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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Questions For Christians: Morality

First, the usual disclaimer: the purpose of these posts is to pose questions to Christians who come here (or go anywhere, for that matter) with the intent of converting us to Christianity, but also with an open mind about their own faith. My ultimate goal in asking these questions is to have you deconvert from Christianity. If you are not open to at least the possibility of that happening, then I suggest you not respond to these questions, as that will be a waste of your time and our bandwidth. At the same time, I am open to the possibility of learning a thing or two about Christianity along the way -- but if you plan to post a comment with the intention of being a teacher, instead of a learner, then please don't bother. These questions are for your benefit.

The following questions have to do with morality and goodness in Christian theism.

1. How do you define the word "good"?

You almost certainly know a human whom you would call good -- let's call him John -- and if you are a Christian then you certainly think that God is good. What I'm looking for in this question is a definition of the word "good" such that, using that definition, the sentences "John is good" and "God is good" would both be true sentences. (If you happen to believe that no human being at all is "good," then feel free to substitute a sentence such as "John tries to be good" or "John has good qualities about him.")



2. How do you define the word "just?"

3. How do you define the word "loving?"

Same caveats as above: I'm looking for a definition of these words as they're used to describe both John and God.



4. Is murder wrong because God says it is, or does God say murder is wrong because murder is wrong?

This is a variation of an old argument called the Euthyphro Dilemma, named for the titular character in Plato's dialogue Euthyphro, against whom it was first used. The dilemma is this: if murder is wrong because God says it is, then morality is a function of God's commands; thus, if God were to command that murder is right, then that would be true. This means that it is possible for murder to be right, whereas objective morality necessitates that murder is always wrong, thus God's existence is incompatible with objective morality. On the other hand, if God says murder is wrong because murder is wrong, then God is deriving that moral fact from an independent standard, which means that an independent moral standard exists against which God himself can be judged -- and by any rationally defensible standard of morality, that judgment is far from favorable.

It does no good to respond that morality is dictated by God's unchanging nature, as that only pushes the question back a notch: is murder wrong because God's nature says it is, or does God's nature say murder is wrong because murder is wrong? (You cannot say that God's nature qua God's nature necessarily exists in the absence of a particular sort of ontological argument for God's existence, a sort which has never been offered, still less proven.)

Nor can you say that there is no causal relationship, as "murder is wrong" is a moral fact, and any given fact can only have three possible relations to an intelligent being: it is created by that being, discovered by that being, or unknown to that being. Number three would not be an option with God, obviously, so either God created "murder is wrong" or he discovered it. So I ask again: Is murder wrong because God says so, or does God say so because it's wrong?



5. Should we stone to death anyone who works on the Sabbath?

The Bible's answer is yes, we must. Do you think that is right? If by circumstance it fell upon you to actually carry out the stoning, would you be willing to go through with it? If not, why not?

A related question:

5a. Do you think that human slavery is morally acceptable if done in accordance with the Bible?

At least one poster on the Raytractors blog, Jean Gasho-Musuka, has stated that it is indeed morally acceptable (why not, she said, as we are all slaves to Christ anyway). Do you agree? Do you believe that human slavery is never morally acceptable?


These final two questions pretty much speak for themselves:


6. Who is more moral, the person who does good because of the threat of punishment, or the person who does good in spite of no such threat?

7. Who has more incentive to be moral, one who believes that the slate will eventually be wiped clean and all will be forgiven provided you repent, or the person who believes there is no cosmic forgiveness, and that you and your descendants will be stuck with whatever mistakes you make?

7 comments:

  1. Nice post, SD. Your questions 5 and 5a reminded me of an open letter to Dr. Laura that's been circulating on the Internet for some time now. For those who haven't seen it, here it is:


    Dear Dr. Laura,

    Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

    I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

    a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

    b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

    c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

    d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

    e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

    f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

    g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

    h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

    i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

    j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

    I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

    Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.


    To this wonderful set of questions, I'd like to add an addendum. Most Christians, when asked these questions, maintain that these rules were from the OT, and ceased to be binding after Jesus came on the scene. Here are some NT passages that contradict this view:

    “For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18-19)

    "It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid." (Luke 16:17)

    "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest part or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place." (Matthew 5:17)

    "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness..." (2 Timothy 3:16)

    "Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God." (2 Peter 20-21)

    “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law" (John 7:19)

    “For the law was given by Moses,..." (John 1:17)

    “...the scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:35)

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  2. Dave,

    Although I wasn't a fundy, these would have been good questions to ask me as an adult Christian. I'm not sure how I would have answered some of them. It would have made me think.

    Trip, in my personal opinion, you should turn your comment into a post. It's really good and I would love to get some fundy responses as to how how they pick and choose which parts of the bible to follow.

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  3. I have to say for an atheist you are almost not stupid, very good questions. You almost sound like a Christian, if it were possible for Christians to let other people have any dignity.

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  4. 1.) I don't think there is 1 definition that would satisfy your request. Religion and language have a peculiar relationship, and context is important in English.

    2-3) These would take me some time to answer.

    4.) To answer the question itself, murder violates the 1st 2 commandments, which, summed up are "love". So God says murder is wrong because murder violates love. Of course, as you pointed out, we should not evaluate how well God loves us.

    5.) Respond to an Old Testament edict with a New Testament response: let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

    6.) Clearly the second person.

    7.) In all honesty? Neither. But then again, that's an oversimplified answer.

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  5.      Hey! You've already gotten more of a response than I did when I asked what christians meant when they say their god is good. Now if any christians respond...

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  6. Silent Dave said " My ultimate goal in asking these questions is to have you deconvert from Christianity. If you are not open to at least the possibility of that happening, then I suggest you not respond to these questions, as that will be a waste of your time and our bandwidth. At the same time, I am open to the possibility of learning a thing or two about Christianity along the way -- but if you plan to post a comment with the intention of being a teacher, instead of a learner, then please don't bother. These questions are for your benefit".

    on that note I will not respond to your questions as I know that I am saved and I will only respond to your questions by teaching you about the bible. You cant have it both ways if all you want to do is mock Christianty, why are you asking then? Just being honest with you.

    How can you say you have an open mind to learn a thing or two about Christianty, yet you say you do not want to be taught about Christianty....? What do you mean Dave? How can you learn without learning? See the contradiction? So you can be just like Ray after all? Contradiction in your post!! umm...

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  7. Jean said,

    on that note I will not respond to your questions as I know that I am saved and I will only respond to your questions by teaching you about the bible. You cant have it both ways if all you want to do is mock Christianty, why are you asking then? Just being honest with you.

    I don't want to mock Christianity. I want to get Christians to reconsider Christianity. If that's tantamount to mocking in your eyes, then you must not be very confident in your faith.

    How can you say you have an open mind to learn a thing or two about Christianty, yet you say you do not want to be taught about Christianty....? What do you mean Dave? How can you learn without learning? See the contradiction? So you can be just like Ray after all? Contradiction in your post!!

    There is no contradiction between wanting to learn and not wanting to be taught. There are many things that people learn, especially in adult life, without a person deliberately teaching it to them. How to falsely identify a contradiction, for example.

    ReplyDelete

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