GOd and Morality

Essay by Smiley_thoughtsUniversity, Bachelor'sA, July 2004

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God and Morality

The first question that comes to our mind when we think about the topic of God and morality is; is God the source of morality? Or is morality the source of God?

In other words who existed before in the human's mind? Is God there to enforce the moral rules, as a supreme, all-powerful being? Or did the necessity for moral enforcement produce God?

If we take Descartes' view about this issue, and according to his debate about the existence of God, he refers the idea of the "existing God" in the "thinking I" to God, since he thinks this idea is a supreme and perfect idea. In his first proof for the existence of God, which was Ideas and causes, he states, "1-There must be as much reality in the cause as in the effect. 2-Something cannot proceed from nothing. 3-What is perfect cannot proceed from what the less perfect" 1.

If we take these same principles and apply them to the idea that we suggested before, then we might conclude that God is the source of Morality, that God is not only the enforcer of this morals, rather He is also the source of all morals.

God as the source of morals

Theist View

According to a religious view God is not only the source of Morals but also the aim of it "the keynote in the life and teaching of Jesus with regard to man's moral duty is found in obedient love. This means that with faith in God as the energizing center of one's being, one is required to do the will of God by loving God supremely."2

This view assumes the existence of God before anything else, thus it refers everything to Him, if we want to compare goodness we...