I have a question that I really don’t understand. There’s this common statement that my morality doesn’t matter because it doesn’t have an objective framework without God. What the hell does that even mean? It’s my opinion which is subjective or it’s gods which is subjective. I’m not arguing that my opinion is better than Gods if one exists, but both are subjective right? Now I understand that this apologetic argument is just parroted for the most part, so I don’t expect it to be well thought out… maybe we should define terms first.
Objective morality – morality is universal, meaning that it isn’t up for interpretation.
Subjective – based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
Morality – principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong.
The WLC syllogism would read something like:
1. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist
2. Objective moral values do exist
3. Therefore, God exists
So… if God is the moral standard, wouldn’t that make morality subjective to God? For example, he could say that murder is a sin and then order murder making it the correct moral choice. This is Divine command theory. whatever God orders is by default morally correct. Just in passing I think it’s obvious that this position allows all kinds of atrocity as long as God wills it. Regardless, morality must be subjective to God. The next argument I hear is that it’s subjective to God but objective to us. This one is obviously false; you still chose divine command as your morality making it subjective.
Just basic logic, if something is objective, morality in this case, then it’s objective. If God can change what is moral at will, and it’s God so who’s going to tell him he can’t… then that’s subjective based on the meaning of words. If a person has to choose “gods will” or “wellbeing of conscious beings” or “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, that’s still subjective.
Interesting subject, because people who agree with me on most other things might disagree with this. But, I don’t think morality is objective. It is subjective with a hypothetical God, and it is subjective without.
Is morality objective or subjective?
How does religious morality change that?
Is it objective without God?
I wonder, if a person claims that whatever God commands is moral, how can anyone trust that version of morality?