Does God command things because they are right, or are things right because God commanded them? I do not believe that God commands anyone, but I am interested to know how others view this. Does God make things right or wrong by saying so, or does God know that certain things are intrinsicallly right or wrong, and tell us so?
2006-12-12 05:14:23 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If God is the one who decides whether things are right or wrong, doesn't that mean that He could just as easily have said that rape and murder are morally acceptable?
2006-12-12 05:23:37 · update #1
You're not going to get good answers to this one.
If someone says that something is intrinsically right and wrong independently of what god says, then there is a higher moral authority than god. Which is not possible.
If something is good or bad, JUST because god says so, then good or bad is a whim.
Either way, no satisfactory answer is found.
2006-12-12 05:18:43 · answer #1 · answered by Bhagwad 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm not sure we can really differentiate the two concepts. It's kind of like looking at a coin with two sides. Both sides are directly related to the nature of the coin but we get a different view of the coin based upon which side we look at.
God is ultimate perfection. Therefore, no thought can come from Him that is not perfect, right, true. If God speaks, it is truth and righteousness in and of His nature. (HEADS)
God also wants the best for His creation. Therefore, He would never command something that was not in our best interest and thus be right. (TAILS)
2006-12-12 13:21:39 · answer #2 · answered by yagman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How do you know what you feel is right? Haven't your feelings ever turned out to be wrong? Are you are saying that what you feel determines truth? If so, then you are putting yourself in the place of God, and looking to yourself for what you "feel" is right.
If religion is whatever you feel is right, then that could lead to chaos. What if some people had a religion where they felt stealing was acceptable? And what about lying and cheating? Would you trust someone who believed in a religion that felt it wasalright to steal, lie, and cheat?
Hitler felt killing Jews was right. He was wrong. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and untrustworthy (Jer. 17:9). If you could come to know truth by what you felt, then the Bible, which is the revelation of God, didn't need to be written. But, it has been written, and it has revealed that only God is the Source of truth, not your feelings.
I've never known truth to contradict itself. What if someone felt that something was right, and another person felt it was wrong? Would they both be right? If your statement is true, then how could there be a contradiction like that, if feelings determined truth?
2006-12-12 13:19:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Right and wrong is not real, its all in your head.God does not make thing right and wrong , that ignorantly stupid.That's like saying if a lion killed a baby because he was hungry was that lion wrong?
Right and wrong are just word humans use to express are selves physically and emotionally.
In order for humans to create a society ,there must be law and order in the system and that's where the terms right and wrong comes in play. Its natural for us to think that threes right and wrong, however , in order to truly understand life or (god's work ) we must not use the two terms right and wrong and substitute them with the 3 terms , purpose, facts , and reason.
Heres a example, when we die people believe that bad people will go to hell and good people will go to haven, why is that?
there is no proof that there is a haven or hell ,but as humans we over use are natural sence of right and wrong to explain every thing. Ill use the terms right and wrong vs the term purpose, facts,and reason.
why do we die? using the terms right and wrong : we die so that on day pepple who are evil and had do sin will go to hell and people who had do good and are saved willl go to haven.
now using the terms purpose, fact and reason: we die because its the cycle of life. if life does not die then the earth ,( are home) would be over populated with life.dying maintains that balance of life so life can continue to live on.
which makes more sence?
well the purpose of dying is so that the balance of life can be maintained so that there would not be any over population.
but if you use right and wrong to explain every thing you don't understand then you will only get some that has nothing to do with how life works.
The main point im trying to say is that right and wrong is not how god works. every thing has a purpose , we do these things for a reason and these are the fact of life.
research shows that people are not just genarally evil for there is not such thing. the things we do are in are blood and we do it for a reason.
You just have to loook in yourself and ask what does god want me to do ? well to tell you the truth we are doing what he wants use to do.
2006-12-12 13:53:37 · answer #4 · answered by tmblife 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is holy. He knows completely that there is right and wrong. Just like the physical laws in the universe, there are moral laws established by God and yes he is the one who says what is right and wrong because he is God and he is holy.
2006-12-12 13:20:31 · answer #5 · answered by handsomeworshipper 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think "intention" is what determines right or wrong. What is our intention in doing things.
Say you step around the corner and see a man using a knife to cut a child's throat. You might think this is a "wrong" thing to do. Causing harm to the child
But consider your judgments if the man is a doctor who has discovered a child who is about to choke to death and he used his knife to open the child's air passage.
Same could be said of a parent who is yelling at a child. Is the intention to prevent the child from stepping into the street?
If God is a Loving God his ability to love his children should be as strong as my ability to love my children. I would always try and consider what the intention of my child's behavior is and judge accordingly.
Only God knows our intentions, and only God should judge us. That's why Jesus teaches us not to judge one another.
2006-12-12 13:30:46 · answer #6 · answered by Honest Opinion 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Believer's say that morality and right and wrong come from their god. He is the one who designates it in the bible and so on.
Non-believer's say that intelligence, common sense, and human nature designate right and wrong. People who can't designate the two are often thrown in insane asylums, as they lack the basic human element to allow them to live peacefully among the rest of humanity.
2006-12-12 13:18:08 · answer #7 · answered by Heck if I know! 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God knows what is best for us. By declaring some things "wrong" He tries to spare us a lot of pain and trouble. If we follow His instructions, we always come out for the better.
2006-12-12 13:18:13 · answer #8 · answered by Starry Night 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
God commands things because they are right. He holds all things together. He is the epitome of righteousness.
2006-12-12 13:18:56 · answer #9 · answered by Jay Z 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
God is ALL knowing. Ergo, He knows what is right and what isn't. It is we who do not. Therefore, God has given us an instruction manual (the Bible) to help us live better lives. He loves you. Merry Christmas.
2006-12-12 13:18:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