Morality and God

The notion that each of the multiple gods can set their standards for morality, allows for the follower to circumstantially pick and choose which god to follow. It is possible for a follower to be circumstantially selective because they do not have to answer to one specific god. One can choose to follow a certain god because that particular god’s set of morals allows them to fulfill some desire or need that would otherwise not fulfilled under other

Divine Command Theory Argument The Divine Command theory states that” an act is morally required just because it is commanded by God, and immoral just because God forbids it.” (Lecture Notes pg. 42, slide #2.) This theory says that since God has said that it is something we must do to be good, that we must do it. Many religions believe and live by this saying that “it is the will of God or the Gods”. I truly believe that God has done his work and is still at work and since He did create us, He does know what good and evil is and does have authority to tell us what is good.

Therefore, the only reason one has to behave ‘morally’ is because god, the bible or Jesus says you should. Moreover, the consequences of behaving in contradiction to Christian values or behaving ‘immorally’ involve punishment by god whether it be in this life or the after-life. This philosophy sheds some light on why atheism is feared, despised and misunderstood as well as why atheists are persecuted in America. If there is no god to answer to or no consequences for ‘bad behavior’, why then, would anyone behave in a good moral fashion? What is to prevent deviant behavior, if there is no god? These questions are the main basis for the Christian argument which maintains that atheists are untrustworthy, immoral or amoral, social deviants and therefore lesser human beings. Some have gone as far to say that atheists are unpatriotic, un-American and do not even have the right to be acknowledged as citizens of the United States.

According to this theory, there are no moral standards that exist without God's will, and without his commands, nothing would be right or wrong. God is omnipotent, and therefore, morality itself is derived from God's nature. Without God, there is no basis for our moral structure and under this, what is moral is so because God has decreed it as such.

Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society Religion in the world has always been considered a rather important aspect of society. Although this is true, there are still people that question the existence of God. A survey done among 1000 people showed that 65 percent of Americans believe that religion is losing its influence on American life (Sheler, 8). Even so, Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society because since the beginning of history man has always made up some sort of role model to explain events and situations that seem inexplicable, God gives people a sense of comfort and hope to know they aren’t alone, and when a society believes in a God, there is a religion behind it that gives ethics and values that they must

Divine Command Theory “If God does not exist, then everything is permitted,” in other words, if there turns out to be no God then nothing is morally wrong. Someone who would believe a statement such as this one would most likely be in agreement with the Divine Command Theory---the reason

Almost all religions with Gods have a set of morals they want their worshippers to follow, in this case I used the Christian religion as an example. Most Christians strive to be the best people they possibly can. While most tend to behave this way out of the goodness of their own hearts, some behave in this manner because they fear hell and God’s wrath. They believe that their behavior dictates whether or not they end up going to Heaven and Hell, and thus follow the morals laid out by the bible, i.e. the ten commandments. While religion plays a heavy role in determining one’s morals, people create their own morals as well. For example, a person may always hold the door open for others, not because they do it for fear of eternal damnation, they do it because they believe it is right. Gardner states that people do this to help achieve that better future each person has in their mind. In the end, everyone has this idea of what they want their life to be like in the future, and they develop their morals around that. When that person eventually dies, they die knowing that they followed their morals and were a better person for it in the grand scheme of things.

God's word is under the constant bombardment of skepticism, mockery, and secularism. This problem poses a great threat to society today. Without God and His, we must wonder: how would man know what morals or ethics are to begin with?

We can argue and take the first side that humans have a moral compass and possess the ability to differentiate what is right or wrong without religion governing them. It can be interpreted that we can be morally good, so therefore being morally good can be independent of God. God recognizes the deed as morally good and then approves

I have previously spoken on God, knowledge, and origins, as we move on, we need to account for the moral values. Secular Humanism is the same as atheism, there is no supernatural, or a transcended God, that is personal, that can transcend and interact in supernatural ways. Nor has God given man moral values, that are written upon his heart. The fact of the matter is, in Christianity moral values have their objective and universal basis in the immutable nature of God. Atheist believe in a number of different opinions concerning moral values. 1. That morals come about by a cultural agreement. 2. Morals are subjective. 3. that we make our moral values, because it is a behavior that gets in the way of society. 4. Moral values are discovered. This is not an exhausted list by any means.

Christian morality is centered on assessing the ethical implications of us as people. Who we ought and be, and what actions we ought to take or avoid based on an understanding of the scripture and relevant human experiences. I do not subscribe to the divine command theory (DCT) of ethics, as I believe you can have ethics without God. The DCT proposes that what is morally right is what God has commanded (for example, love thy neighbor), and what is forbidden by God is morally wrong (i.e. murder), yet there are many who agree that murder is wrong without reading the bible to recognize this. As such, I argue that the churches moral teachings are of

Running head: MORALITY AND RELIGION Does morality need religion? Ms. McBain HSB 4M0 February 29, 2012 To many individuals, morality and religion are two related but distinct ideas. To be specific, morality consists of principles set by societal norms concerning the distinction between right and wrong and good and bad behaviour among persons. Alternatively, religion involves the relationship between human beings and a transcendent reality or a superhuman controlling power, God. In many societies in the past and present, the idea of God is used to help reinforce moral codes as valuable and vital through rituals and methods of presenting the teachings of God. By many, religion is used to instil fear

Morality and God The belief that morality requires God remains a widely held moral maxim. In particular, it serves as the basic assumption of the Christian fundamentalist's social theory. Fundamentalists claim that all of society's troubles - everything from AIDS to out-of-wedlock pregnancies - are the result of a breakdown in

Morality is the root of all that is good, and the beginning of all that is evil. It can be found in the mightiest of rulers, and the smallest of children. It is what separates man from animals. It is what makes humans, human. Religion, as a whole is not

To be moral simply means to do what is right; however, doing what is right is easier said than done. Perhaps if one was a child, one would, to the best of their abilities, follow what his parents demand of him, this would constitute them as doing what is right. Now let us say that the child is an orphan, or does not believe what his parents say is right, should following them still be considered moral, or is it even up to him to decide? Perhaps the child has evolved past parenting all together and therefore needs no more guidance. Defining what is considered moral has now become much more complex. Sam Harris presents the same basic argument of morality in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, by applying it not to a child and his parents,