Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase God is good.

by ella1234 (student)

AS and A Level Religious Studies & Philosophy

Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase “God is good.”

(25 marks)

There are two main ideas which have emerged within the Bible regarding the goodness of God. The first of these is that god is good; the second is the idea that God’s actions are good. In the New Testaments we can find clear examples of Gods goodness through his interaction with the world and him being the ‘Ex Nihilo’ Creator of the world. Gods goodness can also be seen through his actions for the benefit of the people, for example healing in the Gospels or the support of his followers in battle for example at Jericho and freeing the slaves from Egypt,‘ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

According to the bible, God created the Universe ‘Ex Nihilo’. The fact that God created the Universe demonstrates his benevolence because without the Universe, there would be nothing to sustain life and in the Bible it is stated numerous times that life is sacred and good. This highlights the importance of the Universe and how it is good because as it has the potential to support life. His goodness is reinforced in the Bible through the repetition that his actions are good, for example, in Genesis one it states ‘God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.’ Looking into the creation of life in further detail, it shows that in Genesis 1 God actively creates life on Earth; he creates a perfect world on which to live on and which is deemed a truly loving and good thing to do. God could have created an Evil world where no Good or potential for Good can be present, God could not do this however, because he is an entirely benevolent God according to the Bible and Jesus who can only act for Good.

God's goodness is said to be perfect. This can be seen in the stories of the Bible. 'As for God, his way is perfect' 2 Samuel. Another passage is 'He is the rock, his works are perfect, and all of his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just, is he.' Deuteronomy 32:4-5. These both show God being perfect throughout his works.

Again the idea emerges that Gods activity within the world is to be seen as good. The goodness of Gods actions is not a matter of human ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Again the idea emerges that Gods activity within the world is to be seen as good. The goodness of Gods actions is not a matter of human judgement; this is clearly seen in the story of Abraham’s attempt to sacrifice his only son Isaac at the command of God. In this story it is evident that God is challenging Abraham to do something which to most humans would seem to be immoral and so many would question Gods goodness. However this story also raises the idea that God is the lord and master of all, who is beyond human comprehension and so it is our duty to respond to and obey the commands of God even if we believe the outcome to be immoral. In this story we learn that God is testing Abraham’s responses to Gods commands even if the action involves surrendering your will and wishes to God. The story of Abraham reinforces the idea that Gods goodness is not for human judgement as it is a humans duty to follow Gods commands and trust in his goodness and wisdom even if it is beyond our understanding.

In the Bible, the goodness of God sets a moral standard for people, and demands a response from them. God watches over the way people respond to the standards he has set. One example of this, from the Bible is The Ten Commandments (exodus 20). They provide moral standards by which people should live by. This shows goodness, as God is helping people to live a morally good life. By living this good life, shows God the response he wants, by doing right. It is said that God rewards and punishes people according to the extent to which they take notice of his goodness. This shows goodness as it shows that He is willing to look for certain things, to make sure that people are doing good and if they are not will punish them. This is shown in the Bible. ' "You have rejected me," declares the Lord, "You keep on backsliding. So I will lay my hands on you and destroy you; I can no longer show compassion."' Jeremiah 15:6. This shows that God is willing to punish someone when doing wrong, as God is punishing him by destroying him.

It is difficult to believe in a God who is perfectly good.

(10 marks)

It can become difficult to believe in a God that is perfectly good, for example God mentions a man named Job and states the fact that Job will be eternally faithful to God. Job has a great family he is wealthy of money and land and has good health. Satan says that Job is only faithful because of these blessings. So, to prove a point, one by one God removes the joys in Job's life and he is still faithful, but why would God ruin someone’s life to prove a point to the devil if he was perfectly good?

There is also the factor of evil. How can a God who is said to be omnipotent and omnibenevolent create an imperfect universe and allow things such as suffering and natural disasters to occur in the world, by their being evil in the world it disproves the point that God is ‘perfectly good’ as he is willingly causing distress to mankind despite Him quoting that ‘all life is sacred’.

However, many religious people would find it difficult to love and worship a God who did not have their best interests at heart. Although Augustine would state that evil was not created by God, but evil is simply created by not living up to the expectations you should.