a.) An act is pious because God likes it. b.) God likes acts because they are pious. This question is at the core of why ethical theory is divorced from religion.
Hmm. This is a very interesting question (I do think you could worded it better. I went to wikipedia and looked it up and they were much more clear). I would personally go with the answer that God likes it because it is pious. I would think the other option would be in violation with some christian doctrine. That's my answer and I'm sticking with it. I get to riled up when it comes to religion and therefore will now stand on the sidelines.
OK, here's the wikipedian interpretation: "Is what is moral commanded by God because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by God?"
It would have to be A. If God followed what morality was "already there", then God did not create that morality. The definition of God is "supreme being, creator.", which would include being the "creator of morals".
As an atheist who believes Man created God in His own image, I would say that what is moral is commanded by God because it is moral. That is to say, God is defined to epitomize those principles that are collectively called morality. Even before I abandoned my Protestant roots, I'd have said that morality was respected by God, even when the moral person believed in no dod or a different god.
