CHAPTER 2: DIVINE COMMAND THEORY

The "Damaso" Placard Incident

On September 30, 2010, during a liturgical service at the Manila Cathedral, performance artist and activist Carlos Celdran staged a protest. Dressed as Jose Rizal, he stood before the altar holding a placard with the word 'DAMASO' and shouted, 'Stop getting involved in politics!' ... Celdran was arrested and convicted under Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code for performing acts 'offensive to religious feelings.

Divine Command Theory

- holds that an action is morally right if and only if it is commanded by God, and morally wrong if and only if it is forbidden by God.

- says that something is good purely because God ordered us to do it, and something is bad purely because God told us not to do it.

Example: Believing that telling the truth is good simply because God gave a command saying "Do not lie."

Morality becomes arbitrary

- If God decides morality purely by commanding it, God could command cruelty, and cruelty would become "good."

- If rules exist only because God says so without reason, God could change His mind tomorrow and say hurting people is okay.

Example: A parent telling a child "Because I said so!" without having a real reason behind the rule

Provides the wrong reasons for moral principles

- Bad actions like child abuse would be wrong only because they are forbidden, not because they cause actual harm to a child.

- It ignores the actual pain suffered by victims, focusing only on whether a rule was broken.

Example: Saying hitting someone is bad only because a rulebook says "no hitting," instead of caring about the person's physical pain.

Abandons theological conception of morality

- Admitting this means there is an independent standard of goodness outside of God's commands.

- It means goodness exists on its own, and God simply agrees with what is already good.

Example: A teacher telling students to follow traffic rules because traffic safety is naturally good for everyone.