God is all-good (Talk.Origins)

Claim CH030:


 * God is all-good. Therefore, we should all worship and follow Him.

Source: No source given.

CreationWiki response:

This is not a "creationist claim". The only reason for Talk Origins using this claim is as an excuse to attack Christianity as a whole. This removes any possible doubt that Talk Origins is not just anti-creationist, but totally anti-Christian as well.

This article removes any pretense of objectivity on Talk Origins' part. It places their hatred of creationists, Christians, the Bible and God himself in full view for all the world to see.

This is essentially true because it makes no mention of origins. It only shows that Talk Origins' reason for posting this to their list is to demean the character of God Almighty.

How is billions of years of causing suffering and death doing what he could do instantly compatible with a good God? Besides, #2 proves this claim to be erroneous.

Only if God had created the world as it is. God created the world perfect without any suffering. It was man's sin that brought suffering in to the world. In the Garden of Eden mankind said that we wanted to know evil, so God is letting us experience it.

This remark totally ignores the question of free will.

As a result of man's fall we all have the tendency to do evil. In fact, we all do evil things, and although they may not always be on the scale of a Hitler, evil actions&mdash;even small ones&mdash;are still evil. If God allowed fallen humanity into heaven, our tendency to do evil would ruin heaven as it has ruined the Earth. To solve this problem God provided for our redemption by Jesus Christ's ( God in the flesh ) death on the cross. This redemption requires changing us to remove our tendency to do evil.

Now redeeming everyone whether they wanted to be redeemed or not would violate the free will of those being redeemed. It would be the spiritual equivalent of rape. So God gives us the choice. We can accept or reject his offer of redemption. This solution presented God with another problem: what to do with those who do not want to be redeemed.

By rejecting God's offer of redemption, those who do not want to be redeemed are saying, "I don't want to be with God." So God's solution is to give them what the want, they will be sent to a place without God.

The Bible describes hell as a place of eternal separation from God, so the conditions there seem to be a natural result of God removing his presence. It is not God's fault that in giving those who reject him what they want, whether it is what they expect.

In setting up his plan for man kind's redemption God has done all he can do, short of violating our free will. God even came in the flesh ( Jesus Christ ) to suffer in our place, so that we could be redeemed and saved from Hell. He has given every human that has ever lived a chance to be redeemed. The problem is human beings failing to accept redemption not God failing to offer it. God has offered redemption to all, so it is not his fault if some refuse it.

That is not why any one goes to hell. Everyone who goes to hell will be there because they have rejected God's offer to save them from it. Love for God usually comes after accepting God's offer of redemption.

God has provided the means to escape such suffering, so it is not his fault if people reject his offer of redemption. Those who do reject redemption are just being given what they want. To go to a place without God. It is not God's fault if it is not what they expect.

Furthermore, NO ONE is "guilty of nothing more than never having been taught the true religion."

Furthermore, being able to accept God's offer of redemption only requires being told about it. God gives everyone some light to point them in the right direction. If they follow that light He will lead them to someone to explain His offer of redemption. There are accounts of natives from unreached tribes in Africa being led to missionaries in just this manner.

Some unbelievers object to this line of thought, however, as it appeals to the unknown. However, this is disingenuous, as the very fact that they are arguing with you proves that they have the knowledge of the Gospel, but they still refuse to accept it.

This verse is not referring to moral evil, but the use of the word "evil" here refers to physical calamities such as storms.

No it does not. It is called "the tree of knowledge of good and evil." The possibility for evil existed by virtue of God creating beings with free will, but evil itself did not yet act upon the earth.