Reference no: EM133602341

Question 1. Assuming that God exists, which makes more sense to you? Voluntarism: since God is the Creator, goodness is good because God wants it. Or the intrinsic Good: God wants what is best because it is best.

Question 2. Some divine commands are clearly good, such as the Ten Commandments. But others are more controversial (burn witches, cut off the hands of thieves, stone adulterers, etc.). Moreover, sacred texts condone violence in some places ("An eye for an eye") and prohibit violence in others ("Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"). These controversies are not only between religions, but within religions. Call this "the moral ambiguity of scripture." Given the moral ambiguity of scripture, it made sense that priesthoods arose to give "expert" advise on the scriptures and their moral implications. Priests were often the few who could read the sacred texts. In the modern world, however, populations are more educated and have more resources at their disposal. What do you think the place of the religious "expert" should be in the modern world?

Question 3. Most of the world's moral culture comes from religious traditions. But modern cultures have rejected some moral institutions that were accepted in most traditional cultures (slavery, husbands owning their wives as property, death penalty for heresy, etc.). How should the evolution of morality influence our view of the morality of religion?