What are counterexamples to the position that Christian morality is ultimately utilitarian (i.e., that God is utilitarian)?
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I personally believe that Christian morality is ultimately utilitarian. I see God as a utilitarian genius that is doing His best to guide His creation towards maximum utility, subject to certain constraints (e.g., respecting the free will of His creatures, etc.)
I feel persuaded to believe this is the case because I see many correlations between what God commands or desires and what promotes happiness and well-being. I'll enumerate some examples:
- Example 1: *Heaven vs. Hell*. This is the clearest one. Heaven represents the utilitarian utopia, a place of maximum happiness, maximum well-being, and minimum (zero) suffering. In contrast, Hell is the complete opposite. So if God is a utilitarian, it makes perfect sense that He wants to maximize the number of people who make it to Heaven and minimize the number of people who wind up in Hell.
- Example 2: *Love vs. Hate*. Love is good. Hate is evil. Love promotes well-being. Hate promotes violence, crimes & suffering. As a utilitarian, it makes perfect sense that a loving state of being should be preferred over a hateful state of being.
- Example 3: *Love vs. Lust*. Lust can be [tricky](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/95288/61679) , but if we acknowledge that lust and love cannot simultaneously coexist in the same person (they are mutually exclusive), and if we acknowledge that a profoundly loving state of being produces much more well-being than a profoundly lustful state of being, then, as a utilitarian, it makes perfect sense that love should be preferred over lust. Love produces more utility.
- Example 4: *Self-control vs. Addictions/Compulsions*. This is pretty much self-evident. People who are enslaved by addictions and compulsions are vulnerable to all sorts of health problems, can sometimes be quite dysfunctional, cause accidents, underperform and become less productive in their jobs, etc. A society in which all individuals are masters of themselves can be much more productive and prosperous than a society in which everyone is compulsively distracted by the urge to get their next fix.
- Example 5: *Honesty vs. Lying*. Misinformation can cause a lot of trouble. People can make all sorts of terrible decisions based on bad information and lies. A lot of suffering could be spared if people only reported accurate information (to the best of their ability) in good faith. It makes sense, therefore, that honesty should be preferred over lying in most situations (with the typical exception of lying to the Nazis to save a Jewish family that is hiding in your basement).
And so on and so forth. So I'm wondering if my reasoning is flawed, and therefore I would like to ask for counterexamples, that is, examples in which it is nearly impossible, or at least extremely difficult, to make sense of them in utilitarian terms.
Are there examples of good and evil in Christianity where utility doesn't play an obvious role?
Asked by user61679
May 12, 2023, 10:38 PM
Last activity: May 16, 2023, 02:34 PM
Last activity: May 16, 2023, 02:34 PM