How is the claim "lust is evil" shown to be true in Christianity without appealing to Divine Command Theory?
score:6
For purposes of this question let's use as a working definition of evil/sinful "that which is contrary to the nature of God".
- Lust seeks to sacrifice the interests of others for personal benefit. Love is willing to make personal sacrifices for the benefit of others.
- Lust treats people as a means to an end. Love treats people as worthy ends
- Lust is self-centered. Love is selfless.
Love & lust are opposites. Love is the nature of God (e.g. see 1 John 4:8), therefore lust is the opposite of the nature of God. Based on the working definition above, lust is evil/sinful.
--
Big picture
1 John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
If a loving God has devised such a plan for our well-being, lust is something that actively fights against that plan, and the hope that it brings.
Upvote:0
There is no reason to abandon divine commandment theory, as it doesn't contradict with the basic moral knowledge, the conscience that man possess. We know these acts are evil because his law is written in our conscience. Many of the forbidden acts or sins maybe not so clearly known to us, for which we need the divine revelation or religion to study God's law better. Refer to detailed material on bethinking org and reasonablefaith org sites.
Ethics in Law Enforcement by Steve McCartney and Rick Parent states:
Barry (1985, as cited in Pollock, 2007) describes that understanding God’s will is done in three ways:
Through individual conscience
By religious authorities
Through holy scripture
Upvote:6
Buried in your question is a contradiction: the word "justified". Justification in Christianity is a legal concept! To discuss a legal concept without reference to the law is not possible.
The Ten Commandments may be divided into fourteen imperative statements. For example, the sabbath commandment has three imperatives: (1) to keep the sabbath holy, (2) to work six days and (3) to rest on the seventh day. If you divide them so, a symmetry appears. The first seven imperatives are about love for God. The second seven imperatives are about love for neighbor. Each "upper" imperative matches a corresponding "lower" imperative. Thus the command to have no other gods before Yahweh (the divine creator) matches the command to honor your father and mother (your material creators). Murder matches the command to not create idols and adultery matches the command to not worship idols.
By this construction, lust is seen for what it is: a form of idol worship. Lustful thoughts can consume a person, cause them to commit adultery, rape, murder, break apart families, and commit a host of other crimes.
The commandments are there to tell us to do what is good for us and others and to not do what is harmful. Removing the commandments does not remove the goodness that comes from actions that are consistent with them. For wisdom, you worship the source of wisdom. For healing, you worship the source of healing. For eternal life, you worship the source of eternal life. Worship is how we open ourselves to channels of grace from Heaven. Thus lust closes off that channel and instead opens a channel that pours lies, barrenness and death into our souls. That is not a law, but it is described by the Law. Plants do not need an agricultural law to know that without water, they die.
The Ten Commandments are as much a gardening manual as they are a legal document.
More post
- 📝 From Genesis to Exodus - is God dealing with Israelites or Jews?
- 📝 Did the early church believe that St. Peter was the first pope?
- 📝 Is there a Biblical precedent for the Petrine privilege?
- 📝 Why did the RLDS change its name to the Community of Christ?
- 📝 Why did people stop worshipping God after experiencing the flood?
- 📝 How does repentance fit into the doctrine of sola fide ("by faith alone")?
- 📝 Can a declaration of nullity obtained by deception be valid?
- 📝 What is this box that can be found in Catholic churches?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for Synergism?
- 📝 Why is literary style not inspired?
- 📝 Do Catholics believe in other apparitions like Mary? Or is she unique in this respect?
- 📝 Why aren't the books of the Bible in chronological order?
- 📝 Did Arius say that the Son is mutable?
- 📝 If an Eastern Rite Catholic marries in the Western rite, does he/she need to formally change rites?
- 📝 How can one tell if God is in favor of a modern value or not?
- 📝 What kind of movement or denomination in Christianity made being a Christian a personal/individual choice?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for women, particularly mothers, working outside of the home?
- 📝 Which churches today send the most missionaries?
