What is the traditional view of Divine Command Theory in accordance to the Reformed tradition?
score:4
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines it slightly differently: "Divine Command Theory is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God, and that moral obligation consists in obedience to God’s commands."
Martin Luther said in On the Bondage of the Will:
God is that Being, for whose will no cause or reason is to be assigned, as a rule or standard by which it acts; seeing that, nothing is superior or equal to it, but it is itself the rule of all things. For if it acted by any rule or standard, or from any cause or reason, it would be no longer the will of GOD. Wherefore, what God wills, is not therefore right, because He ought or ever was bound so to will; but on the contrary, what takes place is therefore right, because He so wills.
John Calvin, usually considered the father of reformed theology, said much the same in Institutes of the Christian Religion (3.23.2):
For God’s will is so much the highest rule of righteousness that whatever he wills, by the very fact that he wills it, must be considered righteous. When, therefore, one asks why God has so done, we must reply: because he has willed it. But if you proceed further to ask why he so willed, you are seeking something greater and higher than God’s will, which cannot be found.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, the classic statement of reformed theology, says in chapter 2:
God has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient.
In chapter 16 it says:
Good works are only such as God has commanded in His holy Word.
So it seems clear that reformed theology supports divine command theory. However, your understanding of it is not one shared by reformed theology. Things are good because God commands them, but he commands them because they accord with his character. "God has all ... goodness... in and of Himself," after all.
More post
- 📝 Where was Herod's temple built?
- 📝 New Atheism Analysis: looking for another POV
- 📝 What do Bible lexicons, like Strong's, mean when they use the phrase, "by extension"?
- 📝 Does Paul say in Galatians that we put our faith in Jesus or work to stop sinning?
- 📝 What is a "Pentecostal Catholic"?
- 📝 How long did the drought that Elijah prayed for really last?
- 📝 In what sense was Mary born without original sin in Roman Catholic dogma?
- 📝 What was the real cause of the split between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 How would young earth creationist explain Omicron Variants?
- 📝 If we are the bride, who are the invited?
- 📝 How should we dress when attending church?
- 📝 Why are Christians sure that prayers to Jesus are answered when "Jesus" wasn't the name he used?
- 📝 Has Protestantism relegated the scripture to be the 'Subordinate Standard'?
- 📝 How do trinitarians interpret John 8:58?
- 📝 Connection between the serpent in the garden of Eden and the brass serpent
- 📝 Was Mary a Virgin?
- 📝 To what extent should the Apostles' speech be considered infallible?
- 📝 Doing Good Deeds In the Sight of Others
- 📝 Brush the dust from your feet vs cursing a town
- 📝 St. Augustine's view on transmission of original sin?
- 📝 How to answer: "If God is omnipotent, can he create an object he cannot move?"
- 📝 How to verify if a "message from God" came from God?
- 📝 What are the major arguments Protestants make for the Catholic Church being apostate?
- 📝 Can a Catholic drink ice water before mass?
- 📝 How to compare Christian pastor credentials?
- 📝 Is the incarnation of Jesus permanent, according to reformers like Luther or Calvin?
- 📝 Do Arminian Protestants agree with Chapter 3 Article 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith?
- 📝 What does "one another" mean in John 13:35?
- 📝 Is there a standard definition of the word 'miracle' in Christianity?
- 📝 Why were none of the Apostolic fathers' writings included in the last canon accepted in the Ecumenical Councils?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the traditional view of Divine Command Theory in accordance to the Reformed tradition?
- 📝 What is the Biblical or traditional precedent or command regarding praying before meals?
- 📝 According to Christian ethical views other than Divine Command Theory, what exactly made Adam and Eve's eating the forbidden fruit evil?
- 📝 What is the Roman Catholic view on Matthew 23:9?
- 📝 What are the primary differences and implications of a propitiatory view of the atonement versus an expiatory view?
- 📝 What was Isaac Newton's view of the Trinity?
- 📝 What are scholarly objections to the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 What is the Bible and Christian view on Astrology?
- 📝 What is the basis for Lombard's view that the basis of justification for OT men was different than for OT women?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for divine simplicity?
- 📝 What is the nature of the theory for Pope Joan and the evidence that substantiates it?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 What is the theory that there is more than one "Satan" called, and what is its basis?
- 📝 What reasons do those who reject the JEPD view of Scripture provide?
- 📝 What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
- 📝 What is Alvin Plantinga's view on divine sovereignty and free will?
- 📝 Which year did Jesus die? What is the most commonly held view
- 📝 What was Satan's view on the authority of Scripture?
- 📝 What is the Catholic view of the rapture?
- 📝 What was John Wesley's view of the Lord's Supper?
- 📝 What was the difference between Ratramnus's view of the Eucharist and that of Calvin?
- 📝 What was Van Til's view on the use and validity of historical proofs for the resurrection?
- 📝 What is the Calvinist view of God's sovereignty?
- 📝 What is the Evangelical view on tithing?
- 📝 What is the basis for the Swedenborgian view that the most common concept of God in Christianity (the Trinity) is a belief in three gods?
- 📝 What view of eschatology did the early church believe?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what is the difference between Natural Law and Divine Law?
- 📝 What is the Catholic response to the Eastern Orthodox view that the Immaculate Conception remove Jesus' ability to redeem all of humanity?
- 📝 What is the Catholic view on frozen embryos
- 📝 What was St. Thomas Aquinas's view on the difference between punishment accorded to original sin and punishment accorded to individual sin?