Poll: Is God All-Good?

[dfnj]

Supposedly, God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent (all-good).
Since we're focusing on the last one, there's supposedly the problem of evil for the last one.
To me, I'm pretty certain God exists (not only from the personal changes in my life, but also because of philosophical reasons), but right now I'm only not sure how good he is. In fact I'm
pretty mad at God.

God is just a word. Until we have a reasonable explanation on how everything came into existence as opposed to nothingness the word God represents first cause.

My idea is God is perfect, whole, and complete not having any desires, needs, or wants. Since desire is the source of all evil, God is absolute goodness by His own perfection. Evil comes from having needs or desires. Needs and desires come from being unhappy with our own imperfections.

God did not create the Universe out of some need, desire, or design. God designing the Universe would imply God has limitations because designs have goals. And goals are defined by our needs. God created the Universe out of an overflowing or abundance of energy. Because our Universe has a limited amount of energy we are NOT perfect like God. The Universe, nature, and human character is full of imperfections. It is these imperfections that are the causes of that is evil in the World. God on the other hand is perfect goodness.

I've learned not to concentrate too hard on judging the imperfections of God's creation in myself, nature, and in others. Otherwise, by judging too much my narrow mindedness prevents me from experiencing all of God's blessings flowing all around us. I think some people are so busy judging imperfections in themselves and in other people that are incapable of appreciating any of God's blessings or what is good in our lives. People who are obsessed with evil have not found peace with their own imperfections.

 

[1213]

Supposedly, God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent (all-good).

Since we're focusing on the last one, there's supposedly the problem of evil for the last one.
...

I don’t think evil is a problem. People wanted to know evil and that is why they were sent to this first death. This is like Matrix where we can experience what evil truly means (to be without God). Luckily this is only a short lesson and those who are righteous, can go back to life and nothing of this world can destroy soul.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matt. 10:28

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

 

[BSM1]

God is interested in beings with good consciousness, as Christ Jesus was an example of, good consciousness accumulates and becomes a norm of humanity, step by step improving individual consciousness, I see this designed by Higher Consciousness.

Unfortunately you have fallen into the trap of apply human attributes to an unfathomable being. You have absolutely no more knowledge of what "God wants or feels" than the next person. Anyone who tries to tell you that they know the mind of God is simply trying to validate their view or belief.

 

[leov]

Unfortunately you have fallen into the trap of apply human attributes to an unfathomable being. You have absolutely no more knowledge of what "God wants or feels" than the next person. Anyone who tries to tell you that they know the mind of God is simply trying to validate their view or belief.

you maybe right or may be not... no, i do not know mind of God, but i know some streams in God's mind.

 

[Trailblazer]

I put my trust in science to eventually explain it; probably not in my lifetime though.

I put my trust in religion to eventually explain it; probably not in my lifetime though.

If humanity was ready to know and needed to know, it would have been explained it by now...
Humanity evolves in stages as does religion and science.

 

[BSM1]

you maybe right or may be not... no, i do not know mind of God, but i know some streams in God's mind.

Uhhh...no I don't think that's possible...

 

[Altfish]

I put my trust in religion to eventually explain it; probably not in my lifetime though.

If humanity was ready to know and needed to know, it would have been explained it by now...
Humanity evolves in stages as does religion and science.

When has religion explained anything that science can't explain better.

 

[leov]

Uhhh...no I don't think that's possible...

We, human souls, are microcosm copies of God, I do not see why some of ideas can not be known..

 

[EtuMalku]

Supposedly, God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent (all-good).

Since we're focusing on the last one, there's supposedly the problem of evil for the last one.

My church is splitting due to the whole gay thing. My cat is probably dying (no eye in one eye, blurry eyed in another, can't eat much and stumbling around). And despite spending money advertising and despite being pretty okay in terms of skill with self-employed gig, I can't seem to break through (most calls I do get about computers are either solicitations to phish for my info, calls that are for problems completely out of my depth like making actual glass for the computer, or people who call when I'm visiting family for Christmas).

I'm not gonna discuss how much of this I could probably fix, but rather use it as an object lesson for the study of whether God is all-good or not.

To me, I'm pretty certain God exists (not only from the personal changes in my life, but also because of philosophical reasons), but right now I'm only not sure how good he is. In fact I'm pretty mad at God.

Could you define what you mean by 'God'?

 

[Samael_Khan]

You should read Frankenstein, the Modern day Prometheus by Mary Shelley and Paradise Lost by John Milton if you havent already. Their novels explore this issue and the writers were influenced by the bible to write them.

