Gods Omniscience and Omnibenevolence

[FresnoJoe]

The correct terms for GOD are: omnificent (unlimited in creative power), omnipresent (present in all places at all times), and omnipotent (having complete and unlimited power). Omnibenevolent is not even a word, let alone a description of GOD used in Scripture.

My question is how can one be all good and yet know what it is like to commit such malevolent actions.

Welcome~!

However if he is omnibenevolent he can't know sin....

and hence he cannot be omniscient....

Of Sin

Of sin, because they believe not on me; John 16:9 (King James Version)

And Of God

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 (English Standard Version)

So Beloved, What's The Beef?

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. Romans 1:21-22 (New Living Translation)

And, What To Do?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (New International Version)

Love, Joe

Could you please explain the relation of your quotes to my question please.

....he can't know sin....

Of Course He Knows Sin (Remember Hell?)

Of sin, because they believe not on me; John 16:9 (King James Version)

And He Tells Us All About It

Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. Psalms 119:160 (King James Version)

Can You See?

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 (King James Version)

Love,  Joe

[missmuffet]

As Rick Parker exlplained to you 'omnibenevolence' is not even a word and doesn't apply to the One True God.  It IS a popular talking point on atheist sites though. 

I think it is in the Bible.

Question: "What does it mean that God is omnibenevolent?"

Answer: The word omnibenevolent comes from the Latin word omni, meaning “all,” and the word benevolent, meaning “good” or “charitable.” When we say that God is omnibenevolent, we are saying that God is absolutely good and that no action or motive or thought or feeling or anything else about Him is not purely good. He is “all-good.” The Bible provides many testimonies of God’s goodness, including Jesus’ own, when He asserted that no one is truly good except God Himself (Mark 10:18). This can only mean that, although human beings can do good things, only God is omnibenevolent, or wholly good.

To believe in a perfect being, one must accept that God can be omnibenevolent. If God is completely self-sustaining, independent of need, the “un-caused cause” and “un-moved mover,” He must also be perfectly good. If God were simply a good and powerful being, but not perfectly good, there would be an element of contingency. That is, we could conceive of a being of potentially greater benevolence—and someone with greater goodness would be greater than God. Since the goodness of anything is measured by its perfection, God must be perfectly good in order to also be omniscient and omnipotent. All three aspects of His person must be in place for us to conceive of any one of the three.

The most common objection to the assertion that God is omnibenevolent, as well as omnipotent and omniscient, is the problem of evil. If God is all-knowing and all-powerful and perfectly good, why does evil exist? Philosophers debate this question endlessly. Some solve the problem by saying that Lucifer’s and then, later, man’s free will was the cause of evil and that God was not involved in causing evil. One might then ask, “Why then did God create a being who could choose evil?” and the typical answer to that is “because He wanted beings who would be able to make choices”; i.e., He did not want robots.

Philosophically speaking, God’s omnibenevolence is a complicated issue. The problem of evil is a complex one. However, we do know that, for God to be God, He must be omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient. And, really, the issue comes down to believing the Bible, which presents God as always good (Psalm 106:1; 135:3;Nahum 1:7). His message to sinners, through Christ, is “good news” (Luke 2:10); His revelation of Christ is called the appearing of “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior” (Titus 3:4, ESV). It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), goodness is one of the results of His indwelling Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and He brings goodness to fruition in our lives through faith (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

[AforementionedPerson]

I came here to see if you guys could help me solve this dilemma help me solidify my wavering faith

Welcome AforementionedPerson,

"Omnibenevolent" is something you have coined, but infinitely gracious and merciful would be more apropos. What you are attempting to do is delve into the Mystery of God, and there are limits to what we can determine with our human capacity. God knows all and sees all, and He is also infinitely gracious and merciful. But He also allows sin and evil to exist on this earth "for a season". Your faith should not waver simply because you cannot grasp what only God can grasp. Your focus should always be on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for your redemption. That is the only way to have a steadfast faith -- focus on the Cross and what it meant to God and to the whole world. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

Cheers brah, that makes a lot of sense

[MorningGlory]

The origin and definition of the world 'omnibenevolance.'  I stand corrected; it does appear to be a real word but it doesn't appear in the Bible.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/omnibenevolent

[missmuffet]

The origin and definition of the world 'omnibenevolance.'  I stand corrected; it does appear to be a real word but it doesn't appear in the Bible.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/omnibenevolent

Right that is my take on it 

[Guest shiloh357]

God is omniscient that essentially means that he knows everything that is and will be. But if God is also omnibenevolent how can he know everything? Surely if he knows everything there is no way that he could be omnibenevolent.

For example, due to Gods omniscience and his ability to know everything, he would hence know what it is like to kill an innocent child, if he knows this than how could he possibly be omnibenevolent?

It would seem that in order to for him to be omniscient he would have a working knowledge and understanding of sin, which hence makes him not omnibenevolent.

However if he is omnibenevolent he can't know sin, and hence he cannot be omniscient.

I came here to see if you guys could help me solve this dilemma help me solidify my wavering faith

There is no dilemma.  God is not "omnibenevolent,"  or as some people say it, "all loving."   That is something you are assigning to God and it is not biblical.  So your dilemma is based on a wrong view of God.   God is all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, but is not omnibenevolent.  So, your "dilemma" is resolved.

