Divine authority and the virtue of religion: a Thomistic response to Murphy

In his book, An Essay on Divine Authority, Mark Murphy argues that God does not have practical authority over created, rational agents. Although Murphy mentions the possibility of an argument for divine authority from justice, he does not consider any. In this paper, I develop such an argument from...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for philosophy of religion
Main Author: Dahm, Brandon (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Nature B. V [2019]
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274 / God / Authority / Christian ethics / Murphy, Mark C. 1968-
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
NBC Doctrine of God
Further subjects:B Justice
B philosophy of religion
B Aquinas
B Practical authority
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:In his book, An Essay on Divine Authority, Mark Murphy argues that God does not have practical authority over created, rational agents. Although Murphy mentions the possibility of an argument for divine authority from justice, he does not consider any. In this paper, I develop such an argument from Aquinas's treatment of the virtue of religion and other parts of justice. The divine excellence is due honor, and, as Aquinas argues, honoring a ruler requires service and obedience. Thus, a classical conception of God coupled with some of Aquinas's theses concerning justice show that God has practical authority over all created, rational agents.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-019-09710-5