I assume you are Christian because you go to a church, and the Bible pretty much lays out Gods sense of morality so you should look at that book. Whether you accept the Christian Gods view as moral and therefore good is your choice. His idea of what is good might be different from your idea of the issue.

If a God does exist I cant hold him to my human moral standard because he isnt human. Humans dont even create animals but we (most of us) dont view it as immoral to kill them and make them suffer. So why should we view him as equal and hold him to our standard? We are as ants to him.... and we as humans dont even think twice about stepping on ants.

I'm a syncretic Christian. As in, I have a lot of Eastern Asian ideas mixed in.

I essentially don't have a church, because nobody believes as I do. So I ideally go to church for a sense of being part of a whole, a body of Christ. Secondarily, I go to worship God.

Though lately, yeah I'm sorta WTF God?

Well, my advice is to be honest with yourself. Do you want to worship God or not? Does he disgust you or not? You decide whether he is worthy of your worship.

My biggest question to you is why do you believ in God in the first place? Is it based on evidence or something else?

 

[Trailblazer]

Reading through threads like these, it makes me realize just how much easier it is to simply not believe. There is then no one to blame for your problems.

You are right, in many ways it is easier not to believe in God because with belief comes a lot of responsibility, if we take our belief seriously.

If people do not believe in God they can still find other people to blame for their problems. Many people blame other people for their problems rather than taking personal responsibility for them, their spouses for example. If that were not true, there would probably be a much lower divorce rate and a lower spousal murder rate.

Some of us do blame God, but I do not think that is very common among believers, or maybe most believers are not honest enough to admit it openly. If a believer thinks about it very long, they would have to realize that most of the suffering in the material world is ultimately God's fault, because God created a material world in which we would suffer, and some people suffer so much more than others. If anything makes me angry it is the uneven distribution of suffering. It does not seem fair.

There would be no way to get God off the hook for suffering and the uneven distribution of suffering unless there was a much better life that comes after this life and there is a reward for those who have suffered, especially if they suffered in the path of service to God. That is what I believe and what keeps me from hating God every minute of every hour of every day. I know another world exists and this world is only temporary. So I just try to make the best of the time I have left. I do not seek personal happiness anymore, I seek only to help others in any way I can. Whenever I am helping others I am happy because I am not thinking of myself and my own situation, which is very dire.

If only it was that easy, wishing one did not believe in God and being able to unbelieve. I could probably solve a lot of the problems I now have if I did not believe in God, because I would have time. I can only hope that God will help me clean up the mess my life has become during the last seven years since I stated to take God and my religion seriously and neglected many things. I keep hoping I can deal with these things after I retire and have more time, which is now visible on the horizon.

 

[Trailblazer]

When has religion explained anything that science can't explain better.

Religion explains a lot of things that science cannot explain at all, things that are more important than what science explains, e.g., things about God and the soul and the afterlife. What science can explain only matters for living in this life, but this life is very temporary, only a very small part of our total existence, according to my beliefs.

 

[Altfish]

Religion explains a lot of things that science cannot explain at all, things that are more important than what science explains, e.g., things about God and the soul and the afterlife. What science can explain only matters for living in this life, but this life is very temporary, only a very small part of our total existence, according to my beliefs.

So religion explains things about God, the soul, the afterlife ... all things invented by err religion.
That's a bit like saying that Harry Potter books explain Muggles better than science can

 

[BSM1]

We, human souls, are microcosm copies of God, I do not see why some of ideas can not be known..

The height of Hubris, IMHO...

 

[leov]

The height of Hubris, IMHO...

my understanding is that God needs humans ...

 

[Trailblazer]

So religion explains things about God, the soul, the afterlife ... all things invented by err religion.
That's a bit like saying that Harry Potter books explain Muggles better than science can

Religion does not invent anything; true religion consists of what God has revealed through His Messengers.

Please let me know when science explains anything about God, the soul, or the afterlife. I'll be right over.

 

[Trailblazer]

my understanding is that God needs humans ...

My understanding is that God does not need humans at all...
God loves humans and that is the ONLY reason God keeps us around.

 

[Altfish]

Religion does not invent anything; true religion consists of what God has revealed through His Messengers.

Please let me know when science explains anything about God, the soul, or the afterlife. I'll be right over.

OK, if that's what you believe. ... I don't

 

[leov]

My understanding is that God does not need humans at all...
God loves humans and that is the ONLY reason God keeps us around.

as far as i can see human is only creature who can in free will say 'good morning' to God.

 

[Trailblazer]

OK, if that's what you believe. ... I don't

That's fine by me... We all have our own beliefs.