- 📝 Who first explicitly understood "works of the law" in Galatians 3:10 as referring to only the ritual law, and not the Mosaic law generally?
- 📝 What does modern scholarship conclude about the shape of the cross and the method of crucifixion?
- 📝 What is the importance of reading the Bible?
- 📝 What is the Baptist response to 1 Corinthians 7:14 if the children are believers but the parents are not?
- 📝 Who was the Egyptian that led the revolt of the Assassins in Acts 21?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support a preference for second-career pastors coming disproportionately from IT?
- 📝 What do Christians mean by "Jesus took our illnesses upon himself on the cross" and why?
- 📝 According to Presbyterianism, is there salvation available for Adam and Eve?
- 📝 How do you get to be in Christ?
- 📝 Is Roman Catholic Dogma really used, by necessity, in Scriptural interpretation?
- 📝 Does God sleep?
- 📝 Cross, holy or not
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How is the claim "lust is evil" shown to be true in Christianity without appealing to Divine Command Theory?
- 📝 Why does Christianity claim to be the only true religion?
- 📝 How do Protestants who say Catholicism doesn't teach the true Gospel understand a Catholic person’s faith in Jesus?
- 📝 How does Christianity deal with biblical criticism related to the Old Testament?
- 📝 How was the translation of the Book of Mormon shown through Joseph Smith's seer stones and hat?
- 📝 How do Latter-day Saints respond to the claim that the Book of Mormon is based on "Manuscript Found" by Solomon Spaulding? (aka the Spaulding Theory)
- 📝 Have there been any attempt in Christianity to draw a set of rules or principles on how the Bible must be interpreted?
- 📝 What are the different main views existent in Christianity on how 1 Peter 4:6 must be interpreted?
- 📝 How is the claim that the doctrine of Papal Infallibility has always existed within the Church substantiated?
- 📝 How do proponents of the 'Critical Text' respond to the claim that it preserves an anti-Trinitarian corruption dating from the fifth century?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church respond to the claim that its authority to interpret scripture is based on circular reasoning?
- 📝 Since there is only one God who is not formed then how can the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is a created god?
- 📝 How do those who interpret John 10:30 as a claim to full divine equality by Jesus also interpret John 10:29, which says the Father is greater?
- 📝 How do Christians who believe in a witness of the Holy Spirit via thoughts & feelings respond to the claim that thoughts & feelings are unreliable?
- 📝 Does Christianity claim that the Bible is God's only Word?
- 📝 How can apologists argue that if Jesus did not rise again then Christianity and the Church would not have lasted, when other religions have?
- 📝 According to Catholicism how does a person discriminate between hearing the true word of God versus a hallucination or a demon?
- 📝 How does Christianity work with all the biblical covenants?
- 📝 How do Latter-day Saints respond to the claim that Alma 7:10 contradicts Micah 5:2 regarding the place of Jesus' birth?
- 📝 How did the early church respond to the accusation that Christianity forbid ‘all uses of images’ even if only ‘representing the Divine Being’?
- 📝 How should Christianity respond to the person who defames it?
- 📝 How do one know that the Bible is absolutely true and is not a "make believe" fiction?
- 📝 How widespread was the observance of the Jewish Sabbath among Christians during Early Christianity (A.D. 30–324)?
- 📝 How does the Mormon Church reconcile the following claim with the Bible? "The Church of Jesus Christ was well established in the time of Adam."
- 📝 How is the claim that the doctrine of Papal Supremacy has not always existed within the Church substantiated?
- 📝 How can Catholics who adhere to Eucharistic Miracles claim the distinction between substance and accidents?
- 📝 How central is the claim the pope is the antichrist to Protestant theology?
- 📝 According to Trinitarian theology, how is Jesus God when he sits at the right hand of the true God?
- 📝 How many different people in the New Testament are called or claim to be "Brothers" or "Sisters" of Jesus?
- 📝 How Does Catholicism Refute the Reasons Muslims Claim That Jesus Was Not Crucified?