Richard Dawkins 'New Ten Commandments'

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” (Shafer-Landau, The Fundamentals of Ethics, p.67). In interviewing an Elder of a local Jehovah’s Witness congregation on the ethics involved in religion, he agreed that the divine command theory is correct, and that there are many commands and things that are forbidden in the bible that are considered to be God’s standards for the way we live our lives. But, when asked the modified version of the Euthyphro Question: is an action morally right because God commands it, or does God command an action because it is morally right, (Shafer-Landau, The Ethical Life, p.57) he picked the latter. Despite agreeing with the statement that the divine command theory makes, picking the latter is not uncommon even if the first affirms the theory. The statement that God commands an action because it is morally right, “implies that God did not invent morality, but rather recognized an existing moral law and then commanded us to obey it” (Shafer-Landau, The Fundamentals of Ethics, p.67-68). This does not make the Elder’s message wrong, in fact most theists don’t follow the divine command theory. This is based on the fact that if the theory were true, whatever God says is a command, and therefore morally right, but God could have said that rape, murder, and stealing is morally right if that was the line of thinking.

God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He shaped it all out of nothing. He breathed life into it. Everywhere we look, He reveals himself to us. He also reveals Himself to us as individuals and it is our responsibility to seek Him with our whole selves. These two different ways He reaches out to us are called general and special revelation.

binding." This rule from God upholds the fact that there is a loving and caring God. The

The book Evolution of God by author Robert Wright attempts to understand how humanity has created the singular all-powerful God of the Abrahamic religions; namely Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. In his book, he tries to make the point that what people accept as some omnipotent and ephemeral God is really just the evolution of a series of prehistoric beliefs which are no more based in fact than any other religious deities. Robert Wright locates the creation of the Judeo-Christian God with the formulation of other myths and legends. One of the more interesting aspects of Wright's books is the concept of moral progression. In the time of the ancients, strict adherence to the laws of the bible as they were written. As time has progressed and human beings have changed through the progression of time, morality has changed as well. Things which were acceptable in one era are no longer so, such as the marriage of young people in their early teens while other things which were once unacceptable have now gained moral acceptance such as homosexuality and gay rights. In this, Wright poses an interesting point because the God of the Old Testament was an angry and often vengeful deity who punished with impunity and was capable of great acts of terror including flooding the earth and killing nearly every man, woman, and child. The God that people tend to worship in the modern moment is very far removed from his more ancient counterpart.

Since the beginning of creation, God attends for his creation to be created for good. He creates light, sky, waters, the land, the animals, and us. He created us so we can cultivate in his creation and do His will for our lives. However, in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve turned against God by disobeying Him. This led to a chaotic world where 1st century’s evil (killing, slavery, violence, idolatry, sex, etc.) has manifested itself to 21st century’s evil (gun violence, terrorism, racism, obsession, pornography, etc.). From Exodus to the end of the Old Testament, God created covenants for His people to restore its relationship with Him and created laws for His people to live a holy lifestyle. From the Gospels to the Revelation, Jesus taught them that

t some point early in every presidential campaign, a Republican enforcer urges his party’s candidates not to attack another candidate by invoking the party’s Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” Usually attributed to Ronald Reagan (who nicked it in 1965 from a California Republican Party chairman), the commandment signals a promise to conduct politics in a gentlemanly and ladylike fashion.

The Small Catechism was written in 1529 by Martin Luther. He wrote it after he visited with common people and saw a severe lack of instruction by both the head of the households and pastors on how to lead a good Christian life (Deuteronomy 6:5-9). He was so upset he noted; “the wretchedness I beheld” and said “many pastors were quite incompetent and unfitted for teaching” (Preface to Small Catechism) (LC: Live Session). The Small Catechism is a handbook to Christian Doctrine and Christian Living. It includes the 10 Commandments and how to follow them, the Lord’s Prayer, introduction to Christian Life, Baptism, Lord’s Supper and how the Holy Spirit brings the Lord to u (LC: Table of Duties). Luther’s Small Catechism is written in a

Nice post Katherine, you seemed to be very supportive of religion. After reading your post I noticed that you are leaning towards religion when you said: “We moved so far away form God, then we wonder why so many bad things are happening.” And if a person is not bothering anybody at work then they should be allowed to practice religion. Which is in effect is similar to the posting of the Ten Commandments in a public school, or Courthouse. Where the Supreme Court ruled that a law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schoolrooms had no secular legislate purpose therefore is unconstitutional (Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980)).

Within Christianity there are ten commandments in which most Christians follow. 1- You shall not have any other gods besides me, meaning that we must remain monotheistic as God created the world and has provided a way for us to come into true fellowship with him. 2-Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. We are precious to God as he takes care of us before birth and in the afterlife, meaning that the parents he chooses are responsible for you and how you one day will return to him, by honoring them you are displaying your faith and trust in God. 3- You shall not kill, this is a sin that tests your faith and God's faith in you as that is not within your beliefs and can harm a person and their afterlife.

According to the Bible, God gave us the gift of an immortal soul that has the ability to think and reason, which places us at the top of the pyramid for morality. We are free to seek and love what is good, true and beautiful. Unfortunately, we have the tendency to steer off course and pursue the darkness that lives within ourselves. Luckily, we are able to determine what is right and wrong from our knowledge of God’s law or our conscience. God gave us (i.e. human being) a conscience that will serve as an ally to combat sinful temptations and to realize the magnitude of actions should we behave out of line (i.e. against God’s will). Our conscience leads us to do what is right or to confess and to seek forgiveness if we have done something

We should not overemphasize nor deny the deity or humanity of Jesus Christ. When we overemphasize His humanity, we do not give acknowledgement that He is God and that He is divine in nature. While acknowledging His deity, we must never forget that without His human nature and the shedding of His blood and resurrection, we would still be lost and without hope of salvation (Hebrew

The word “God” has been an entity that cause a great impact in the human society these days especially for those who practice Christianity. This is because god has been someone to look up to, someone who has demonstrated through the words of others as a perfect example to follow. Through time people have been following the Cristian way of life that has been somehow a beneficial way of life. God has been portrayed as someone who is all mighty, and of great power. Unlike in most cases I’m neither a follower nor of God.

The DCT argues that the bible is the best source to understand God’s morality, however, which bible to follow is up for debate. Moreover, there are contradictions to the moral guidance provided in the bible and the bible is open to contradictory interpretations - even if the bible is the word of God, there are many readings and interpretations of God’s true meaning.

The first source to which Christian theology looks for it's teaching is the New Testament. It is the New Testament, which unfolds the divine plan introduced in the Old, and it is by the New Testament revelation that the Old Testament revelation is interpreted. For this reason all Christians theologians have made the New Testament their primary source for data in constructing views of God and His relation to the world. We must place all theology in context. As the Old Testament affirms, God is incomparable. Isaiah writes that we dare not make our God out of gold, or carry the divine around in a neat package to sit here or stand there. God reminds Israel, and all peoples, that "I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like me."

This comes to ask, is something simply right because God commanded it or does it get commanded by God due to it being simply right? This makes the relationship between religion and morality is not always as clear as previously thought. This theory is not very logically addressable but more striking. The divine theory is not universal and robust this is simply a invitation to think deeper. This theory’s whole purpose is to simply make the reader think deeper, really consider the way things are.