Divine Command

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Divine Command
-Explanation -Two opposing viewpoints -Interpre
tations -Valid Moral basis?
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Divine Command
EXPLANATION Divine Command is...?

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Divine Command
What is it?
Divine Command is looking at the will of God for
moral direction (dont steal because God said
so...)
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Divine Command
How do we know the will of God?
Commands from God in the Scriptures. Example
Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments
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Divine Command
How do we know the will of God?
Dont focus merely on the imperative commands
found in the Bible But look at historical
narratives, parables, prayers, letters,
etc... Example Samuel II, 12
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Divine Command
How do we know the will of God?
The moral relevance of the divine commandments
found in the Scriptures can only be understood by
viewing them in their interrelatedness with these
other types of writings. Divine commandments
must be interpreted in this larger context.
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Divine Command
How important is the faith commitment and how can
it effect how personnel lead their lives?
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Divine Command
TWO OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS PreHuman Submission
-vs- alternative

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Divine Command
What is Prehuman Submission
Pre-Human Submission is where individuals submit
to some external authority, thereby sacrificing
their own individuality (and thus this is
intrinsically bad).
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Divine Command
And the alternative?
The individual engages in a spontaneous
relationship to man and nature in such a way
that individuality is kept intact. (i.e. not
following divine commands)
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
YES...
Fromm and Marx In religion the spontaneous
activity of the human imagination, of the human
brain and the human heart, operates independently
of the individual, which results in the loss of
self.
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
YES...
Fromm and Marx Acting against Gods orders means
freeing himself from coercion, emerging from the
unconscious existence of pre-human life to the
level of man. Acting against the command of
authority, committing a sin, is in its positive
human aspect the first act of freedom, that is,
the first human act. In the myth the sin in its
formal aspect is the eating of the tree of
knowledge. The act of disobedience as an act of
freedom is the beginning of reason.
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
NO...
Why cant ones spontaneous relationship between
man and nature be to obey the will of God?
In this interpretation, man keeps his
individuality while choosing to obey god.
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
NO...
Obedience to divine commands can be understood as
another way of engaging in the spontaneous
patterns of relationship which Fromm cherishes
it is another way of avoiding the loss of self
which Marx fears
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
YES,
BUT WHO CARES?
Geach We ought to submit to the will of God
because God has the power to destroy us if we do
not. Thus we submit to Gods power out of a fear
of being destroyed by that power.
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Divine Command
Is Divine Command Prehuman Submission?
YES,
BUT WHO CARES?
Geach It may seem insane to defy a supreme
power. But, it is not immoral to do so. We are
not inclined to despise someone who resists the
will of a perverse human despot, even though this
person knows he will be killed for his
resistance.
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Divine Command
So, are we nothing more than the property of God?
Yes, If God is a despot No, if God is a loving
Creator
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Divine Command
So, are we nothing more than the property of God?
Yes, a life dedicated to the proving of ones
allegedly sovereign mastery over others is a life
of fearful bondage No, the ability to obey when
that is the proper response, to engage in
selfless service when that is required of us, to
recognize authority and expertise when that is
evident - is liberation And realizes new
dimensions of selfhood
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Divine Command
Not property of God, but part of God...
God is inherent in all of us. The relationship
is one of interpersonal intimacy. When God
commands, he does so with an intimate knowledge
of of our condition, having suffered in the same
ways that we suffer through Jesus. Thus...
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Divine Command
Not property of God, but part of God...
Obeying God is not being a blind puppet of God,
but listening to the one true moral expert.
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Divine Command
INTERPRETATIONS Everything mentioned so far
relates to Christianity, but what about other
religions?

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Divine Command
Inherent Conflict
Divine command defines morals, but there are a
multitude of religions with different divine
commands
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Divine Command
Christian
EXODUS 20 You shall have no other gods before
me You shall not murder Thou shall love they
neighbor
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Divine Command
Hinduism
It is far more beneficial to the ultimate good to
perform ones own birth-determined duties, even
ineptly than to perform the duties of another,
however well. If it is your duty to fight, its
O.K. because you cannot slay souls, only bodies
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Divine Command
Islam
A Muslim is one who submits their services to God
(prehuman submission is intrinsically good) The
scripture is the actual word of God
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Divine Command
Shinto
Inherent love of land, country, and ancestral
spirits 8 attitudes of warrior or Bushido code
Loyalty, Gratitude, Courage, Justice,
Truthfulness, Politeness, Reserve, Honor
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Divine Command
So what does this all mean? Is Divine Command a
valid moral basis?
-assumes belief in a God -only way for
universal moral basis is to believe in same God
and interpret teachings similarly
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Divine Command
So what does this all mean? Is Divine Command a
valid moral basis?
-what about the problem of evil and
suffering in the world? -evil and suffering
brings Gods existence into doubt.
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Divine Command
So what have we discussed?
Defined divine command Discussed how to determine
word of God Talked about viewpoints on Divine
Command Showed different examples from different
religions Discussed validity
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Divine Command
Case Study
Synopsis if the paradox of divine command in
Platos Euthyphro.
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Just War Theory
Reading Assignment
Ethics for the Military Leader Pages
375-470 Fundamentals of Naval Leadership Chapter
12 Ethics and Reasoning for Military
Leaders Lesson 20