Thanks Trump,
The “dilemma” which you are raising predates Christianity to the time of Socrates. It is known as the “The Euthyphro Dilemma” and can be found in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro, in which Socrates asks Euthyphro: “Is the [good] loved by the gods because it is [good], or is it [good] because it is loved by the gods?” In short, the question is concerned with moral ontology - what grounds moral valules?
The reason it is called a “dilemma” is because which ever alternative the theist chooses ends up being fatal to the theistic position.
If the theist chooses the first option, which says that a thing is good simply because God says it is, then it would seem that morality is arbitrary. God could have commaded us to hate our neighbor and commit adultery and by him commanding it, it would be a moral act.
If the theist chooses the second option and says that a God commands something because it is good, then it would seem that God is subject to a higher law.
This is a false dillema because there are more than two available options.
a thing is not good because God commands it, nor does God command something because it is good, but rather He commands something because he is good.
Philosopher Dr. Scott B. Rae put it this way, " “Morality is not grounded ultimately in God’s commands, but in His character, which then expresses itself in His commands.”
Hope that’s a help!
