The Divine Command Theory

Revised August 15, 2002

This web page is a summary and paraphrase of ideas commonly found in chapters on Ethics or Moral Philosophy in introductory Philosophy textbooks. See, for example, Manuel Velasquez, Philosophy: A Text with Readings (Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2002), chapter 7, section 4.

The Divine Command Theory (DCT) is a view about the foundation of morality. It states that what is morally right is determined by the will of the single supreme deity (or, in a polytheistic religion, the agreement of all the gods).

The question that naturally arises is how we find out about the will of supreme deity or the gods collectively.

Two possible answers are:

(1) There is a sacred writing that reveals the commands of the divine. (Combine this with the basic DCT and you get what is sometimes called a Scriptural Divine Command Theory.)

(2) Since our natural inclinations are implanted in us by the Creator(s), these tell us something about what he, she or they desire. (Natural Law Theory.)

What is relatively uncontroversial
about the Divine Command Theory?

Morality is distinct from the law. While the law and legal rights can express, defend, or carry out what is morally right, it can also conflict with what is morally right and with human rights .

How useful is the Divine Command Theory?

Even if the Divine Command Theory is correct, it would not necessarily follow that the will of God could be known in such a way that it could guide moral deliberations outside the limits of specific religious communities. (A personal God might want us to act to promote human well-being, but apart from particular faith commitments it is easier to be confident that morality is at least partly about promoting human well-being than to be sure that a personal God wants this.)

What reasons are usually offered for not taking Scriptural Divine Command Theory as a basis for public sphere ethics?

  • Different sacred writings exist.

  • It is not easy to prove (using publicly accepted methods such as those used by mathematicians, natual scientists, social scientists, or historians) that any of these writings represent the inspired word of the divine.

  • Scriptural divine command theory often assumes that a particular holy scripture is fully consistent but the usual candidates for a holy scripture (the Jewish "Law and the Prophets" and "the" Christian Bible in its usual printed form) is not fully consistent (according to scholars who use historical methods but do not take Biblical inerrancy on faith) . (And there in fact are several Christian versions of the Bible.)

  • It may not be possible to prove in a publicly acceptable way that the divine being exists.

  • Even if the divine being exists, He may have expressed his will in more than one scripture. (Which should we follow if there appears to be a conflict?)

  • Most agnostics and atheists do have a morality not very different from the morality of theists.

    Note: None of these arguments prove or even try to prove that there is nothing of moral value in the various holy scriptures. Religious belief as well as what passes for secular wisdom provide moral ideas that public sphere ethics must submit to the test of reason and experience. Many of these ideas may survive these tests intact or with but minor modifications. There is no guarantee that they all will.

    Click here for a religious argument that uses a version of the divine command theory against the reliance on religious assumptions in public sphere ethics.

    Natural Law Ethics

    We can discover God's commands by looking at our own nature and natural inclinations.

    The basic moral precepts of the natural law, according to Thomas Aquinas are:

  • We ought to preserve human life and avoid whatever is destructive of life.

  • It is right to form opposite sex unions; it is right to care for our young.

  • It is right to promote order in society and avoid harming those with whom we live.

  • We ought to dispel ignorance.