Religious philosopher Jimmy Akin discusses the standard of goodness and its relation to God. They explore Plato's Euthyphro and divine command theory, concluding that the ultimate standard of goodness is God Himself.
The concept of the standard of goodness explores whether something is good because God says it is or if there is an independent standard of goodness that even God is bound to.
The ultimate standard of goodness is God himself, as all particular moral laws are an unfolding of God's own goodness.
Deep dives
The Standard of Goodness
The podcast episode explores the concept of the standard of goodness. It discusses the dilemma of whether something is good because God says it is, or if there is an independent standard of goodness that even God is bound to. The view that goodness is whatever God commands is known as divine command theory. While some moral requirements are indeed based on divine commands, there are deeper moral principles that govern these commands. The podcast argues that the standard of goodness is God's eternal nature, and therefore not arbitrary or independent of Him.
Unfolding of God's Goodness
The podcast further explains that all particular moral laws are an unfolding of God's own goodness. The deeper principles underlying divine commands are designed by God into human nature. While it would be possible to combine an independent standard of goodness with the idea of Greek gods, this does not align with the Judeo-Christian understanding of God. According to this view, God and the things He has created are all that exist, making God Himself the ultimate standard of goodness.
DAY 351
CHALLENGE
“If something is good just because God says it is, then morality is arbitrary. But if there’s an independent standard of morality that even God is bound to, that means there exists something besides God that is eternal and that is able to bind God.”
DEFENSE
God is the ultimate standard of goodness.
A version of this argument was proposed in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro around 400 B.C. In it, Socrates debates whether piety is whatever the gods love or whether the gods love something because it is pious. In philosophy, this has become known as the “Euthyphro dilemma.”
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