1.0 Introduction. I will first present my argument as to why the God of perfect-being theology cannot be evil. Following will be a defense to support my premises.
P1: God is a perfect being.
P2: God is perfectly good.
P3: God is omnipotent.
P4: If God is perfectly good and omnipotent, he will use his unlimited power to do and create only good.
C: The God of perfect-being theology cannot be evil.
2.0 Perfect Being. Perfect being theology is a method for establishing that God is absolutely perfect and the greatest possible being. Among other things, this would mean God is perfectly good. According to Mark Murphy (2014), a perfectly good being has the best desires a being can have, exhibits the best traits of character, and acts in an excellent
way. The God of perfect-being theology would be understood as morally good. Perfect-being theology also implies that God is omnipotent, which means He possesses maximal power. God is all-powerful and able to do whatever he chooses. 3.0 Premise Four. If God possesses perfect goodness and omnipotence, he will use his unlimited power to do and create only good. Since the God of perfect-being theology possesses both of theses qualities, they work collectively to support the conclusion. God’s power to create things reflects back on Himself. He has the power to create anything and everything He would like. The God of perfect-being theology would only create good things since he is perfectly good. 4.0 Conclusion. The God of perfect-being theology cannot be evil. It may be the case that we perceive the things God creates as evil, which would reflect back to God being evil. In reality, God only acts with goodness when using his powers. His unlimited power is used for the common good, although it may be perceived as evil. If God is a perfect being who possesses perfect goodness and is omnipotent, he will use his unlimited power to do and create only good. Therefore, the God of perfect-being theology cannot be evil.
Throughout the pages, Tillich provides an alternative ontological examination of the necessity in a belief of the Ultimate. The emblematic apologetic approach, as articulated in the works of St. Anselm, William of Ockham, and Duns Scotus, is destabilized by Tillich’s radical exposition that: If God is being – viz., the highest being-in-itself – then God cannot be the “Creator”. Consequently, God must be
The Ontological Argument, which argues from a definition of God’s being to his existence, is the first type of argument we are going to examine. Since this argument was founded by Saint Anslem, we will be examining his writings. Saint Anslem starts by defining God as an all-perfect being, or rather as a being containing all conceivable perfections. Now if in addition of possessing all conceivable perfections t...
The philosopher J.L. Mackie wrote a very convincing piece on the problem of evil called “Evil and Omnipotence,” in which he attempts to show that one of the following premises must be false in order for them to be consistent with each other.
“The word perfection cannot be defined into one person or one thing. Perfection can only be told or seen in a first person view. No one will genuinely think something or someone is as perfect as another person, it’s impossible to see eye to eye with something that is as powerful and subjective as perfection.” - Jordan van der neut, 2014
A foundational belief in Christianity is the idea that God is perfectly good. God is unable to do anything evil and all his actions are motives are completely pure. This principle, however, leads to many questions concerning the apparent suffering and wrong-doing that is prevalent in the world that this perfect being created. Where did evil come from? Also, how can evil exist when the only eternal entity is the perfect, sinless, ultimately good God? This question with the principle of God's sovereignty leads to even more difficult problems, including human responsibility and free will. These problems are not limited to our setting, as church fathers and Christian philosophers are the ones who proposed some of the solutions people believe today. As Christianity begins to spread and establish itself across Europe in the centuries after Jesus' resurrection, Augustine and Boethius provide answers, although wordy and complex, to this problem of evil and exactly how humans are responsible in the midst of God's sovereignty and Providence.
Throughout the world, most people believe in some type of god or gods, and the majority of them understand God as all-good, all-knowing (omniscient), and all-powerful (omnipotent). However, there is a major objection to the latter belief: the “problem of evil” (P.O.E.) argument. According to this theory, God’s existence is unlikely, if not illogical, because a good, omniscient, and omnipotent being would not allow unnecessary suffering, of which there are enormous amounts.
The problem of reconciling an omnipotent, perfectly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of evil and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an invalid position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. In fact, the word “theodicy” consists of the Greek words “theos,” or God, and “dike,” or justice (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.
A Christian apologetic method is a verbal defense of the biblical worldview. A proof is giving a reason for why we believe. This paper will address the philosophical question of God’s existence from the moral argument. The presuppositional apologetic method of Reformed thinkers Cornelius Van Til and John Frame will be the framework. Topics covered here could undoubtedly be developed in more depth, but that would be getting ahead, here is the big picture.
stronger than those saying it can be. The definition of God for which is being argued is the Christian God who has the qualities of being. perfect and who created the universe. The ontological argument follows that God is perfect and no greater. being is imaginable.
"EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 & 2." EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
A wonderful description of the nature of God’s existence that includes the absolute possession of characteristics that have to be uniquely God was said, “First, God must exist necessarily, which means that God’s existence differs from ours by not being dependent on anything or anyone else, or such as to be taken from him or lost in any way. God has always existed, will always exist and could not do otherwise than to exist. Also, whatever attributes God possesses, he possesses necessarily” (Wood, J., 2010, p. 191).
In todays society to be “perfect” one must follow society’s criteria. This criteria can depend on what type of perfection one is following. There are different types of perfection such as self oriented perfection, socially prescribed perfection, other oriented perfection, overt perfection, and covert perfection. These types of perfection are all different in how a person is “perfect”. Trying to be perfect can have its benefits but it causes mental health problems that make it not worth it. Rachel Rettner said, “Though perfection is an impossible goal, striving for it can be a boon for one's health, causing one to stick to exercise programs to a tee, say, or follow a strict regimen for treating chronic illnesses like type
...ip with God we are still built with infirmities that are temptations for sin, and with that we are no longer perfect.
In the construction of the Large Hardon Collider, physicists seek and hope to unlock the mysteries of the universe by analyzing the attributes of the most miniscule particles known to man. In the same way, theologians have argued back and forth over the course of human history with regards to the divine attributes of God, seeking and hoping to unlock the mysteries of the metaphysical universe. Although these many attributes, for example omnipresence, could be debated and dissected ad nauseum, it is within the scope of this research paper to focus but on one of them. Of these many divine attributes of God, nothing strikes me as more intriguing than that of God’s omnipotence. It is intriguing to me because the exploration of this subject not only promises an exhilarating exercise in the human faculties of logic, it also offers an explanation into the practical, such as that of the existence of evil, which we live amidst every day. So with both of these elements in hand, I am going to take on the task of digging deeper into the divine attribute of omnipotence in hopes of revealing more of the glory of God, and simultaneously bringing greater humility to the human thinker. In order to gain a better understanding on the subject of divine omnipotence, I am going to analyze four aspects of it. First, I am going to build a working definition of what we mean when we say that God is omnipotent. Second, I am going to discuss the relationship between divine omnipotence and logic. Third, I am going to discuss the relationship between God’s omnipotence and God’s timelessness. Last, I am going to analyze God’s omnipotence in relation to the existence of evil in the world. Through the analysis of these four topics in relation to om...
Jesus was perfect he did not even yield to the temptations of his nature unlike the people around him. It says in John 14:30 that “but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Jesus did not even yield to temptations in his actions.