Divine Command Research Articles

Religion: A resource in european climate politics? An examination of faith-based contributions to the climate policy discourse in the EU

Recent research has considered the contribution of faith-based actors (FBAs) and religious norms to global sustainability and climate governance. However, as yet, it has paid little attention to the relationship between religion and climate politics in the EU. The EU is supposedly a secular body. Nevertheless, FBAs participate in its climate policy discourse, and, therefore, their normative contributions are of interest. In this article, therefore, we explore the role of FBAs in the EU climate discourse with respect to two specific questions: what, if any, specific normative arguments and claims do the FBAs contribute to the EU’s climate policy discourse; and, can or do the relevant normative arguments and claims serve as a basis for collaboration or are they a source of normative conflict between different FBAs or between FBAs and non-FBAs? To answer these questions, we draw on the EU’s transparency register and a content analysis of a specific dialogue between FBAs and the EU’s institutions. On this basis, we identified a range of active FBAs within EU climate politics and demonstrated that they contribute to the European climate discourse by adding deep-rooted values. One way this is achieved is through the connection of climate values to “creation” and the divine command to mankind which can give specific meaning to one’s understanding of nature and fellow humans, as well as one’s sense of responsibility towards both. Furthermore, we find a basis for both agreement and conflict in references to religious norms and ideas. Many actors from different faiths and secular backgrounds emphasize the compatibility of faith-based and other norms. However, other actors highlight differences in perspectives and challenges to climate governance that arise from “conservative” religious norms.

The Psychopath Objection to Divine Command Theory

Abstract: Recently, Erik Wielenberg has developed a novel objection to divine command meta-ethics (DCM). The objection that DCM "has the implausible implication that psychopaths have no moral obligations and hence their evil acts, no matter how evil, are morally permissible". This article criticizes Wielenberg's argument. Section 1 will expound Wielenberg's new "psychopath" argument in the context of the recent debate over the Promulgation Objection. Section 2 will discuss two ambiguities in the argument; in particular, Wielenberg’s formulation is ambiguous between whether Wielenberg uses the word "obligation" in an objective or subjective sense. Section 3 will argue that this ambiguity undercuts the argument. If Wielenberg is using the word obligation in a subjective sense, his arguments do not show that that psychopaths "have no moral obligations". By contrast, if Wielenberg is using the word obligation in an objective sense, his arguments do not show that Divine command theorists are committed to denying psychopaths have obligations.

“It is not a miracle, but grief...”: representations of Sergey Kozlov's on soteriological mission of the woman (based on the novella “Mother-Masha”)

This article analyzes the views of the contemporary Ugric writer Sergey Kozlov pertaining to mission of the women in 1990s – 2000s, which was the turning period for the country. The novella “Mother-Masha” demonstrates that it textual space, namely the woman becomes the symbol of justice of the Christian fabric of life, and is reflected in the sincere desire of the protagonist to establish good and justice in the world. The author contemplates on S. Kozlov's ideological and artistic views upon the role of the woman at the time of major transformations in the Russian history. Reference to the writer’s fictional prose, diaries, and interviews allows revealing the peculiarities of his axiological position in the context of the Russian philosophy of femininity. The scientific novelty of this research is substantiated by the need for articulation of the problem related to the study of specificity of female images in the creative heritage of Siberian writer Sergey Kozlov. Comprehensive analysis of the writer's novella “Mother-Masha” included into the book “Duty Angel” (2011) is carried out. The article introduces the sources, such as diary notes and interview materials, which have not been previously used in studying the works of S. Kozlov. The conclusion is made that soteriological mission was imposed on Mother Masha – the woman who proliferated the Divine Commandments to the world and is associated with the symbol of national salvation.

Has God Indeed Said? Skeptical Theism and Scriptural Hermeneutics

This paper demonstrates that the skeptical theist’s response to the problem of evil deprives the analytic theologian of theoretical resources necessary to avoid accepting as veridical merely apparent divine commands that endorse cruelty. In particular, I argue that the same skeptical considerations that lead analytic theologians to endorse skeptical theism also lead to what I call “divine command skepticism”—an inability to make certain kinds of judgements about what a good God would or would not command. The danger of divine command skepticism is not that it generates new reasons to think that God has commanded horrors, but, rather, that it undercuts the defeaters we might otherwise have for thinking that God has commanded those horrors. It does so both by rendering illicit certain theological and hermeneutical methodologies employed within liberatory frameworks (i.e., various kinds of liberation theologies) and by depriving the theologian of some of the more “traditional” mechanisms for resolving such apparent conflicts.

