Grey Thoughts
19.10.05
 
What is the basis of objective morality
Jim Ryan, a conservative atheist has a couple of posts which include his ideas of what Christian/Theistic morality is. In these posts he makes a couple of points which misrepresent the Christian position on the source of objective morality.
Divine command theory may have been refuted 2500 years ago....God’s moral value is a choice. Leave aside the 2,500-year-old logic-chopping about whether something is right because of God’s decision or on the contrary chosen by God because it’s right....“Because God says so” isn’t just chopped liver; many genuine moral aspirations are partly aspirations not to disappoint God. The upshot of Plato’s Euthyphro is that to the extent to which God has an important role in morality, moral value depends upon God’s command.
and continues with the idea in his second post
Conservatives choose a way of life because either it suits them, or it is commanded by God and it suits them to follow God’s command
One of the biggest problems with this, is that it isn't even remotely accurate.

It may be true that divine command theory has been refuted. This is not the Christian position. The objective moral standard is not dependent on God's preferences or commands. It is dependent on his unchanging nature. As his nature is truthful, then we can trust us when he says whether something is good or not. So, in some ways, God's commands are moral, but it is due to his nature, not his commands or preferences.

As it is not a preference, and it is unchanging, and based on a existing object's nature, it is truly objective.
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