In the dialogue Socrates asks, “Is conduct right because the gods command it, or do the gods command it because it is right?” (Rachels, 50). This question asks out of two opposing possibilities, which one is true? On the one hand it asks whether God decides what is moral and immoral. Is God the one that determined that it is wrong to steal, murder, and torture? Did god determine that it is good to help the poor, give gifts, and preserve life?
The basic concept of religion and morality, especially divine command theory, is very simple: what God commands is good, therefore only do that. However, things begin to complicate when we begin to answer questions, such as ‘why are Gods commands intrinsically good?’. The Euthyphro dilemma outlines the problems with asserting the goodness of God. In the great philosopher Plato’s text, ‘The Last Days of Socrates’, Socrates questions Euthyphro over the piety of the Gods. Which follows on from which?
Even in contemporary society, we tend to associate morality with some kind of divine will, but through the Euthyphro, Socrates seems to suggesting we think along another line altogether. Is something moral because God commands it? Does morality depend on religious belief? A common view among religious, and even some secular, philosophers is that just as conventional laws require lawmakers, morals also require some ultimate source. The Divine Command Theory is the view that moral actions are those that conform to God's will.
A KoF can be the good guy or the bad guy, depending on how you view religion and the story of Abraham and Isaac for this purpose. A true KoF will be the individual or group of individuals who will defy the common worldly law of ethics in order to fulfill a religious duty. This duty may incorporate many different immoralities and negative actions. However, the immoral acts will be justified by the religion or religious figure that gives divine approval for it. This presents an issue with the moral and rational reasoning behind the deeds.
Examine the important concepts of two critiques of the link between religion and morality. For some religious followers there is a link between religion and morality due to the guidelines set by religion for morality, for example the Ten Commandments. However it is important to discuss whether or not there is a clear link between the two, as otherwise perceptions on what is moral may differ, causing conflict within society. The Euthyphro Dilemma is a classic discussion of this argument which was started by Plato. He based his argument on the statement “Does God will something because it is good or is something good because it is willed by God?” There are two ‘horns’ to this argument which stem from the statement; these both critiques of the link between religion and morality.
We use this is help us choose the right moral action is situations. Aristotle and Aquinas both conclude that humans aim for some goal or purpose in life-but does not see this as eudemonia. Aquinas believes that humans are the ‘image of god’ therefore the supreme good must be the development of this image which is perfection. They did not believe that you could reach this perfection in this life but the afterlife. There are the three laws in Aquinas’ book which are eternal, natural and divine.
In Euthyphro, Socrates brings up a question that is very debatable. Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? This basically asks whether something is right because it is right or is it right because God says its right. I think something is right because it is right. I think people have a conscience because we are able to reason and have empathy for others so we know when something is wrong.
Overall the Puritans were a religious group with a core of specific beliefs that are at the essence of the Puritan Faith. Those two beliefs are the belief that man is predestined or divided into two groups, the damned and the elect. The second core belief is that of free grace versus a doctrine of works. This means that man cannot save himself by changing his ways and doing good deeds. Instead it means than humanity is only saved by the free grace and mere good will of God and that whosoever believes in Christ and has faith may escape Hell.
On those premise it is asserted that religion play an important part in nurturing the virtue needed for a free society. Matthew Spaulding’s Meaning of religion and Liberty, asserts this about religion and morality: “They aid good government by teaching men their moral obligations and creating the condition for decent politics” (p313.2008). While not everyone morality depends on religion, I do believe and support argument that religion is necessary to morality. The religious principles speak to morality and morality aid virtue. Outside of the realm of government if we look at our society today many of our moral have changed.
Let knowledge be a cosmic and complex structure, faith is the base for this structure for it provides fundamental assumptions and without these assumptions, the structure of knowledge will disintegrate. In the first Area of Knowledge religion, faith does play a pivotal role. Faith is an essential element that is mostly inseparable from the religion. An organized religion usually consists of a person’s relationship to that which they regard as holy, sacred,