Could God Be Evil?

[37818]

Yeah, I suppose I'd go along with that, as it doesn't seem to contradict the view I've put forward here. Although, I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean by "finite" and "infinite" good. All good, in my opinion, is ultimately derived from God.

Only finite good can be negated. God created man as a good creation. Yet man who was created good being a finite being sinned.

[Adrift]

Only finite good can be negated. God created man as a good creation. Yet man who was created good being a finite being sinned.

Hmm. Yeah, not sure I exactly agree with your finite/infinite good distinction for the reason I mentioned.

[Darth Executor]

I still have no idea what you're talking about

I'm talking about your silly claim that evil is the absence of good and not a "positive" act. Murdering someone is a positive act.

God does not have to be a part of hell in order to be omnipresent, or do you reject omnipresence as a characteristic of God because you believe it is a form of pantheism?

I don't reject it, I just don't think it's relevant to the topic.

God's presence in hell does not make hell good, but neither does it make hell a world absolutely devoid of good, which was what I said I thought was hard to conceive of.

Of course it does. Hell doesn't become slightly good just because God's presence extends there. The good part would still be God, and not hell.

[Adrift]

I'm talking about your silly claim that evil is the absence of good and not a "positive" act. Murdering someone is a positive act.

Well, first of all, I can't really take credit for the "silly" claim. That credit goes to Aquinas (as far as I know). Murder is not a positive act. Aquinas puts it this way,

I don't reject it, I just don't think it's relevant to the topic.

Well, neither do I, but then, I didn't bring it up.

Of course it does. Hell doesn't become slightly good just because God's presence extends there. The good part would still be God, and not hell.

Hell itself doesn't have to be good (though some may argue that even in hell some "good" may yet exist), but if God is omnipresent, if his power, his justice exists there, and if it is he that sustains hell, then no, I don't think we can say that hell is absolutely devoid of good. Or at least, I'm not ready to say that. You're free to of course.

[37818]

Hmm. Yeah, not sure I exactly agree with your finite/infinite good distinction for the reason I mentioned.

If infinite good can be negated by any evil, then God cannot be good. The knowledge of good and evil is God's (Genesis 3:22).

That very word translated "evil" is used where God says ". . . I . . . create evil . . . ," Isaiah 45:7.

Deuteronomy 32;39,
. . . See now that I, [even] I, [am] He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of My hand. . . .

[Sparko]

You could say that about a lot of acts. The evil in the act is the harm inflicted on the victim though, not the killer's state of mind.

If I was walking along and accidentally tripped and stabbed you in the head, it would not be an evil act, just tragic.

[Christianbookworm]

If I was walking along and accidentally tripped and stabbed you in the head, it would not be an evil act, just tragic.

Could a neurosurgeon be considered to stab people in the head? Well, way more careful, so more like gently cut into your skin, skull, and brain while the anesthesiologist keeps you pain free in happy coma land.