Friday, March 16, 2012

Resolving Euthyphro Dilemma

The Euthyphro dillemma is found in the Plato's diologue with Euthyphro. In the dialogue Socrates asked Euthyphro " Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"
Or if I may put it differently "Is the good act loved by gods because it is good or is it good because god so ordained it?" 

God is intrinsically good and holy. And God is the source of all that is good and pure. And since God is intrinsically good, he can never will (or love) what is wicked or evil. Just as God cannot non-exist, divine fiat cannot include wicked act. God's omnipotence does not mean that God can do logically impossible feats. Just as God cannot exist now and non-exist later, God cannot pronounce necessary moral truth now which is according to his nature, and later pronounce exactly opposite to his divine nature. So, is the good good because God so pronounced it according to his nature? Yes...and God cannot but pronounce it so because to pronounce otherwise is logically impossible.

But what moral reason is there to obey God's command?

We are to obey God's command because he is the giver of life. He brings me forth into existence. We are also to obey God's command because it is good. God will not issue command arbitrarily; rather he issues command according to his divine nature.

Of course, this assumes that God is necessarily good and so he will issue fiats only that which is good. The Abraham-Isaac story will nullify the assumption had Isaac really been sacrificed. But a believer will respond that because God is necessarily good, he will not issue command which will be truly wicked . A command may appear to be wicked, but in the grand scheme of things any command of God will result in the well being of the person if obediently carried out. But to see and experience that faith is required!

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