What if that someone was God ? If someone said “Go steal something. Stealing is good”. Would you believe them and do it? What if that someone was God ? Would you do it then ?
Divine Command Theory To define Divine Command theory To explain problems with Divine Command theory To evaluate Divine Command theory
Imagine the scenario… God suddenly appears to everyone in the world, wowing them in a blaze of miracles and glory, so that even the atheists now believe in His existence. Then God speaks in a language we can all somehow understand. “I command you to murder every child you see. Murdering children is a good thing to do, and you will be a good person if you do it. “ Would anyone obey? Why/ why not? Explain the situation and why some people would obey this Explain how you would respond to this command & why. **Why do you think that some people do only take their morality from “God”? Most sane people would say: “This is not a good god. Murdering children is wrong, whatever this god says. And I will not obey a bad god”.
The Divine Command Theory = Things are right or wrong, because God says it’s right or wrong. IT’S WRONG! PARADOX: Does God command what is good in itself? But then this makes God powerless and not the source of goodness Or is it “good” just because God says it is? But then God could tell us to do something wrong as if it was good, and real goodness wouldn’t exist. God himself identifies the goodness that he created by giving us laws/ a conscience to help us recognise it. So it is good, and He made it to be so (not just because he says so). God is good in himself, and so he can never command anything evil. If he did, He wouldn’t be God. Explain what the Divine Command theory says. Do you think God decides what is right/ wrong, or are things right/ wrong anyway? **How could you solve the paradox?
Design a cartoon strip story to show God commanding us to do something we believe is wrong. Draw the effects of what would happen if people did this Show what people who would do it, are thinking Show what people who wouldn't do it are thinking In last box, explain what you yourself would say and why **If God changes his mind about something being wrong/right, does it become wrong/ right? IT’S RIGHT! If things are right/ wrong only because God says so, then God could say anything was right/ wrong Right and wrong could change overnight: is that possible? “Killing is right!” “Helping others is wrong!”
Explain the cartoon to your partner Explain the cartoon to your partner. How would you respond to the bar-maid if you were Jesus/ Mohammed?