The Euthyphro Dilemma is named after one of Plato’s famed dialogues. The dialogue purportedly puts Greek gods on the horns of a dilemma: Is something good because the gods will it, or do the gods will it because it is good?
This pseudo-dilemma is worthy of a response only because professors gone wild raise this question ad nauseum ad infinitum as a way of undermining the Christian worldview.
First, if we say that something is good because the gods will it, we immediately perceive a problem. Goodness—or the lack thereof—is left in the hands of capricious gods. Put another way, right or wrong and good or bad become arbitrary. For example, the gods might well have dictated pedophilia a moral imperative despite our intuitive revulsions.
Furthermore, if we say that the gods will something because it is good, we are gored by the opposite horn of the dilemma. Good and evil and right and wrong have now become autonomous. And if this is so, the gods are subordinate, not sovereign.
Finally, if we say that something is good because it reflects the nature of God, then good and evil, right and wrong, are neither arbitrary nor autonomous. God (not gods) wills what He wills because He is good, and what He wills is right because it is reflective of and consistent with His nature.
What we glean from this is that what is posited as a dilemma in reality is no dilemma at all. There is a third option, and it alone corresponds to reality. If Plato’s Euthyphro serves a purpose, it is to teach us to question the question rather than assuming that the question is valid.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NKJV
For further study, see Matthew Flannagan, “The Euthyphro Dilemma,” Christian Research Journal 36, 1 (2013), William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2010), chapter 6.
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***