Randall House Publishers is/was testing a pilot program called The Brink Online for young adults. They're offering a free 4-week discussion guide on moral relativism that I wrote. All you have to do is register in order to download the PDFs. Each lesson includes a leader's guide, a discussion starter and discussion questions.
It's sometimes said that if there's no God, then anything goes. But sometimes I think it's the other way around: anything goes only if there is a God. Someone pointed this out to me with regard to the story of God's command to kill his son Isaac. Without God, it'd be wrong for Abraham to kill his son. But with God it might be right or wrong.
What do people think? Does God create a type of moral relativism?
Posted by: steve | October 30, 2008 at 07:02 PM
"Without God, it'd be wrong for Abraham to kill his son."
Who sez?
We might say that "we don't like that" so we could declare that murder is banned. However, if some other society arose later that decided for whatever reason murder was okay, then it would "become" moral at that point.
"But with God it might be right or wrong."
True, in a sense, but at least here there's is a right or wrong ... there's an answer to "Who sez?"
Posted by: emmzee | October 31, 2008 at 07:52 AM
"Who sez?"
Why does the wrongness of killing your son depend on someone saying it is wrong?
And, in general, how does someone saying that something is wrong make it wrong?
If you're a father, do you think that killing your son is wrong only because God "sez" not to murder?
Posted by: sandpaper | October 31, 2008 at 08:14 AM
Why is murder wrong?
Posted by: ChrisB | October 31, 2008 at 09:36 AM
"Why is murder wrong?"
One possible answer to this question mirrors the answer one might give to the question "Why does God exist?" The correct answer might be: He just does. It's just a brute fact. Likewise, it may just be a fact that murder is wrong.
Posted by: sandpaper | October 31, 2008 at 02:11 PM
Sandpaper, that is a non-answer. And you know it.
Posted by: ChrisB | November 01, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Bother - doesn't work outside of the USA!
from Oz at least...
Posted by: Michael Dickson | November 03, 2008 at 02:18 AM