2. THE GOODNESS OF GOD THE GOODNESS OF GOD How Jewish and Christian writers considered this concept

3. CONCEPTS COMPARED THE ANCIENT GREEKSTHE BIBLE Unmoved MoverGod of Jews and Christians Creator God Detached from creation Involved with the world and people No Divine commands given God commands his followers No personal qualities God shows love mercy etc

4. THE GOODNESS OF GOD An initial Question WHICH COMES FIRST GOODNESS OR GOD ? Does belief in God imply an external moral standard? Or Is God good by definition?

5. For the writers of the Bible THE GOODNESS OF GOD Is the foundation of all moral thinking Is not an abstract quality Is not a secular human ideal Shows what God is when he creates and commands Is what is seen when he deals with human beings

6. THE GOODNESS OF GOD Is an interactive issue God is not just an ideal to follow God reacts to people God sets a standard and watches to see what happens

7. For our Biblical writers Only God is truly good Man may be described as good Things may be called good Insofar as they conform to the will of God

8. THE GOODNESS OF GOD

9. GOD’S WORK IN CREATION

10. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ? Tell me if you have understanding Who determined its measurements –surely you know ? Or who stretched a line upon it ?On what were its bases sunk ? Or who laid its cornerstone ? When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy

11. THE GIFTS WHICH GOD GIVES The Lord is good to all, And his compassion is over all that he has made. All thy works shall give thanks to thee O Lord Psalm 145 verse 9

12. THE GOODNESS OF GOD Is a constant theme of prayer and praise in the Bible You are good and you do what is good – teach me your decrees. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures for ever. Praise the name of the Lord, praise him you servants of the Lord All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God

13. The goodness of God is seen in the blessings of the Covenant. This was the agreement God made with Israel. Moses went back and set before the people all the words which the Lord had commanded him to speak Exodus 19:7 Hear O Israel; The Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

14. Can anger really be a sign of God’s goodness ? Consider possibly “Righteous Indignation”

15. Other possible ideas about THE GOODNESS OF GOD Include God shows pity or mercy The love of God God’s guidance for individuals

16. IT’S PROBLEM TIME ! So With all this goodness Does it mean that perfection is what God is? Perfection is unchangeable – it’s an absolute Yet the Bible produces lots of evidence to show that God changes his mind about things A God who has a relationship with humans must be able to change !

17. CAN GOD SUFFER ?

18. GOODNESS AND JESUS How could God assume human form? If God is timeless how does he enter time? When God was away in the world, was he in heaven as well?

19. GOODNESS AND THE CHRISTIAN Hopelessness of the Christian position which cannot aspire to the goodness of God Christians say God shows unconditional goodness towards a constantly failing mankind