If God created everything, he is responsible for everything?

Today’s lesson will be successful if:You can evaluate the above statement

You can begin to assess the problem of evilYou can explain and analyse the euthyphro dilemma

The Euthyphro Dilemma

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVoryoF6zts

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-H1PWFgbyg&feature=related

• In one of Plato’s dialogues there is a conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro during which Socrates asks the following question.

• • Is something good because God approves of it, or does God approve of something because it is good?• • For example,• Is it wrong to murder because God says, “Do not murder” in the Bible? (which would mean that if God said, “Do murder”

then murder would be right.) or• • Does God say, “Do not murder” because it is wrong to murder? In other words, murder is intrinsically wrong whether

God approves of it or not.• • The first position is called Divine Command Theory. It says that the origin of right and wrong in the world come directly

from God’s commands. The problem with this view is that if whatever God chooses is right, why should we think of God as good. Good people are those who when faced with choosing between right and wrong, choose to do right but according to this theory God cannot choose wrong since if he chooses something it must be right.

• • The second position can claim that God is good because he always chooses right over wrong but this then leaves the

question, “Where do right and wrong come from if they don’t come from God?” How could there be a higher authority than God to put in place universal morals? If such an authority existed then surely it would be God.

• •