...and New Testaments and is said to be written by people who had divine inspiration, thus it is referred to by Christians as the ‘book of God’. The Bible presents God in several various manners, however they all hold in common the value of God’s goodness. Four examples of this are that the Bible states God is morally perfect, the judge of mankind, the law-giver, and the sending of Jesus to humanity. Arguably one of the most fundamental creeds in Christian Biblical interpretation, is the concept of God’s moral perfection, regardless of whether the students of the Bible are literary or progressive theists. This is simply because the Bible states clearly that God is perfect: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48. As a result every action that God has taken must be morally right or ‘perfect’ and thus even when He orders Abraham to sacrifice his son, a literal theist would argue that the sacrifice was for a good reason, and therefore actions which are not normally considered good are made good for the sake of God. Progressive theists would also agree that God is morally perfect in this instance, however they would argue that the message of this narration, is that through complete and utter devotion to God and God’s will, they will gain rewards better than initially expected. The Bible also presents God as a judge of peoples’ actions, and the maker of the ultimate decision of whether man is going to heaven or hell. Romans 14:4 : “who are...
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...biblical ideas about the goodness of God: The Bible presents God as a morally perfectly good being, everything that he is, could be or ever will be, will be morally perfect like him. The Bible presents God as benevolent, an all loving figure. It displays this in a number of ways throughout the Bible. Everything he does is good and done out of love. He is the source of all goodness and love. His nature is goodness and love. However, it is not a sterile and remote source of goodness (Plato’s Ideal and Aristotle’s P.M). God’s is a goodness born out of a tender and deep relationship with his creation. The first and possible the most important way is in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The creation account is possible the most important book in both Judaism and Christianity because it provides the evidence of how the earth was created and came into existence and gives prove of God's omnipotence that is unquestionable to both religions. God’s goodness is revealed in the creation and the sustaining of the world, since the creation of the world was an act of love Genesis states that everything that God creates is "Very Good". When God created the world in the Genesis creation account he commanded various things. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light, and God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness ". (Genesis 1:34). The authors of the bible when praising God do so because he provides reason for it God provides for the needs...
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...surgeon is a qualified expert creates a sense of peace and confidence for the patient. Who is this God we should trust? The more we know of God's character, the more we are open to trusting Him during our trials. God wants us to trust Him, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your understanding.” Proverb 3:5 This lesson focuses on three pertinent characteristics of God: His Sovereignty His Wisdom His Goodness God’s Sovereignty Definitions of sovereignty: “Supreme and independent power or authority in a state.” “Sovereignty of God, his absolute right to do all things...
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...368 When discussing and trying to define God and how He interacts with the world. There are not many ways in which to do so. Grudem tries to find a way to explain this problem by using communicable and incommunicable attributes. In the handouts, incommunicable is defined as absolute and God chooses not to share them with others, communicable is defined as relative and are the attributes that God chooses to share with others. These attributes are how God chooses to communicate who He is with the world and allow us to better understand Him. The incommunicable attributes that I see most in God are His eternity and His omnipresence. When I think of these attributes and God, I feel that I can better comprehend God. By using eternity and omnipresence to get to know God better, I can have a better faith in knowing that He is always with me and He will never leave me. When talking about a God that is eternal, you must understand that means that God had no beginning and will have no end. To explain God’s eternity Grudem states, “To be “infinite” is to unlimited, and this doctrine teaches that time does not limit God or change him in any way.” If God is infinite then time, as it does to humans on earth, does not apply to Him. We see a day as one rotation of the earth and a year as one rotation around the sun, which is defiantly not how God sees time pass. God, on the other hand, can see any point in time as He sees fit. God knows exactly what is taking place and with...
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...meant in the bible by the phrase ‘God is good’. (25marks) Firstly, we must understand what is meant by ‘good’ well good is that which is morally right. With God it is said in the bible “oh give thanks to the lord, for he is good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting (Psalms), another way is the 10 commandments which shows God setting the standard of what is morally right and wrong. Another way of showing of how ‘God is good’ is by creation in genesis 1 and 2 which shows God either creating the world or how he is crafting everything, also in the bible of how God has preformed miracles and in todays society. In the bible there are many passages, which say ‘God is good’ for example in James ‘every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow’ this is clearly saying that God is the source of goodness. Another example is the goodness of God is a character trait, which applies to every other attribute. God’s wrath is good. God’s holiness is good. God’s righteousness is good. God is good in His entirety. There is nothing about God that is not good (Romans), this is basically saying that the goodness of God is a life-transforming truth and that we should use the words of God in are attitudes and actions. The Ten Commandments are the clear example of God setting the standards of what is morally right and wrong. We follow these laws that God has set because we believe that they...
