clearly reveals this: here we have God commanding Abraham to kill his son for the greater good of faith. Now, the scriptural definition of sin is never a refusal to obey objective law, but whatever is not of faith (Romans 14:23). What is interesting in the case of Abraham is that if he were to refuse what is otherwise defined by the majority of the Christian populous as always wrong -- that is, murder --, he would have sinned, and not the other way around! As Kierkegaard would have it, Abraham is either justified by his faith, or he is lost; there is no middle ground.

Examples such as these has led me to conclude that the ultimate end in intention is what matters in defining what is morally acceptable or not. Rape, however, is never justified.

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Is morality defined by God or man?

Either way, I believe, morality is assumed to be a higher order truth. Agreed? If so, then truth, that is to say reality, must be changed in order to "change the moral status of an action". That begets the question...

Is reality defined by God or man?

This centers to the question of belief in God (since I feel we all believe in man). If one does not believe in God, then the above question is void, since there would be only one correct answer. This would imply that the original question holds validity and can be answered by those that believe in God.

OK...enough analyzing the question, now for my answer.

Assuming I believe in God, the answer is yes. An all-powerful God, would controls reality and defines morality, can "change the moral status of an action".

This argument only stands if God control/defines both reality and morality. Lacking that, He would not be "all-powerful". Lacking that, He would not be "God". And therefore would not exist.

Simple enough.

Funny, the same discussion is going on, on Christian Guitar resources... Click the link and see.

CGR

Agreed...

If there was no God to rule over what is and is not moral

God can do anything, but He won't; Because He promised it so, and to change somehting like that would be to change Himself and who He is.

The question is not "will" He, but "can" He. So your answer was "yes"? And what's up with this ambiguous "promised"? Are you trying to reference something you believe is true? Perhaps you should share with the rest of us, since your belief may not be shared by all. Plus, vague statements like that doesn't add weight to your argument; rather they tend to weaken it.

I do not believe that our comprehension of good and evil are of God's arbitrary will, but of His nature. This means that our understanding of the good cannot change; it is as eternal as its source.

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i didn't think it was vauge. I was reffering to the fact that God has promised that He will never change (repeated several times throughout the Bible).

In other words, God's nature could not have been otherwise. Does this not deny God free will?

__________________

It's party time for the guys in the tower of Babel
Sodom meet Gomorrah, Cain meet Abel
~Elton John


I couldn't if I tried.