Does your god tell you something is wrong because it is wrong, or is it wrong because your god says so?Think before you answer.
If you tell me your god tells you it's wrong because it is wrong, you are telling me there is a higher authority than your god; that your god is subject to that higher authority and needs to defer to it for its own knowledge of right and wrong.
If that's so, then surely it's this higher authority which is the real god and yours is merely a subordinate, lesser god.
That's fine, if that's what you want to say. Only now you need to answer the above question with regard to this new, higher god...
On the other hand, you might tell me something is wrong for no other reason than that your god says it is. That's equally fine by me, so long as you realise you're telling me there is no objective morality; no objective right and wrong. That you're telling me, in fact, that there is no objective standard by which you can say whether the god you worship is a good god or an evil one and that when you tell me it's the god of love, you have no way of knowing if that's true or not. That you're telling me you have no objective way to know if it's your god or Satan who's giving the orders and commanding you to act.
So which is it?
A higher god than your god, and no real answer to the question other than a infinity of higher gods all handing down morality to the one beneath it with no end in sight and an answer that's no answer at all?
Or no way for you to tell whether it's a good god or an evil one; a loving god or Satan, who's telling you what to do and a moral code that's as useful as a back pocket in a vest?
Or do you have a third option - that your god has nothing to say about morality and it only has the morality you project onto it?
If you're havin' philosophical problems, I feel bad for ya, son. I got 99 problems, but evil ain’t one!
ReplyDeleteIt's called the "Problem of Evil" for a reason. ;)
TerranRich.
ReplyDeleteNice example of how to ignore a problem by projecting it back on the questioner and sniffily walking away from it.
Ah, the old euthyphro dilemma.. long shown to be a false one, I might add. There is a third horn, that God ordains moral law based on his character which is good, which means he is the source without it being arbitrary.
ReplyDeleteI actually the the problem of evil is just as big for atheists - how can you begin to judge anything Evil, let alone God, with an objective standard to measure with? Philosophical naturalism does away with any real basis on which to.hold someone else accountable. Hume's old is-ought problem get's in the way.
Findo.
ReplyDeleteWe DO have an objective standard. It's called Humanism. Basically, you empathise with other people and put yourself in their place, then think about how we would like others to behave towards us.
You only have to look at non-Christian cultures to see that human cultures have basic ethical standards in common.