The divine command theory states, quite simply, that something is considered moral or immoral only because God commands it. Murder, for example, is not a bad thing in and of itself, but because it is unappealing in God’s sight, murder is considered wrong. The phrase “God is good,” therefore can be rewritten “God does as He pleases."

The logical conclusion, therefore, is that God was free to select any set of characteristics to find pleasing, back when He was inventing morality. It seems mere coincidence that murder, theft and rape are all considered wrong, when motherhood, charity and chastity are all considered good. God could just as easily have flopped them, or used any combination of values.

Alternatively, God is free to change His mind anytime He feels like it. It could be that we will wake up tomorrow and God will have determined that murder is not bad at all, but in fact should be commended. Do we then run the risk of being struck down on the streets? Would the Holocaust be justified?

In fact, perhaps the Holocaust was justified. If one can rationally say that the Holocaust was wrong, despite Hitler’s belief that it was right (because morality comes not from Hitler, but from God), one might also believe that God temporarily changed the rules, and only Hitler was privy to it.

This, of course, sounds absurd, and most theologians will admit it. Instead, they confess, God must have some good reason for choosing what was right and what was wrong, as though He weighed the consequences beforehand. But if this is true, it sounds suspiciously like God was not inventing morality at all, but rather discovering something that was already there.

If morality is not determined by God, but instead has been fine-tuned through natural selection as most non-religionists believe, then what is the difference? Natural selection means that morality evolved over time due to what seemed most convenient for people and society as a whole, much like God weighing the consequences of His actions. Divine command would seem to be, at its very essence, exactly the opposite.

This proof as I lay it out is virtually irrefutable.

I take care to say “virtually,” because by encouraging religious people to abandon the divine command theory, Arthur is limiting his audience to those who consider themselves religious. This group has consistently proven themselves resistant to logic of all kinds.

I won’t mention that the argument for the existence of God is in itself a fallacy based on the inability to prove God doesn’t exist. I also won’t mention that anyone who answers, “Yes, God can destroy Himself, and yes, God can create a rock so heavy He can’t lift it, because God can do anything, even if it doesn’t make sense to our minds which are so far below His.” God, it seems, also resists logic.

But those who cherry-pick through the Bible are among the most logic resistant of Christians. If the Bible is by definition unquestionable, what reason do we have to accept the Commandment not to murder any more than we accept Leviticus 11, which says you shall not eat or touch the skin of a pig, for it is unclean?

Exodus 21:7 says that men selling their daughters into slavery shall demand fair payment. Exodus 35:2 says that anyone who works on Sunday should be put to death. I could list more…

My intent is not to poke fun at the Bible needlessly, but to illustrate that it is, indeed, a fallible document. It seems that this is an all-or-nothing question, and the world is filled with wishy-washy Christians who get to pick and choose which verses apply specifically to them. If you believe in the whole Bible, then it stands to reason you should not play football. If there is a part of the Bible you don’t believe, then why believe any other part of it?

If these wishy-washy Christians do so under guise of a higher morality, then they are already admitting morality is not all and specifically God’s word. Yet this is not a logic they are likely to follow any more than the first.

The majority, unfortunately, do not know what is meant by “divine command theory,” and those that do will fail to follow it through to its logical conclusion. Critical thought is the enemy, the influence of which might separate a man from his faith. And as such it is to be avoided.

They will continue believing whatever it is their parents told them, for the simple reason that they were told so.

And because God is good…

Which, if you remember, means He does whatever He wants.