Morality and The Fabric of the Universe

Ethics, Morality, and Sin

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Purple Knight
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Morality and The Fabric of the Universe

Post #1

Post by Purple Knight »

Is it possible, even in theory, for one universe to exist where murder is wrong, and another universe to exist where murder (or any other thing that is absolutely unequivocally wrong in one universe) to be morally permissible in this other universe?

If you're religious, and you believe that God simply picks what is moral and immoral, you might say that this requires the second universe to have a God that simply selected differently. (Or perhaps God can choose for each universe. If God is truly all-powerful in that it is beyond logic, it can simply make both choices, and ostensibly this could create two universes.)
But I have a subset of questions specifically for the religious who believe that God's choices create moral and immoral - that God dictates morality.

1. Is it possible for God to lie about his choices? Let's say God never actually picked for lying to be wrong. He selected that lying should be morally permissible. He then proceeds to misinform people as to the moral nature of the universe. I'm not asking if this is what happened in our universe; I am asking if this is a possibility, knowing the power of God to simply pick which actions are going to be moral and immoral.
2. Is it possible for God to change his mind and/or simply judge by the person, and not his actions? I am not asking if it is possible for God to forgive thievery (I know it is in the established lore). I am asking if God can decide that thievery is not morally wrong when that special fellow does it, or that I sin when I pick my nose simply because it's me, but that other fellow may pick his nose and it isn't a sin. Or perhaps God could decide on the spot that picking one's nose is now a sin and not tell anybody.
3. Does God have to be fair? I'm not asking if God is fair (the official lore says he is and that's that)... I'm asking if he has to be. In other words, is there a deeper magic - a higher principle that is in fact higher than God - that, for example, if some person was not informed or was misinformed about right and wrong, they wouldn't be culpable if they did wrong?

I also have a subset of questions for people who do not believe that God simply dictates morality. This includes the areligious and those who simply don't believe God has the power to do that.

1. Where does morality come from?
2. If just one sentient being existed in a universe, would it be possible for it to be immoral?

nobspeople
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Re: Morality and The Fabric of the Universe

Post #11

Post by nobspeople »

Purple Knight wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:20 pm
nobspeople wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:07 pmWas there a specific reason why you didn't say 'right' and 'wrong', or 'morally forbidden' and 'morally permissible'?
I say wrong when i mean morally forbidden. I don't use right and wrong because they're not always opposed in the way I mean them to be opposed. Something can, according to most, be not really wrong, and not exactly right either.
Understood
Thanks for the clarification
Have a great, potentially godless, day!

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