Within the examination of ethical theories, the virtues of faith are often an overlooked elemental force which is necessary for any proper conclusions to be drawn from. Generally speaking, faith’s virtues include discernment, patience, forgiveness, fear, trust, responsibility, courage, humility, discipline, commitment, contentment, suffering, and love. Since we are born into this world as infants, we are dependent upon both the ethics and morals of other people (parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends). Therefore, it can be stated that faith, and its virtues are the genesis for which we, as human beings, extract a grouping of our own set of principles through the evolutionary processes of life. Additionally, as we go through the nurture and nature processes of growth, we realize that we have the free will to choose between fundamental ideologies of our own human reasoning which are constantly changing position through life, or the steadfastness of the Almighty God. It is this writer’s contention that the Divine Command Theory of Ethics in the Christian perspective begins with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil along with the integration of faith that allows one to decipher, ascertain, and develop a set of rigid rationales to follow. In this post, a brief illustration involving the issue of poverty will be delivered regarding the Divine Command Theory of Ethics under the umbrella that the faith virtues which God provides us with allows us to generate our knowledge of determining that our actions are either moral or immoral. Ultimately, through the perspective lens of faith within ethics, we will be able to see a connection to humanistic principles tugging at the adamant steadfastness of God’s heavenly ethical standards of perfection.
To begin with, let us analyze the metaethic of Divine Command Theory outside of the biblical framework of the Bible. In the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Michael W. Austin states, “Roughly, Divine Command Theory is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God, and that moral obligation consists in obedience to God’s commands. Divine Command Theory includes the claim that morality is ultimately based on the commands or character of God, and that the morally right action is the one that God commands or requires” (Austin) It is important to note here that, the author describes the essence of morality as requiring the absoluteness of God in the first clause. This holds significance because the humanistic perspective in this part of the definition excludes the word “faith”. In other words, the spiritual gift of discernment which comes through faith in Christ Jesus is absent here. Continuing on, the author now shifts towards an implied understood duty of following God, but notice how the reference to “faith” is not included again. Human beings cannot fathom the omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience of God. It is for this reason that our Creator, the author of the Holy Bible, gave us His word. We need to take the first step of faith, and believe in Him so that we can be saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 (of the King James Version) states, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Holy Bible ). In these two verses here, we can see the apostle Paul repeatedly directs our attention away from our own human reasoning, and points us toward God through the intangible component of faith. With all of this in mind, it can be argued that faith is the beginning of God’s Divine Command Theory of Ethics.
Moving forward, in order to see how crucial the element of faith is in God’s Divine Command Theory, we can briefly analyze the humanistic philosophy of Natural Law Ethics because to mankind this framework is the way of the world we live in. To start, Aristotle principled his beliefs under the ideology that mankind could better itself through its own accord. “Aristotle believed that this design is discoverable through human reason, that by careful investigation we can find out why things are the way they are and what purposes they serve” (Jones 45). In light of this, we have seen humanity through faith become consumed with the research process all throughout history which has led to progress in all fields of human knowledge. Interestingly enough, humanistic philosophy generally rejects faith as a vital necessity. During the Reformation Era in Europe, Thomas More’s Utopia and Erasmus’ Praise of Folly were written based upon the Aristotelian logic of humanism. In Praise of Folly, the author specifically focuses upon the level of foolishness that each man required to have happiness across society. In like manner, More’s work zeroed in on the certain behaviors, and habits of men surrounding politics. The fundamental key here is that, although faith is not included in humanistic philosophies, it indeed present in the theory of Natural Law Ethics. By the same token, faith in God is missing under this way of thinking. While both works sparked reform among society at the time, their central focus upon man himself automatically eliminated God from their perspective ethical equation. By removing God humanists also remove their own faith, because it was given to them by God.
With this in mind, a sound contention can be made here that since faith is tied in directly to the biblical components of God that, this is why faith gets pretermitted in most ethical studies. A prime example of this can be seen in the works of Martin Luther where we learn that he fought for reform in the Church of Europe at the time, and he strived to put Christ first through faith. In On Christian Liberty Martin Luther’s Treatise, Luther states, “Many people have considered Christian faith an easy thing, and not a few have given it a place among the virtues” (Luther 1) Under the lens of Christian ethics here, otherwise known as God’s Divine Command Theory, we can see that Luther is inferring that faith is not taken into account by many when considering the Lord. Furthermore, the apostle Paul makes an identical claim in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. Romans 3:23-27 (of the King James Version) states, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith” (Holy Bible ). To clarify, the apostle Paul is declaring here that everyone is incomplete without Christ, but God has provided a way for us to be forgiven for our wrongdoings through Him if we choose to believe in Him. This entirely refutes the logic of humanism, and introduces faith in Christ as the fundamental justifier of all things. “The Christian euangelion (gospel) is the universal message of God’s saving grace through faith in Christ”(Knowing Jesus Ministries). By and large, it is this writer’s submission that, our identities in Christ Jesus need to be in sync beginning with faith while engaging the Bible so we are able to obtain, and use the gifts/fruits of the Holy Spirit. When we are aligned with the Lord we are able to help others through the faith virtues in Christ as they strive to follow God’s ethics in a surefooted manner.