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...The euphyphro dilemma states that does god command an action because it is good or does an action become good when god commands it Kierkegaard stated we must believe and have faith in god even if his actions seem unethical and we have no way of explaining them his will supercedes ethics regardless of his morality however religious speakers estate that god is a perfect being therefore in essence he cannot will evil so the morality of god is absolute and always correct. It was argued by Plato that good is independent of god’s will god only commands what is good however this suggests that goodness does not originate from god instead goodness is a standard derived from something else and god simply enforces this standard this isn’t supported...
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...holy spirit – Goodness look like ? How Good is Good? Little Johnny was the terror of the neighborhood. In one day, he broke the neighbor’s window with a baseball; slid a tree limb alongside Dad’s new car, scratching the paint; spilled Kool-Aid on Mom’s new sofa, redesigning the floral pattern; and shattered that crystal lamp in the den as he tripped over the cord, chasing the dog to put it in the washing machine. Exasperated, his Mom cried out... “Johnny, why can’t you be good?” Johnny, eyes tearing up, face downcast, whimpered. “Mommy,” he answered, “if I break one less thing tomorrow, will I be gooder?” Do we know what good means to us ? Are you only “good” when you’re perfect? How good do you have to be, not to be bad? Or how bad do you have to be, not to be good? And where is the justice in it all? Why are some criminals in jail for stealing a car, while others are Scot free, who murdered and raped? When is good, good enough? Who knows what good is? Do you? We say a meal is “good” when it tastes good, but someone else may hate it. We say a ball game is “good” when our team wins, but it wasn’t “good” for the other guys. We say a car is “good” when it doesn’t break down. We say a book is “good” when it keeps our attention. We say it’s been a “good” day, when not too many catastrophes have occurred or we haven’t received the 10th phone call or facebook message from a guy or girl who likes us but we don’t like them. The goodness of God In Matthew chapter...
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...Can one be moral and not believe in God? Student’s Name Title of Course Instructor’s Name Date Can one be moral and not believe in God? The question as to whether one can have moral values and still believe there is no God is seemingly a puzzling query. In essence, it is proficient to commence with defining what moral values are. Morals are simply defined as the principles of wrong and right behaviors. An individual with high moral values knows the right things, and literally does and says the right things at the right time, with the right person, and utilizing the right materials. Believing in God or spiritual being is when an individual devotes their commitment to God or supernatural being in faith, expressions, worship, and conscientiousness. When one believes in God or a spiritual being, such could potentially play a great role on their moral behaviors. On the other hand, many people suppose that if one does not believe in a spiritual being or God, it is very hard for them to have moral values. However, there are also other people that suppose that having moral values do not necessarily require one to believe in God or spiritual beings[1]. What’s more, there also other people that suppose that believing in God or spiritual beings is not necessarily required for one to have moral values, but all they require is to belief in oneself, practice good ethics, as well as the knowledge of knowing and distinguishing the...
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...against the existence of a God, more specifically an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. Whilst John Hick describes evil and suffering as “physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness”, the problem is widely seen to refer to the existence of both natural evil, such as natural disasters, and moral evil, heartless actions such as murder, along with the suffering that is often a result of these. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the problem of suffering, the issue suggests that only two of the three features of the God of classical theism can be possible. If God is omniscient, he is all knowing and is knowledgeable of the suffering that exists. If God is omnipotent, then he must have the power to stop this suffering, and if he is an omnibenevolent, all-loving God, he must wish to stop this suffering. The existence of suffering suggests that God cannot be omniscient and omnipotent and still be omnibenevolent in agreement. As David Hume describes, God must be either malevolent or powerless for the other two features to remain applicable. Aquinas also argued this case, but referred to the idea that “the name of God means that He is infinite goodness”, which signifies that a God that did not meet the particulars of the God of classical theism is not viable. However, Aquinas’ argument is based upon the two assumptions that God is infinitely good, and that God’s goodness is the same as human goodness. Many argue that God’s goodness and reasoning is beyond what...
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...Morality is a separate and distinct being from god they are however symbiotic of each other however it is shown that god doesn’t always follow morality so it can’t possibly be greater than him It could be argued that morality exists separately from god as murder is innately wrong in humanity people detest and are sickened by such actions it is encoded in our human psychology to think murder is wrong if you see a person bleeding you think it is an emergency and act in such a manner as an attempt to preserve life Plato’s form of the good and god in the bible are very similar they are both sources of goodness also they aren’t physical beings and are instead transcendent existing on a different plain from our existence however the form of the...