[AforementionedPerson]

God is omniscient that essentially means that he knows everything that is and will be. But if God is also omnibenevolent how can he know everything? Surely if he knows everything there is no way that he could be omnibenevolent.

For example, due to Gods omniscience and his ability to know everything, he would hence know what it is like to kill an innocent child, if he knows this than how could he possibly be omnibenevolent?

It would seem that in order to for him to be omniscient he would have a working knowledge and understanding of sin, which hence makes him not omnibenevolent.

However if he is omnibenevolent he can't know sin, and hence he cannot be omniscient.

I came here to see if you guys could help me solve this dilemma help me solidify my wavering faith

There is no dilemma.  God is not "omnibenevolent,"  or as some people say it, "all loving."   That is something you are assigning to God and it is not biblical.  So your dilemma is based on a wrong view of God.   God is all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, but is not omnibenevolent.  So, your "dilemma" is resolved.

If god isn't omnibenevolent is that suggesting that he is partly evil? If God isn't 'all good' and 'all loving' that suggests he partly evil and hating or completely evil and hating.

Don't the scriptures teach that God is love?

[Guest shiloh357]

God is omniscient that essentially means that he knows everything that is and will be. But if God is also omnibenevolent how can he know everything? Surely if he knows everything there is no way that he could be omnibenevolent.

For example, due to Gods omniscience and his ability to know everything, he would hence know what it is like to kill an innocent child, if he knows this than how could he possibly be omnibenevolent?

It would seem that in order to for him to be omniscient he would have a working knowledge and understanding of sin, which hence makes him not omnibenevolent.

However if he is omnibenevolent he can't know sin, and hence he cannot be omniscient.

I came here to see if you guys could help me solve this dilemma help me solidify my wavering faith

There is no dilemma.  God is not "omnibenevolent,"  or as some people say it, "all loving."   That is something you are assigning to God and it is not biblical.  So your dilemma is based on a wrong view of God.   God is all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, but is not omnibenevolent.  So, your "dilemma" is resolved.

If god isn't omnibenevolent is that suggesting that he is partly evil? If God isn't 'all good' and 'all loving' that suggests he partly evil and hating or completely evil and hating.

Don't the scriptures teach that God is love?

I didn't say that God is not all good.   I am saying that God is not all loving.   The Bible tells us that there are things that God hates.

God hates lawless people (Psalm 5:5)

God hates a lying tongue, a proud look, a heart that devises wicked plans, those who shed innocent blood, feet that hasten to do evil, and a false witness (Prov. 6:17)

God is love, but love is not God's chief attribute.  God is first and foremost holy and that means that he hates sin.  He hates sin so much He cannot even look upon it.     That doesn't make God partly evil.   It makes Him 100% holy.

[WorldOfError]

Isaiah 45:7 says "I form the light and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."

"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Paradoxically, "God is love" and "Perfect love casts out fear."

If we really want to feel fulfilled we can't ignore pain or suffering.

The New Testament says God wants everyone to repent and be saved from hell.

The New Testament instructs us to always pray with faith for everyone to repent and stop sinning. Though it doesn't say everyone will repent.

Paradox abounds in the Bible.

I want to hate all sin. I want everyone to fully repent. I really hope everyone repents.

God is outside of time. Some hope He'll conform time to His will. Which is for all to repent. I sure hope so.

"What is impossible for men is possible with God." He is Holy.

[*Zion*]

Forgive me if I am repeating what people have already said, but this is the way I see it:

God in His love and goodness gave us free will so that we could enjoy the choice of freely requiting His love and and goodness unto Him.

Instead, we have chosen to go against His very commandments and murder, steal, bear false witness etc.

You want God to be good.  If God were like Jack the ripper, we'd have a serious problem.  But our problem is this: God IS good!  And we are not.  Therefore He judges us.  You want Him to punish sin, otherwise, we really would not know any better.  The fact that that punishment is hell, of all places and prisons, should tell us how serious the problem of evil is.

Consider this: the wages of sin is death.  If we really understood this with complete perspective we just would not go near sin.  You just would think twice about arguing with someone else, and you would choose your words so so so so carefully.  The Bible even tells us that one the day we are judged we will have to stand before God and give an account of EVERY word we have uttered.  Sin sticks and contaminates and pollutes like nothing else.  And knowing all this, I still don't know enough because I if told you I was perfect and never sinned I would be bearing exceedingly false witness!  

But thanks be to God!  Out of His perfect love He has provided the Way, the Truth and the Life back to reconciliation with Himself, which He Himself is!!!  Jesus is Lord, and Jesus saves, Hallelujah!!!!!

So who's fault is it that an innocent child is murdered?  Well let's take a look at who's doing that action.  Human beings.  We know better, and we are at great fault.  Many times the devil encourages us, no doubt, but we can either listen to God or listen to the enemy.  Guess who we end up listening to if we commit sin.

The problem is not that God is all-good and all knowing, the problem is that we don't want to listen to Him and that we don't want to take responsibility for making that mistake.

Hope this helps

God bless you.