Abstract

The “Euthyphro dilemma” poses the question of whether the good is “holy because it is loved” or is the good “loved because it is holy?” The first option suggests that the good is the subjective whim of God. In principle, an act of murder could be good simply because God declares it to be good. The alternative suggests that even God, it would seem, is subservient to external moral standards. Thus, we have the Euthyphro predicament. This paper will present a Trinitarian response to the problem. It will argue that the doctrine of the Trinity avoids the pitfalls of divine command theory, because certain features of the Trinity make sense of morality only if there are persons with essential metaphysical and moral attributes who perfectly co-exist together throughout all eternity. Thus, the Trinity offers the most reasonable, non-circular, explanatory stopping point for morality. The Trinity is not subject to some eternal moral standard; otherwise, the Trinity would lack perfection. Nor is morality the result of mere divine impulse. Rather, the best explanation to the dilemma posed by Socrates is that morality flows from three perfectly holy, loving, omnipotent and omniscient persons who have co-existed together in impeccable harmony throughout all eternity.