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...to obey the moral law has been brought into question. This essay will focus on Christian ethics, where 'transcendent entities' will refer to the Christian God, and 'law-based ethics' is the divine law set down by God within Christian scripture. To prove that God is necessary to provide ethical agents with a duty to follow the divine law, this essay will discuss God and humanity's nature, agents' need for a transcendent law-giver, the role that religion...
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...wish them to do to you.” Whereas the message of Jesus is to get involved as the Father has gotten involved with humanity, the rabbi cautions a more conservative approach. The rabbi wants us merely to keep from harming others. Jesus wants us to act, not just react. • Jesus further puts his own special seal on this maxim by stating the two greatest commandments: love God and love one another. To love someone is to seek to do good to them, and certainly, at the very least, to avoid doing them evil. • What is Christian Moral Life? • Misconceptions 1. Reduced to avoidance of sin 2. Reduced to a series of don’ts and dire punishment if we fail • What is Christian Moral Life? • Positive and Fuller Meaning 1. Moral theology should start with God and God’s love - JP II (Veritatis Splendor) : The moral life is a response to the many gratuitous initiatives taken by God out of God’s love - God always acts first: the moral life begins with God’s grace; we respond in freedom to our experience of God - If the moral life is a response to God, then our image of God is crucial because how we imagine God would affect how we respond to Him morally (e.g. the Parable of the Prodigal Son) Parable of the...
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...Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business Book Review Nathan Minor Liberty University The book that is under review is “Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business” by Wayne Grudem. It is a useful resource for looking at business from different prospects. First off, it addresses a view on relationships between business and religion. Secondly, it shows how different philosophies connect. Lastly, Mr. Grudem does a great job nudging readers to look at a different perspective. First I would like to start this review by mentioning the main ideas and points of this book. The author of “Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business” proposes to the readers that business itself glorifies God when it is conducted in a way that imitates God’s character and creation. All elements of how a business operates like profit, money, competition, borrowing, should glorify God because they are reflective of God’s nature. In Business for the Glory of God, Wayne Grudem points out, “When people ask how their lives can ‘glorify God,’ they aren’t usually told, ‘Go into business.’” Yet business is where God calls many, if not most, Christians to serve him. Though they can repeat that familiar line from the Westminster Confession, “the chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever” (Peel 2015). What he is saying is few are encouraged to run their business for...
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...Problem of Evil and God's Existence Ammar Ather Roll#:14-10556, Sec:B Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) Problem of Evil and God's Existence The existence of God and questions pertinent to it, has been discussed for centuries predating Biblical documentation and golden Greek philosophical era of Aristotle and Plato. Thus a supernatural identity has always been the centre of attention among people, Empire, states, ever since man has been derived by intuition of knowing certain things. God has been called by people at times of distress and reassurance. The ancient Egyptians and civilizations called gods when shaken by ordeal. Christians remember God as the embodiment of salvation. People offered god with festivals, coronation ceremonies and even blood sacrifices. The identity of God is perceived differently by people of different beliefs, times and areas. The image of God ranges from Pantheism in the Vedic references to strict Monotheism in Islamic scriptures. This idea is imperative for proceeding and constructing research based on pure rational and Philosophical grounds. The objectivity demands reviewing God and existence within the context of a specific frame of thought and then appropriate approach is utilized to construct an argument. Thesis statement:The belief in God is a cardinal question in dealing with the soteriological and moral implication of mankind which is better contemplated by reviewing theodicy which dealt in the problem of evil...
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...on the God of the philosophers. Who or what is God according to traditional Classical philosophy? Refer in your answer specifically to Plato and Aristotle’s objective idea of God. Also refer to Augustine’s response to Classical philosophy. Conclude your essay with your own critical assessment. Do you agree or disagree with the philosophers? Use Chapter 4 of your prescribed textbook (‘The God of the Philosophers’) in order to answer the question. Contents 1. Brief summary of the God of the philosophers 2. The traditional God and gods 3. Plato and Aristotle’s objective ideas of God 4. Conclusion 5. References 1. Brief summary of the God of the Philosopher: In the book ‘God: A guide for the perplexed’ Keith Ward goes into fascinating debate and detail of ancient philosopher, their writings and the way the world understood them. Each philosopher mentioned in Chapter 4; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Augustine had their own image and debate on what the godswere and how they perceived them and how they believed they came to be and what they are capable of. Plato, when learning about the Greek gods, never understood why they were there or where they came from. He believed that good was the only essence that mattered in all the beliefs and religions and ways of life. He believed in a god that was faultlessin everything he did and that is why the universe was created. (Ward 2002: 145) Socrates on the other hand denied that there were even gods at all...
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