The Divine Command Theory

The Divine Command Theory

The divine command theory can be found in almost all theistic religions. In it, God is the law giver as he is ominous, omnipotent and omnibenevolent. The rules are laid out by Him, but God “does not compel us to obey them. (297)” Instead we are free to choose whether or not to abide by these rules. It is suggested that the proper way to live is through God’s laws as it will allow us to live a moral and good life. Furthermore, we will gain God’s favor when the time of reckoning comes and will not be punished. Some examples of Divine Commands include the 10 commandments found in the bible with rules such as thou shalt not kill, not commit adultery, not kill, not steal among others. Each religion has its own set of rules decided by God which are described in the holy texts of the religion. Many of the rules cross over to other religions as seen with the 10 commandments which are all referenced in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each one of those three also has numerous others rules that distinguish them from each other but many of the common-sense rules exist throughout.

The popularity of the Divine command theory is obvious as it completely eliminates subjectivity from ethics. God said these rules and that’s final. It doesn’t matter about the individual circumstances because if you want to be right, you must follow the words of God. The moral right is whatever God commands, and if you do not follow these commands than you are deemed morally wrong. Furthermore, unlike existentialism the responsibility or freedom of making choice does not exist. To do right, just act as God commands and He will take care of everything. No need to look within or question the reason for a certain action. Just follow and when the time comes, you will be rewarded handsomely. The Divine Command theory offers a solution to the question “why should anyone bother with morality: (297)” because God commands it.

Though with the amount of religions out there, surely all of them are not correct. For example, in Islam and Judaism it is forbidden to eat pork, in Hinduism it is forbidden to eat beef, and in Christianity there is no restriction on either of those meats. In each of the 3 monotheistic religions each God claims to be the true God, but that