Does a Good God Exist?

[Guest]

.... There is also the fact that there are verses in the Bible which seem to suggest that Morality exists independently of God’s will.....

Some Men

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10

Will Believe

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

But Most Men Will Not

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. Jeremiah 13:10

[wyguy]

How can an infant or an animal bear moral responsibility for actions performed of which it has no comprehension and which occurred thousands of years before its birth?

Adam was also morally responsible as head of his family and of all mankind. That's why the Bible says sin came into the world through the sin of Adam, and not Eve, who actually ate the forbidden fruit first. Eve was tricked by Satan, but Adam ate of the fruit with full knowledge of what he was doing. The Bible also says because of that, we are all born with that sinful nature - passed on to us through Adam. That's why a child does not have to learn or be taught to be wicked, they do it instinctively.

The good news is that the Bible also teaches that if a child dies before the age of accountability (the age when they can understand sin, repentance and faith in Christ) that God applies the righteousness of Jesus to those children, and those who are mentally handicapped, and they are welcomed into Heaven.

As for the animals, they were in the care of Adam, and thus share in the suffering that he brought about through his sin.

Well, why is it the case that the created thing should not question the motives of his creator?

The question being: Do you somehow think you know more than God, that you feel you can question His motives? Read the book of Job sometime and see how well that worked out.

The core of your position here seems to be that the act of creation establishes a kind of absolute ownership right held by the Creator over the created. It

[doubting_tommy]

Adam was also morally responsible as head of his family and of all mankind. That's why the Bible says sin came into the world through the sin of Adam, and not Eve, who actually ate the forbidden fruit first. Eve was tricked by Satan, but Adam ate of the fruit with full knowledge of what he was doing. The Bible also says because of that, we are all born with that sinful nature - passed on to us through Adam. That's why a child does not have to learn or be taught to be wicked, they do it instinctively.

Are you suggesting that a newborn infant is capable of wickedness from the moment it leaves the womb? This seems highly implausible to me.

The good news is that the Bible also teaches that if a child dies before the age of accountability (the age when they can understand sin, repentance and faith in Christ) that God applies the righteousness of Jesus to those children, and those who are mentally handicapped, and they are welcomed into Heaven.

Okay, perhaps I spoke too soon. I

[MorningGlory]

This is a difficult question.

But what does "Good God" mean? If goodness is, by definition, what God approves, then the question can be reduced to

"Does God exist?", because if He does, then goodness is automatic, since He decides what goodness is.

If, on the other end, goodness is an "external" quality that God has, where does it come from?

We don't know the mind of God but we do know He has no sin or imperfection. What He states is good....is. Even if we don't understand it.

[MorningGlory]

The core of your position here seems to be that the act of creation establishes a kind of absolute ownership right held by the Creator over the created. It

[Fez]

I can see why it might appear that way, but let

[doubting_tommy]

I can see why it might appear that way, but let

[Guest]

Dear Ones I Ask You, Can There Be Any

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Reasonable Doubt

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. James 1:17

Reasonable?

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

No.....

[doubting_tommy]

The core of your position here seems to be that the act of creation establishes a kind of absolute ownership right held by the Creator over the created. It

[doubting_tommy]

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. - James 1:17

Do you not think that the use of 'good' in this passage indicates an independent standard which is not identical to God's will, an interpretation which is reinforced by the depiction of God as unchanging? What is good will always be good to an unchanging God who has perfect knowledge of good and evil. Not so if what is good is merely identical to what is God's will, since God could change His mind at any moment as to what constitutes 'goodness' and 'evil'.

Edited December 4, 2010 by doubting_tommy