Here is the question. How can God be "good" when he is automatically correct in everything. I can understand how a human can have good qualities, because they overcome the urge for evil in the face of a difficult life. However for God there is no challenge since he wouldn't have to deal with every day problems, since he is omnipotent. Since he is omnipotent, doesn't that mean that for God being good requires no effort. For a human, being good requires a lot of effort. So doesn't that reduce God's status from "Good" to "always correct", since it takes him no effort to overcome evil.
2007-01-18 19:30:55 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I guess the point I am trying to make is that the concept of good for a human is that the human makes a conscious choice between good and evil; the person chooses good even though it might be the more difficult path. However, for God, I argue that there is no such distinction because he defines good and evil. That is, anything God wants to be good is good and everything he wants to be evil is evil. I think that this status of "absolute good" takes less effort and is less commendable than "human good" because "absolute good" takes no effort.
2007-01-18 19:43:01 · update #1
For the sake of playing "devil's advocate" I will also make the argument that if God created Satan as part of himself, then doesn't this effectively demolish the claim that God is benevolent. Because if God created Satan, then he basically created a creature that would be shunned and hated by all, a creature made to suffer by definition.
2007-01-18 19:47:12 · update #2
Another addition: How is it possible for the human brain to understand God in any way other than a monarch, the ultimate male silverback? Any other view of God, I think, is too abstract to fathom. It's like talking about a "5th dimension", something that you can't really imagine. The argument is that God is ultimately correct by force, or at least that's what it seems to come down to.
2007-01-18 19:52:26 · update #3
Final comment:
How can the issue of good and evil be settled by humans. The way things are going right now, there will be an improvement in standard of living and morality. However, evil will NEVER be fully eradicated since that would mean that every person would have to choose good every single time. How can evil be eradicated when HUMOR itself is in many ways a celebration of evil, or at least the capacity for evil? I also argue that the morality of a society is effected by its standard of living.
2007-01-18 20:11:17 · update #4
Firstly, how can one rightly equate that which is created with the Creator? This isn't possible outside of the Biblical context that "man is created in his image/likeness."
Which suggest, never really quite being Him, but only similar a reminder of His attributes.
Secondly, God is and has never made the claim of being ALL and ONLY benevolent. This just isn't true.
From very early on in the Book of Genesis we see that he will harshly punish disobedience, and those who challenge His omniscience; and yet not be completely without mercy.
This concept of God is repeated many many times, throughout the Bible. Which in my interpretations gives a much more accurate interpretation of who God is. Not evil or malicious but firm, and particularly about His omniscience. We have freewill to accept this, debate it , or reject it.
Lastly the Bible teaches us that God cannot lie, because like you stated "it is what and the way He says it is" because of His omniscience not because he is all good.
In other words "God ain't no punk," and his love mercy and benevolence shouldn't be taken as signs of weakness. :)
2007-01-18 20:22:59 · answer #1 · answered by LadyB!™ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Does a human's standard of good without God come from the outside? No, man's standards must come from man in that case. Maybe you will say that society sets our morality against our will, but if that is the case then we are talking about bondage not a common moral standard. The first chapter in the book of Titus says that God Cannot lie. In Psalms it says that he has exalted his word above his name. God is "something" therefore he has an essential nature, and that nature is his moral standard, he cannot deviate from it. The challenge came when he decided to create beings with free will. This guarenteed that things would happen that would be contrary to his desire. Yet he cannot change things regardless of how much he would like to because "He has spoken". Man was to remain free regardless of the oucome. That was exactly why God eventually sacraficed Christ . He couldn't just "will" what he wanted into existence, he had to respect his own words and find another way. God is truth and truth cannot lie, otherwise it ceases to be truth. God cannot say that "something else is true now" because the God that would speak now, is no more of an authority than the God that spoke before. .
2007-01-18 20:39:33 · answer #2 · answered by Perceiver 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really Satan has actually brought that similar challenge to God. Does God the creator have the right to rule, you know set the laws for his creation? See the bible book of Gen, and Job.
What effort was it to eat everything in the garden of Eden to a persons satisfaction and only stay away from a particular tree. There was not any effort that God put on the first human pair.
There was no real urge to decide between Good and Bad. God provided an abundent of things for them to do, and to be satisified. But because they chose to listen to Satan and not be obiedent to What Good God gave to them, we now all suffer.
If God was not good, then he could simply of destroyed all creation including angels and heaven. But that would not have really settled the issue above. Possibly according to your way of thinking you are correct. or good?
2007-01-18 20:05:46 · answer #3 · answered by fire 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well if you can say god is all good or even a little good you are not reading the bible. How many did he smite. Now is that good. he tells us not to kill but he likked many acording tyo the bible. Caused a flood and killed almost everything. Is that good?
Sent people into battle and you think that is good?
God is what ever anyone wants him to be at any time. Anything you want to do you can if you want justify it by using the so called word of god.
This applies to all religions and ala is no different. The coran is not any different than the bible.
All religions are creations of man to control man.
2007-01-18 20:11:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is a divine being; he is outside of space and time. He is the alpha and the omega - the beginning and the end. God gave us free will, with our gift of life. He knows we sin, but the main point is that he wants us to follow our own path and ultimately conquer Satan ourselves by making our own choice of believing in Jesus and God Himself. He knows our future, he has our lives planned out. Our lives are his creation, in this HUGE plan he has, in which he will reveal to us in Jesus' second coming.
Also, God knows we sin. That is why he sent Jesus - His only Son to die a painful death on the cross for all of our sins. The only exception is, we take Him into our hearts and believe that he is the only God, and Jesus was his Son. God doesn't want us to know the whole plan yet. That is what life is all about. You have Faith in what He is to overcome the evil. God created Satan, but in a Good form. Satan betrayed God, so God disowned him.
2007-01-18 19:51:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Can a student examine a teacher? How can you, a mortal, think of evaluating a God? Goodness is Godliness. So if you are good and perfect, you are likely to be nearer to him. The God is said to be perfect. Life is an attempt to perfect yourself; not to evaluate what is perfect.
Do not compare God to a normal Human being; because God has no shape no form.
2007-01-18 19:47:01 · answer #6 · answered by atom45 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A better way to put it would be to say that God is 'Holy'. He is perfect. Humans can be 'good' or not, as you state, as they have that standard to live up to.
Also, God created Satan as Lucifer, the angel who then rebelled against Him so He didn't create 'Satan' but he did create someone with the freedom of choice to become the Devil.
2007-01-18 19:48:46 · answer #7 · answered by ☺Catriona♥S☺ 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well i guess you have to understand what it is to know first. We know the winter by the summer, Good can only be know by knowing what evil is. Are men good, not one is truely good. All men have sinned and we sin against God, men and ourselfs. So to declare man good means you would have to be all know and know event the entents of the heart and that your make you god. Yeat you and i only know in part and God knows in fullness. So my question to you is are you a good man. Does it take effert to be good.
2007-01-18 20:19:43 · answer #8 · answered by Thomas A 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you possibly trying to reference God in human terms and thoughts? You are placing your belief in what God should be like, or what God should have done. God does not work on Human emotions and thoughts.
2007-01-18 20:13:45 · answer #9 · answered by mark g 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God's goodness will not change and will never change.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
jocel_gomez@yahoo.com
http://www.truthcaster.com
2007-01-18 19:53:30 · answer #10 · answered by jocel_gomez 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