# Morality and God (simplified this time).

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-god-simplified-this-time/200593>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [September 9, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-god-simplified-this-time/200593 "2003-09-09T19:54:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-god-simplified-this-time/200593/61 "2003-09-12T12:23:24Z")

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Juan1203… Fairdink is saying its ok for you too live. 🙂 Just dont kill people and other REAL crimes.

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**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-god-simplified-this-time/200593/62 "2003-09-12T14:52:50Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by CurtC \*  
> \*\*  
> And _Malacandra_, your refutation of Plato’s analysis doesn’t work. “God existed before the world, therefore he can’t be a tyrant”? Is that what you’re saying? I find Plato’s analysis quite compelling. \*\*

I think the point I am making is that God is above human criticism. Plato attempts to compare God to a petty tyrant; and to talk of arbitrarily imposing his whims upon humanity assumes that the labels “petty tyrant”, “arbitrary” and “whims” are going to stick. Since none of these is demonstrably true, there is a spot of question-begging going on. God can dictate what is right, not merely because He has the power to enforce it, but because his sense of what is right is incomparably superior to ours. There is no rational standpoint from which we can say He has no right to determine what is right.

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**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-god-simplified-this-time/200593/63 "2003-09-12T15:29:44Z")

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… but do we have to follow his “right” ? Do we really have a “choice” ? “Free will” becomes BS ?

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