Shifting slightly, the humanistic ideological opponents of faith and God’s Divine Command Theory can claim that, if God created man with free will, then man’s behavior is green-lighted through God’s own logic. This argument fails to fully immerse itself in the perspective lens of God, thus resulting in human reasoning by default. In The Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant states, “All our knowledge begins with sense, proceeds thence to understanding, and ends with reason, beyond which nothing higher can be discovered in the human mind for elaborating the matter of intuition and subjecting it to the highest unity of thought” (Kant). To explain, Kant is reinforcing the belief that in order to reach profound logical conclusions there are variables, and measures which need to be achieved beforehand. In other words, the pillars of research need to be amply engaged through our senses with the intent to immerse ourselves into the perspective of another so we can circumvent our own bias. As previously established, when we are fully immersed into the Lord under His Divine Command Theory, we become practically conjoined with Him through the Holy Spirit. In like manner, when we bring the issue of poverty into to this arena we need to grasp the concept of it by immersing ourselves into it, and the Lord with the intention of allowing Him to use us to glorify His will.
In Christian Ethics: A Case Method Approach, while analyzing a study on the issue of poverty the author states, “Tracy is struggling with how best to put compassion and hospitality into practice in relation to the problem of homelessness. She takes seriously the Christian call to love our neighbor no matter who that is, as illustrated by her chosen profession (a social worker) and the deep relationships she has developed with people she serves” (Schramm, Stivers and Gudorf 100). It is prudent to note here that, Tracy is going to view the issue of homelessness in a differing manner than another person because God has created her as a unique individual with her own spiritual gifts. These gifts which are mentioned in the New Testament of the Holy Bible are not accepted by humanistic logic. As Christians under the Divine Command Theory of Ethics, it is these spiritual gifts which are embedded into all of God’s creation which allows us to have unique perspective lenses while sharing the commonality of Christ Jesus along with theseelements of faith with Him. I Corinthians 13:13 (of the King James Version states), “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (Holy Bible ). To enumerate, charity, or more specifically love, is derived through our faith in Christ, and His love is manifested through us. I Thessalonians 5:11 of the King James Version states, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (Holy Bible ). Again here, we see Paul instructing the church to lift one another up, and this makes reference to our spiritual gifts through the bond of faith in the Lord. By the same token, I Corinthians 12:12 of the King James Version states, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (Holy Bible ). Paul here is establishing the foundation of the church while letting it be known that we are all one people under the love of Christ. Additionally, we need to pay careful attention to the word “body” here. Within our own human bodies, there are the five senses, and within the body of Christ there are believers with a plethora of spiritual gifts which can be called spiritual senses that can allow us to tackle the issue of poverty differently while glorifying the will of God.
All in all, under God’s Divine Command Theory of Ethics which is established in the Holy Bible, when attempting to take on the global issue of poverty, we need to pursue immersion into impoverished communities so we can utilize our senses as Immanuel Kant referred to in The Critique of Pure Reason. At the same time, we need to immerse ourselves in Christ Jesus so He can use us through our faith virtues of the spiritual gifts to help those in need. The humanistic thinking which dominates the world we live seems like it has a vast plethora of intricate twists, and turns that all lead in different directions. In reality, each route of humanistic logic all leads back to Satan convincing us to simply live free from God. The fall of mankind in Genesis chapters two and three are placed there by the Lord for us to understand how He works, and how Satan works. The tactics of the Satan have not changed since He tempted Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We learn that when their faith slipped away from the focus of God in the Garden of Eden, and towards their own logic that they became aware of sin. This awareness enhanced the feeling of shame along with blame when confronted by God. Given these points, it can be argued that without faith in God’s Divine Command Theory of Ethics, Satan’s web of deception through the disguise of humanism will continue to tug at the free will of mankind until the Lord throws Satan into the pit of fire.
Works Cited
Austin, Michael W. Divine Command Theory . 2018. https://www.iep.utm.edu/divine-c/.
Holy Bible . Thomas Nelson Publishers , 1997.
Jones, Michael S. Moral Reasoning: An Intentional Approach to Distinguisihing Right from Wrong. Dubuque,IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 2017. 03 September 2018.
Kant, Immanuel. “The Critique of Pure Reason.” 2016. 11 October 2018. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4280.
Knowing Jesus Ministries. “Illustrated Bible Survey.” Hindson, Ed. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic, 2017. 411.
Luther, Martin. On Christian Liberty. Minneapolis,MN: Fortess Press, 2003.
Schramm, James B Martin, Laura A. Stivers and Christine E. Gudorf. Christian Ethics: A Case Method Approach. Maryknoll,NY: Orbis Books, 2012.
