Is God good?

[stvdv]

Why does this matter for good, evil, and morality? Well, in one space-time dimension you are a saint. And in another space-time dimension you are serial killer. The point is over this infinite number of space-time dimensions there exists and infinite number of yous displaying every possible level of morality from A to Z. Every possible choice you could possibly make gets played out to completion cross matched with every other possible choice every other person can make. Since you exhibit every possible behavior imaginable over all the space-time dimensions then is any one of us truly good or evil? I would say no. In this space-time dimension we are just one instance of who we are as a person. If you sum up the behavior of all your actions across every space-time dimension they all cancel out in terms of morality.

Very nice view. Makes it easier to forgive others and yourself, knowing you once did (will do) the same

 

[WalterTrull]

The bigger picture - which tends to make our little problems to be put into perspective

Wrong!!! My problems are the most important! Let them eat cake!

 

[dfnj]

The bigger picture - which tends to make our little problems to be put into perspective. It should be noted of course that virtually all religions formed before we knew anything about all the stars, galaxies, planets, and the nature of quantum mechanics.

And people were burned at the stake for suggesting the Earth wasn't flat and the center of the Universe.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Wrong!!! My problems are the most important! Let them eat cake!

They can have mine - I have to watch my figure after all.

 

[Ponder This]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

Free Will allows us to do many things, some good, some evil.
Some people think we don't have free will, so they blame all the evil on God (also convenient for them that they don't have to take any blame for themselves). And some people think the world would be better if we didn't have free will (that way they could blame God and also conveniently not take any responsibility). And some people want Free Will (because they want to know that their lives do matter), but they just don't believe free will is real.

 

[Thermos aquaticus]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

The following (possibly apocryphal) quote from Epicurus sums it up best:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

 

[Katzpur]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

This is a good question. Before I contribute my 2 cents worth, I'd be interested in knowing what you believe God's purpose was for putting us here in the first place. Based on your response, you might be able to work through this dilemma on your own or with a limited amount of input from others. So, what do you say? Why did He put us here in the first place?

 

[Axe Elf]

The following (possibly apocryphal) quote from Epicurus sums it up best:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Epi-curious never took the quiz:

Take this short quiz and see if you can figure it out for yourself:

1. Would an all-good (omnibenevolent) God want to make the best of all possible universes? YES NO

2. Would an all-knowing (omniscient) God know how to make the best of all possible universes? YES NO

3. Would an all-powerful (omnipotent) God have the power to make the best of all possible universes? YES NO

4. If an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God exists and created our universe, is it possible that we live in anything but the best of all possible universes? YES NO

5. If evil exists in the best of all possible universes, could our universe be a better place without it? YES NO

6. Is it possible to make a one-sided coin? YES NO

7. Is it possible to distinguish between good and evil if evil does not exist? YES NO

8. Do you personally believe that a universe where goodness cannot be recognized is better than a universe in which goodness can be appreciated by contrast to evil? YES NO

9. If we live in the best of all possible universes, is the best of all possible universes one in which both good and evil exist and are distinguishable? YES NO

10. NOW do you understand why an omnibenevolent, omniscient, omnipotent God allows evil to exist? YES NO

Even if you don't believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent, the second half of the quiz (questions 6-10) pretty much stands by itself as an explanation for the existence of evil (just take out the omnis in question 10).

 

[Thermos aquaticus]

Epi-curious never took the quiz:

Since he died thousands of years ago, I think he can be excused for not taking the quiz.

Do you really think that goodness can't exist unless there are people doing evil to one another? If so, what is heaven supposed to be like?

 

[Axe Elf]

Do you really think that goodness can't exist unless there are people doing evil to one another? If so, what is heaven supposed to be like?

Goodness would exist, but we would be completely ignorant of it, because there would be nothing that was "not-good" to compare it to.

Imagine if I were to tell you now that everything in the universe is "begour." You'd ask what "begour" means, and all I could tell you is that it is everything; everything is begour. Nothing would be "not-begour" to distinguish it from.

The complete absence of evil for an eternity of heaven can thus be appreciated by having experienced the distinction for a few moments here on Earth.

 

[Thermos aquaticus]

Goodness would exist, but we would be completely ignorant of it, because there would be nothing that was "not-good" to compare it to.

Imagine if I were to tell you now that everything in the universe is "begour." You'd ask what "begour" means, and all I could tell you is that it is everything; everything is begour. Nothing would be "not-begour" to distinguish it from.

The complete absence of evil for an eternity of heaven can thus be appreciated by having experienced the distinction for a few moments here on Earth.