ENGLISH-3 In-Laws Relationships and Their Saintliness in Islam

Our social life revolves around kinship and in-law relationships; thus, every individual is chained in these relations. After marriage, some new relationships are established. These relationships make one family closer to the other. Men should keep a safe distance from women's female relatives after marriage according to Islamic Sharia. Similarly, women should keep a safe distance from men's male relatives, but at present, such sanctity is being violated that is disturbing family life. So, there is a need to propagate awareness on this specific subject. It is need of the hour that our national institutions must address such matters and respond them immediately. The Islamic Ideological Council and Federal Sharia Court should suggest new legislation in this regard as per the given Islamic teachings. Muslim society can have peaceful and noble family relationships to act upon divine commandments regarding sanctity and respect of in-laws. We should not import foreign culture in our societies about disrespect of in-laws through media. This article traces out the respect and sanctity regarding in-law relationships according to Islam.

AL‐GHAZĀLĪ'S DIVINE COMMAND THEORY

AbstractThis article reviews al‐Ghazālī's conception of Divine Command Theory (DCT) in light of contemporary philosophical developments. There are two well‐known objections against DCT. These include the problem of arbitrariness (PoA), which states that God randomly chose our moral framework for no reason given His capability to choose any moral commands; and the problem of God's goodness (PoGG), which questions God's goodness if morality could be other than what it is. Modern defenders of DCT have attempted to counter these objections through various strategies. This article juxtaposes al‐Ghazālī's interpretation of DCT with modern strategies to illustrate how these two issues are untroubling concerns in al‐Ghazālī's framework. In doing so, it highlights where and how they differ in their approaches. Additionally, it critiques interpretations suggested by some contemporary thinkers who suggest that al‐Ghazālī may not be a strict proponent of DCT.

Maitzen’s Objection from God’s Goodness

Stephen Maitzen argues that divine command metaethics must be mistaken because it is committed to the implausible assumption that the sentence ‘God is (morally) good’ is a tautology. In this article, I show that a charitable interpretation of R. M. Adams’ version of divine command metaethics is not committed to accept this assumption. I conclude that Maitzen’s objection merely manages to refute a strawman version of divine command metaethics.

CAN THE REQUIREMENTS OF SHARIAH LAW REGARDING CRIMINAL PUNISHMENTS BE INTERPRETED IN A WAY THAT IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE ICCPR AND CAT?

Criminal law deals with the protection of public interests and values deemed to be crucial for a particular society. In Islam, these values are ascribed to the divine commands. Thus, there will be calls from some Muslims for the implementation of Islamic criminal law by the state for they believe that this is required by Islam. Can therefore the death penalty or corporal punishments required by the Shariah law be imposed by a state while they are in conflict with the state’s obligation to comply with international human rights instruments? This paper will analyze this uneasy situation faced by some Muslim countries implementing Islamic criminal law but party to the ICCPR and CAT. It aims at verifying that an extreme universalism or cultural relativism approach regarding the validity of international human rights norms on this matter is insufficient. This is because Islamic doctrines strongly influence Muslims on this matter and failure to seriously engage them will lead to rejection of international human rights instruments which are important for protecting individual rights. This paper argues that an approach that is able to reconcile the requirements of Shariah law regarding criminal punishments and those of international human rights norms is necessary.

What is morality?

In “Modern Moral Philosophy,” Anscombe argued that the moral vocabulary does not correspond to any concept in Aristotelian ethics, that it derives from a confused response to the ethics of divine command, and that it is literally meaningless. This essay contends that Anscombe was wrong. Morality corresponds to Aristotle’s general sense of “justice,” which is complete virtue in relation to others. But Anscombe’s question remains: what is it for an action to be morally wrong, not merely something one should not do? The answer is not that wrongness warrants blame or that an action is wrong when it wrongs another person, but that an action is morally wrong when it is something one should not do that one has no right to do. In the absence of rights, Anscombe’s question has no answer.

