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divine command
belief that the voice of God is behind moral prescriptions found in the Decalogue, in the moral judgements of the prophets, in the sensitivities of individual conscience. Critics dismiss this approach to ethics as "heteronomous" and against the grain of independent thinking which is a hallmark of maturity. Some versions of Christian ethics may indeed appear to promote in this way an infantile dependence on 'being told what to do'. However, the more mainstream emphasis is on the need for each individual as part of their growth to Christian adulthood to come to recognise and affirm for themselves such moral principles and insights.
See also:
conscience, Decalogue, prophets
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