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Omnibenevolence
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I was wondering if anyone knows when this historically become an adopted characteristic of the Judeo-Christian God. It's one of the most popular attacks by my fellow Atheists on God's existence, but I find the argument to be one of the least convincing. If Zeus was the popularly believed deity, the argument would be ridiculous since the Greeks considered him to be a total bastard. So when did the idea come about? Do all Christians today (or at least on this forum) believe that God is all good?
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Best guess? When Paul went around spreading the word, that was a part he added in to make Christianity more appealing. The distinct line between asshole-God and cool-God seems to be the line between the Old Testament and the New Testament and Paul didn't mess with any of the OT.
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"If you cling to something as the absolute truth and you are caught in it, when the truth comes in person to knock on your door you will refuse to let it in." ~ Siddhartha Gautama  (December 20, 2012 at 12:27 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: I was wondering if anyone knows when this historically become an adopted characteristic of the Judeo-Christian God. It's one of the most popular attacks by my fellow Atheists on God's existence, but I find the argument to be one of the least convincing. If Zeus was the popularly believed deity, the argument would be ridiculous since the Greeks considered him to be a total bastard. So when did the idea come about? Do all Christians today (or at least on this forum) believe that God is all good?I reject omnibenevolence. The flood certainly wasn't benevolent to those flooded. I think terminology is a problem for both attackers and defenders. Note that you start with omnibenevolent, but end with "all good." I disagree that these are equivalent. A good judge isn't necessarily always benevolent. 
What do you think the prefix "omni-" means? LOL
(December 20, 2012 at 1:17 pm)John V Wrote: I think terminology is a problem for both attackers and defenders. Note that you start with omnibenevolent, but end with "all good." I disagree that these are equivalent. A good judge isn't necessarily always benevolent. Could you explain how you perceive the difference? I'm not trying to be trite either, I'm genuinely curious.
RE: Omnibenevolence
December 20, 2012 at 1:44 pm
(This post was last modified: December 20, 2012 at 1:48 pm by John V.)
(December 20, 2012 at 1:24 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote: What do you think the prefix "omni-" means? LOLThe prefix isn't the issue. (December 20, 2012 at 1:27 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: Could you explain how you perceive the difference? I'm not trying to be trite either, I'm genuinely curious.As noted, consider a judge. If a judge sentences a convicted murderer to eating a piece of cake, he's benevolent, but he's not a good judge. 
A funny word, with no German translation.
After googling, I found that it officialy became part of the catholic doctrin in 1868 during the first vatican council. But I guess it must have been part of the catholic doctrin ever since the catholic church existed. I might be taking a bit of a leap here, but I guess "omnibenevolence" probably first came to be with judaiism. (December 20, 2012 at 1:44 pm)John V Wrote: As noted, consider a judge. If a judge sentences a convicted murderer to eating a piece of cake, he's benevolent, but he's not a good judge. So you are saying what about the characteristics of god exactly....
What if it was fruitcake?
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"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence." -- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103). |
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