Circumcision In Ancient Civilizations and Heavenly Religions

This research deals with the topic of circumcision in ancient civilizations and monotheistic religions, in terms of origin and practice. In order to arrive at the identification of the beginnings of this religious rite, the reasons and motives that led to the practice of circumcision and its motives. The nature of the research necessitated starting by searching for the existence of circumcision in ancient human civilizations, and then searching for it in the divine religions. Through research and investigation, we found that most ancient civilizations practiced circumcision, especially male circumcision. As for female circumcision, it started back to the ancient Egyptians, who practiced female circumcision, known as Pharaonic circumcision. As well as some peoples in Latin America. As for the monotheistic religions, We have found that Judaism has emphasized male circumcision and considered it a divine command, and with regard to female circumcision. There is no text in the Torah that supports female circumcision. Although some Jewish communities practiced female circumcision. In the case of male circumcision was a duty, and for you the Apostle Paul transformed the process of circumcision from a physical act to an act of heart, and said that what is meant by circumcision is not cutting the flesh of the foreskin, but rather what is meant is to remove the malicious intention from the heart. In Islam there were authentic hadiths calling for the practice of circumcision, and they considered it a confirmed Sunnah and that it is part of the innate nature. As for female circumcision, there is no explicit text affirming female circumcision. Rather, its matter is left to necessity and need, and that female circumcision is not a religious matter, rather it is an inherited social custom.

The muʿtazila's arguments against divine command theory

AbstractThe Muʿtazilī theologians, particularly the later Imāmī ones, developed numerous interesting arguments against divine command theory. The arguments, however, have not received the attention they deserve. Some of the arguments have been discussed in passing, and some have not been discussed at all. In this article, I aim to present and analyse the arguments. To that end, I first distinguish between different semantic, ontological, epistemological, and theological theses that were often conflated in the debate, and examine the logical relation among them. Then I go over the Muʿtazila's arguments determining, among other things, which of the theses was targeted by each argument. In presenting the arguments, I focus mainly on the late kalām period, the period falling roughly between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries of the common era, as the arguments were at their most sophisticated level by this time.

Divine Revelation in the Philosophical Essays of al-Fārābī in Comparison with the Mystical Thoughts of Ibn ‘Arabī

One of the most important concepts discussed in Islamic sciences is the explanation of divine revelation. Al-Fārābī and Ibn ‘Arabī are among the leading Islamic thinkers who have tried to explain divine revelation according to their style and school of thought. Al-Fārābī considers revelation as receiving knowledge from the active intellect while Ibn ‘Arabī considers it as the revelation of abstract rational meanings from God to the prophets. Examining and comparing their views on divine revelation can acquaint us with their thoughts on how the revelation and its quality came about as well as their intellectual similarities and differences. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, this article examines the essence of revelation in the thought of these two scholars. It also analyzes the quality and degree of revelation in their minds. The discussion ends with a comparison of their views on this issue. Al-Fārābī and Ibn ‘Arabī consider revelation as a divine command revealed by God directly or indirectly to the prophets to guide their people. While al-Fārābī tries to explain the revelation based on the prominent role of the Active Intellect, Ibn ‘Arabī pays attention to the issue of divine grace in sending of the revelation and the imagination of the prophets.

The Third Use of the Law

Abstract Some scholars have contrasted Calvin’s and Edwards’s understanding regarding the third use of the law. They believe that Calvin emphasized the third use of the law for believers’ sanctification and that there is no room for virtue ethics in Calvin’s theology, while Edwards’s ethics is virtue ethics and there is no room for the third use of the law in Edwards’s theology. In contrast, this article uncovers that both Calvin’s and Edwards’s ethics combine features of both virtue ethics and divine command ethics. Accordingly, Edwards holds the same view as Calvin regarding the third use of the law.

Ethically Compliant Sequential Decision Making

Enabling autonomous systems to comply with an ethical theory is critical given their accelerating deployment in domains that impact society. While many ethical theories have been studied extensively in moral philosophy, they are still challenging to implement by developers who build autonomous systems. This paper proposes a novel approach for building ethically compliant autonomous systems that optimize completing a task while following an ethical framework. First, we introduce a definition of an ethically compliant autonomous system and its properties. Next, we offer a range of ethical frameworks for divine command theory, prima facie duties, and virtue ethics. Finally, we demonstrate the accuracy and usability of our approach in a set of autonomous driving simulations and a user study of planning and robotics experts.

