The Goodness of God

Question 0

what is a biblical example of god’s goodness?

Answer 0

Samuel 1: 10-11 and 20 - story of Hannah

hannah prays to god for a child who she’ll dedicate to god, which he answers.

Question 1

why is god good?

Answer 1

because the bible says so and there are actions mentioned in the bible that reflects his goodness

Question 2

what are the 2 key ideas we see in the bible?

Answer 2

1) god is good

2) god’s actions are good

Question 3

other than goodness, what else is god?

Answer 3

morally perfect

Question 4

how is god’s goodness and care shown?

Answer 4

through his activity in the world (story of hannah)

Question 5

what is said of god’s creation?

Answer 5

god’s creation is said to be good and reveal the goodness of God

Question 6

what are the commands of god seen as?

Answer 6

good

Question 7

what does the story of Abraham say?

Answer 7

god tells him to sacrifice his son

questions the goodness of god because of the immoral nature of the thing he is asking abraham to do

Question 8

how do some christians say goodness is shown?

Answer 8

through the person of jesus

Question 9

what/who is jesus meant to be?

Answer 9

meant to be God incarnate (in flesh)

Question 10

what does jesus’s life and death show about god?

Answer 10

his love to the people through intervening to save them from their sins

Question 11

what do the 10 commandments show?

Answer 11

that god’s goodness is also a matter of moral action - meaning that god intervenes in the world in good ways

Question 12

maintaining the covenant between the Israelites and god is part of what?

Answer 12

god’s goodness

Question 13

who does god maintain a relationship with?

Answer 13

the iseaelites

Question 14

what does the relationship between god and the israelites show?

Answer 14

that god can forgive

god is good as he forgives people

Question 15

what question does evil and suffering bring about?

Answer 15

can there be a good god despite all the evil and suffering in the world?

Question 16

why do some people question whether god intervenes?

Answer 16

because they haven’t experienced miracles like others - it seems that god loves some and hates others - is this a good god?

Question 17

what did god allow that makes people ensure of his goodness?

Answer 17

let destruction happen in places such as the city of Ai (joshua 8) and the sacrifice of isaac (gen.22:1-9)

Question 18

why do some people say that we cannot comprehend god’s goodness?

Answer 18

because he is not like us - we have no level of comparison

Question 19

if god acts within a world, what does this contradict?

Answer 19

the idea that god is immutable (unchangeable) because he will have to change somehow to do good

Question 20

what does it mean because god is morally perfect?

Answer 20

he is the source of all goodness in the universe and it filters down through all creation (similar to plato’s theory of forms)

Question 21

what does god is perfectly good mean?

Answer 21

that he lacks nothing, the ultimate standard of goodness

Question 22

god is lawgiver and judge - what does this show?

Answer 22

giving the law shows his compassion for humanity, therefore it shows his goodness

Question 23

god getting angry and punishing people is seen as good - why?

Answer 23

because it allows them to learn from their mistakes

Question 24

eutyphro dilemma

Answer 24

= whether;

1) God causes things to be good by giving commands or
2) whether god commands good because they are already good

Question 25

what would happen if god chose the first option in eutyphro’s dilemma?

Answer 25

then it would mean that if god commanded that ‘rape is not wrong’ then there would be nothing morally wrong with rape (makes god seem like a divine dictator)

Question 26

what would happen if the 2nd option in eutyphro’s dilemma was chosen?

Answer 26

problems = goodness does not originate from god, but its independent of god. not supported in christianity (goodness comes from god)