Four people stand before God to be judged, each from a different time, with a unique list of commandments for them to follow to enter heaven. This is a thought experiment of Scott’s making called The Shifting Commandments Dilemma. If we believe in God what are we to understand about his code of Morals based on the changes over time? The great philosopher Socrates posed a question about moral absolutism. Is God the source of morality? In this episode, Scott examines this question with both a yes and a no answer.
Sources
The Euthyphro Dilemma Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro: “Is the pious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”
Leviticus 19:19 – Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee.
Temple Questions from the 1880’s: The History of LDS Temple Admission Standards, Edward L. Kimball, Journal of Mormon History, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 1998), pp. 135-176 (42 pages), Published By: University of Illinois Press
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Interesting conundrums, I think a lot of people resolve this in their minds thinking that we will be judged according to what we know to be good. Therefore, we are all excellent human beings, because it takes a real douche bag to go against what they know to be right.
A former Mexican president once said: “Respect for other people’s rights is called Peace” – I wonder if that’s a good starting point for determining what is good throughout all ages of time and value systems.
Excellent quote from Benito Pablo Juárez García, “Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the rights of others.”
I think religion gets bogged down by right and wrong with the minuta when it needs to focus on the people.