THE SOCRATIC DILEMMA: IS SOMETHING PIOUS BECAUSE GOD APPROVES OF IT? OR DOES GOD APPROVE OF IT BECAUSE IT IS PIOUS?

 

Have you heard of a man named Socrates?

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher from Athens (born 470 BCE and died 399 BCE) who is credited as a founder of Western philosophy and the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. He was just a natural man and a standard for philosophers.

A man named Meletus once charged Socrates to court for impiety on account that he did not acknowledge the Greek gods and goddesses. Socrates was a rational being and not a religious person.

On his way to court, he met with a man called Euthyphro. They got into a conversation and Socrates came to know that Euthyphro was also charging his own father to court for impiety because his father tied up a slave and left him to starve to death and that was because that slave killed his fellow slave.

Now Socrates was in dare need of someone to tell what piety means so he could defend himself in court. Euthyphro saw it as impiety for his father to take a life.

Euthyphro’s first definition of piety goes- ‘Piety is doing what I’m doing; prosecuting my father for man slaughter’. Socrates said that was an example of piety, not piety itself. Then Euthyphro said "piety is what is pleasing to the gods".

Socrates disagreed, saying that the gods disagree amongst themselves, so definitely what is pleasing to one god may displease the other. Therefore, prosecuting his father was an act of piety not what piety is, said Socrates to Euthyphro.

Euthyphro said, “what all the gods love is pious and what all hate is impious”

In reply to this statement, Socrates posed what we call the Socratic dilemma; “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious? Or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”

To discuss this, we have to relocate from Athens (philosophy) to Israel (Christianity)

The question is “is something pious because God approves it or does God approve  it because it is pious?”

Piety means reverence and devotion to God or a devout act or thought. It is the quality or state of being pious. Impiety on the other hand is the state of being impious or the lack of respect for a god or something sacred.

I would like to reframe the question like this; "is something (an act) pious (GODLY) because God approves it or does God approve it because it is pious (GODLY)?"

The first thing we need to understand is, nothing is ever in existence, without God!

The second statement of the proposition, "... or does God approve it because it is pious?” suggests that, something was already termed "pious" before God approved it. The question is WHO TERMED THAT ACTION AS BEING PIOUS BEFORE GOD APPROVED IT? Was it man?

God is the only authority in defining the state of piousness. Even the ideas created by man's cognitive mind, all originated from God’s wisdom in him.

 John 1:1-3 says, “ and without him was not anything made that was made.”

That scriptural reference asserts the fact that, it is whatever God approves in the first place that is pious, not the other way round!

Another angle to this, is that, piousness can be termed GODLINESS and godliness is such a mystery which is known to God alone, and He is the originator and the judge (not man)!

Psalms 4:2-3 says, “...But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.”

Psalms 75:7 also says, “But God is the judge…”

Stating what is pious or not, we have to know what the consequences of both sides are, and to know that, we have to consult from the Judge. Who is that Judge? God! Therefore, taking it back and front, God is both the originator and judge of the state of piousness and it is whatever action that God originates or approves of that is pious. Whatever isn't approved of God is not!

See what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:3; “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:…”

So we as children of God received what pertains to Godliness through God Himself.

Another point we need to consider is this; WHAT EXACTLY IS GODLINESS? WHAT REALLY DOES IT MEAN TO BE "PIOUS"? 

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?”

This means that keeping God's commandments is what makes one "Godly" or "pious". God set the commandments and will judge based on His commandments and that is what matters!

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Micah 6:8 also says, “He (God) hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

All aforementioned scriptures tell us that it was God who gave the definition of what was pious or good.

Another area we should look at is going back to the origin of "commandments” because, God approving an act to be pious means, He's given a commandment to do this or not to do that. That means, there is a line between what is pious and what isn't.

So where did this start and how? We go back to the book of the beginning!

The first commandment ever was given by God to Adam, the first creature. God didn't just leave Adam to know what was good or pious and what was not, and if you study the story of Adam, you'll know that Adam was pious from creation, until he disobeyed the law that God originated by eating the forbidden fruit.

Genesis chapter 2 says “God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” That means God was the one who gave the law. Obeying it equals piousness, disobeying it equals impiousness.

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone...” So God was the originator of what was good and what wasn't. Therefore, it's not that something is good that is why God approves it. No. It is the approval of God that makes anything good. We need to give God that space as the First and Beginning.

It is the Law of God that dictates piousness, not the law of man. Though God has given man authority too, we also have the go ahead to make laws, but in accordance to God's foundational principles.

Lastly, God's statement of what is pious or not and His judgment of it, is sovereign to Him alone. What was pious for Mr. A may not be pious for Mr. B. Sometimes, God changes order in order to show man His sovereignty. Sometimes, what God accepted for a man, He may not accept for the other. Therefore, this further supports the fact that, it is God that says what is pious or not.

Let's see some biblical examples. The angel who visited Mary, and Zachariah reacted to their similar responses in different ways. Both Mary and Zachariah made statements that carried some element of doubt, yet Mary was pardoned, Zachariah wasn't.

Another example of this is, Hosea. It was God who told him to marry an adulteress. Before then, God was against adultery and those who do it. So it was generally believed that running away from adultery was pious, but now, GOD HIMSELF had instructed Hosea otherwise. It therefore becomes piety for Hosea to obey God and impiety to do otherwise!

In Hosea Chapter 3, Hosea said “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine…” This tells us that it was God who told him to do so, and it was for a purpose; to show the love of God towards sinful Israel. So should we now say, because God told Hosea to marry a harlot (commit adultery), therefore adultery becomes a pious act? Of course not!

So in your race of being pious, obey the scripture and follow God's instruction for you! Some laws are general, some are not!

The last example we shall look at is that of Moses. In Numbers 12:1-2, 7-11, “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married... And then God said... My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house...  wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. (Why was it only her that was judged? Why not Aaron too?).  And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

Here comes another reason for us to always ask for God's mercy, because we cannot question God.

Miriam later died and Aaron was left. So you see, God is the only one who can tell what is pious at a given time. A more reason why it is wrong to talk against genuine ministers of God or people of God. We can correct people based on what we know in the scripture, but not blackmail and condemn them. Sometimes, we need to leave God to do the judgement concerning some of the scriptural laws or denominational doctrines we were taught.

The Bible says in Romans 9:15-16,18; “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.”

In fact, the NIV version of the Bible says in Psalm 115 that “...Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”

Dear reader, it is God's approval that makes an act Godly or pious, and not its godliness that makes God approve it, because nothing in the first place can be Godly without God!

Therefore our duty is to seek God’s mercy in everything we do and strive to obey the written command, the bible, but more importantly we must obey the last command, His present revelation to us.