Does Darwall’s Morality of Accountability Require Moral Realism? (And Would It Be Strengthened by Adding God to the Story?)

Stephen Darwall has developed an account of moral obligations as grounded in “second-personal reasons,” which was developed in conversation with early modern “theological voluntarists” who were divine command theorists. For Darwall, morality does not require accountability to God; humans as autonomous moral agents are the source of moral obligations. In this paper, I try to show that Darwall is vulnerable to some objections made against divine command theories. There are responses Darwall could make that have parallels to those given by divine command theorists. However, those responses require moral realism, while Darwall’s project is often seen as being inspired by metaethical constructivism. Finally, I suggest that Darwall’s view could be further strengthened by the addition of God to the story.

Bright ecological wisdom in Baruch 3:33–35

This short study seeks to highlight the rhetorical use of creation imagery in the sapiential Torah exhortation of Baruch 3:9–4:4. A methodology of rhetorical criticism will principally be used to investigate the style of this “ecologically” insightful part of the poem as well as its function in the wider message of the exhortation. The few short phrases of 3:33–35 effectively bolster the overall exhortation to adhere to the divine commandments as Israel is thereby invited to an imitation of creation in its reverent, unhesitating, joyful and Patriarch-like obedience to the divine will. To paraphrase this idea, “Hear O Israel, be like the light and the stars! Learn from creation and you will live.” Finally, this study seeks to contribute to the more recent attention to the Book of Baruch by commenting further on the previously accentuated unoriginality of this marvelous short work of Second Temple Jewish literature, especially with regard to its employment of some bright “ecological” wisdom.

Gesetz und Evangelium im Nachkriegsprotestantismus by David Scherf

Reviewed by: Gesetz und Evangelium im Nachkriegsprotestantismus by David Scherf Matthew L. Becker Gesetz und Evangelium im Nachkriegsprotestantismus. Religion in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 5. By David Scherf. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019. 285 pp. This doctoral dissertation, accepted at the University of Osnabrück, examines the transformation of the distinction between law and gospel in the work of three post-WWII West German Protestant theologians: Ernst Wolf (1902-1971), Helmut Thielicke (1908–1986), and Carl Heinz Ratschow (1911–1999). The author, [End Page 245] a Lutheran pastor in Bavaria, provides brief biographical sketches, summarizes key works, surveys the secondary literature, and offers theological analysis and a concluding assessment. While the introduction describes the cultural crisis in German Protestantism after the First World War and gives an overview of three key theological movements in the Weimar era (dialectical theology, religious socialism, and neo-Lutheran confessional theology), the first chapter only offers an incomplete description of the contrasting views on law and gospel by Werner Elert, Karl Barth, and Paul Althaus. As important as that Auseinandersetzung was for later developments, it should have received fuller analysis. More context was needed, as well as better sources. Why Scherf used post-1945 writings from Althaus but not from Elert is unclear. A strength of the chapter is how it identifies important if subtle differences between Elert's and Althaus' positions on the revelation of law. The Barthian-Erlangen debate over law and gospel was partially continued by the three central figures in Scherf's study, but also transformed by them in the changed cultural and political situation of postwar West Germany. These three middle chapters provide insightful perspectives on figures lesser known today and whose ideas are worthy of further engagement. The starting point for Wolf's social ethics coincides with the first thesis of the Barmen Declaration, which focuses solely on the incarnate word. Wolf, who had been Barth's student, replaces the latter's notion of "law" (Gesetz) with "command" (Gebot). Wolf moves from "the new human being" in Christ to the content of the divine command that summons the disciple of Christ to faithful obedience in the world. Christ's command is the form of the gospel, and the gospel, which is all about the assurance of divine grace, is the content of the command (99). According to Wolf, the basic unity of command and gospel within the one word of God has consequences for the political existence of the Christian. Such a view begins and ends with the one lordship of Jesus Christ. It rejects Elert's and Althaus' understandings of "two kingdoms," "the orders [End Page 246] of creation," and "natural law," and it reframes the Creator's orderings and social structures along the lines of Bonhoeffer's "mandates" and the command/summons to exercise Christian love in society. In contrast to Wolf, Thielicke defended the sharp antithesis between law and gospel, whose impact on the Christian life abides unto death, but he took more seriously the problem of secularization in post-war West Germany than did his Doktorvater Althaus. Thielicke transformed the law-gospel dialectic to speak more clearly to the challenges of Christian faith and ethical behavior in that postwar liberal democracy. Nevertheless, like Elert and Althaus, Thielicke stressed that the word of God is not a singular, uniform message since it addresses us in this twofold form. While both the law and the gospel give knowledge of the self, the law discloses that the human being is alienated from God and under God's judgment (123). Every divine command always implies that I ought not to be what I am. Thus, the divine command cannot be the content of the gospel. Rather, over against the law and command of God, the gospel discloses that I am reconciled with God and it actually creates this new reality. Against Barthian-Wolfian social ethics, Thielicke insisted that the distinction between law and gospel and the related distinction between the two kingdoms are crucial since they each seek to maintain the gracious promise of solo-Christo and sola-fide, while also opening up important ethical implications for the Christian life. Ratschow, who studied under Friedrich Brunstädt and who edited...