We don't have telekinetic powers, yet we can imagine it. We can't move objects with our mind, yet we still have free will. Why wouldn't evil be similar?

 

[74x12]

Do you really think that goodness can't exist unless there are people doing evil to one another? If so, what is heaven supposed to be like?

Evil has an end but good will not end. This coming age and the good that is going to be in it can best be understood through analogy. Just as gold or silver is purified in the fire. Years later when you have a golden cup you won't be thinking about the fire. Yet without the fire that pure golden cup would not exist. That is how the hereafter will be established forever because evil once existed to test and refine it. So that everything hereafter will have depth of meaning and will be established because evil once existed.

 

[JoshuaTree]

Evil has an end but good will not end. This coming age and the good that is going to be in it can best be understood through analogy. Just as gold or silver is purified in the fire. Years later when you have a golden cup you won't be thinking about the fire. Yet without the fire that pure golden cup would not exist. That is how the hereafter will be established forever because evil once existed to test and refine it. So that everything hereafter will have depth of meaning and will be established because evil once existed.

So Adam and Eve before the fall weren't as perfect as they could have been, evil was required for further purification? Is that what you are saying?

 

[74x12]

So Adam and Eve before the fall weren't as perfect as they could have been, evil was required for further purification? Is that what you are saying?

Interesting. Maybe that's a good way to look at it. Not that I think they had to fall into sin, but they needed to face temptation.

 

[Axe Elf]

We don't have telekinetic powers, yet we can imagine it. We can't move objects with our mind, yet we still have free will. Why wouldn't evil be similar?

Well, first of all, we DON'T have free will, but that's kind of beside the point.

We can imagine all kinds of things, but "good" and "evil" are not things, they are properties that we assign to things.

Without the property of evil to contrast with good, we would never think about the property of goodness. Without the property of goodness, we would never try to imagine its opposite.

In a universe without evil, evil would be more like the virtually infinite number of things that don't exist that we HAVEN'T imagined. To illustrate, have you ever tried to imagine what it would be like if the entire universe was NOT begour?

 

[BilliardsBall]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.
But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.
So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

Speaking as a Jewish Christian, God allows us free will. If God stopped some people from committing some crimes but allowed you free will . . . He would be unjust, unfair.

 

[stvdv]

If God stopped some people from committing some crimes but allowed you free will . . . He would be unjust, unfair

Could also be a God with another mathematical phantasy. Free will within [-2,+10000]. Just a little evil, and some more good. Still Free Will. We think we have Free Will, but still I can't fly to the moon. So limits are set anyway. So it's not unjust IMHO it's just a matter of preconditioned variables God put in order. Like E=m.c.c [most of this stuff is quite logical and just]

 

[Fool]

Hello guys, I'm new here and I have no clue how this works... Anyways, if anyone can see this, I want to ask about something.

welcome to RF

God sees the future, so he already knows if we are going to heaven or hell. If we are good or bad.

god created heaven and earth. mankind created hell through being divisive, and overly self-conscious.

But God is also almighty, so he can change it. Or he can choose only good people to be born.

if a person creates a negative situation, why would it be someone else's to fix it?

So why does he let bad people be here among us? People who are killing other people.
I mean, if God is good, why does he allow wars, terrorist attacks and stuff like this?

because you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink; unless you drown it and that isn't going to help change somethings point of view.

It would be cool if I get answers from different religions, but I would be mainly interested in the Jewish view on this issue.

interesting

 

[Thermos aquaticus]

Evil has an end but good will not end. This coming age and the good that is going to be in it can best be understood through analogy. Just as gold or silver is purified in the fire. Years later when you have a golden cup you won't be thinking about the fire. Yet without the fire that pure golden cup would not exist. That is how the hereafter will be established forever because evil once existed to test and refine it. So that everything hereafter will have depth of meaning and will be established because evil once existed.

Why would evil exist at all?

 

[Thermos aquaticus]

We can imagine all kinds of things, but "good" and "evil" are not things, they are properties that we assign to things.

You said that without evil we could not imagine good. Are you now saying that we could recognize good in the absence of evil?

Without the property of evil to contrast with good, we would never think about the property of goodness.

Why not? That seems to be just a bare assertion. Are you saying that we couldn't imagine someone murdering another person? We couldn't imagine someone dying? I would say that humans are pretty good at imagining things, so I don't see why this would be the case.

In a universe without evil, evil would be more like the virtually infinite number of things that don't exist that we HAVEN'T imagined. To illustrate, have you ever tried to imagine what it would be like if the entire universe was NOT begour?

Have you ever imagined a world where humans have telekinetic powers?