Immanuel Kant and Herman Cohen’s philosophy of religion

The article analyzes the main characteristic features of the philosophy of religion of the founder of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism Hermann Cohen. Special attention is paid to Cohen’s criticism and reinterpretation of Kant’s “practical philosophy” from the point of view of the philosophy of religion: Cohen supplements and expands Kant’s provisions on moral law and moral duty, interpreting them as divine commandments. The authors emphasize the fundamental importance for Cohen of the “internal similarity” between Kant’s ethical teaching and the main provisions of Judaism. The sources of Kant’s own ideas about the Jewish tradition are shown, which include the work of Moses Mendelssohn “Jerusalem” and the “Theologicalpolitical treatise” by Baruch Spinoza. Cohen’s criticism of these works is analyzed an much attention is paid to the consideration of Cohen’s attitude to Spinoza’s philosophical legacy in general. The interpretation of the postulates of Judaism by Cohen (and their “inner kinship” with Kant’s moral philosophy) in ethical, logical, and political contexts is presented. Cohen’s understanding of such religious-philosophical and doctrinal phenomena as law, grace, Revelation, teaching, the Torah, messianism, freedom, the Old Testament and the New Testament, etc. is provided and analyzed. The main points of Cohen’s religious teaching as “ethical monotheism” are considered; in particular, the authors analyze his understanding of the idea of God as “the only one”, which is highlighted in the works of Paul Natorp. It is concluded that Cohen’s philosophy of religion, which is based on the postulates of Judaism as well as Kant’s “practical philosophy”, could be characterized by the terms “ethical monotheism”, “universalism” and “humanism”.

Поклонение и заповедь веры в рамках концепции теологического волюнтаризма: Маймонид и Крескас

The study aims to prove that faith as a voluntary act cannot be a command due to an issue arising within the divine command theory (DCT). This issue was explicated in the article “I can’t make you worship me” by the prominent religious philosophers Campbell Brown and Yujin Nagasawa, published in the journal “Ratio” in 2005, and it consists in the fact that it is impossible to combine the DCT and moral obligation to worship the God. It is proved that the critical approach proposed by C. Brown and Yu. Nagasawa is applicable not only to worship but also to the command of faith. Scientific novelty of the research lies in utilising a number of texts by the medieval Jewish philosophers in the analysis and considering them through the lens of the methods belonging to modern analytical philosophy of religion so that the author can provide arguments to support her position. As a result of the study, the idea that there are a number of human actions that cannot be commanded under the DCT was substantiated.

“He Doesn’t Think He’s Lying”: The Moral Significance of Donald J. Trump’s Linguistic Practices

Synthesizing the metaethical aspects of George Lakoff’s conception of Strict Father Morality (SFM) and Divine Command Theory (DCT) helps us to have a better understanding of the Trump phenomenon, US President Trump regularly deviating from accepted facts and his supporters having no problem with this practice. We misunderstand the situation if we presume that Trump’s mendacity and his supporters’ credulity fully account for this situation. More specifically, I argue that the authoritarian thread that runs through SFM/DCT provides Trump with the justification, in his view as well as in the eyes of his supporters, to dictate the meaning of key concepts, for example, truth, fairness, and justice. As a result, when Trump says something that seems plainly false, I argue that we better understand the situation if we regard Trump as taking himself to be defining what the term in question means. This situation has far-reaching ramifications, from destabilizing the meaning of key moral terms to all issues becoming partisan issues to the loss of expertise.