(April 7, 2014 at 4:44 pm)alpha male Wrote: Benevolent does not equal good. It would be benevolent for a judge to sentence a serial killer to eat a piece of chocolate cake and go on his way, but few people would think it's good of the judge to do that.
The problem I have with any of these analogies involving humans is that humans have a lot of qualities that God typically does not, and vice versa. For example: the judge did not create the legal framework in which s/he works, has no foreknowledge of the crime, and presumably no ability to stop it.
God has options that judges do not. Also, doctors, parents, and police officers (other common analogies I see). If God is great, these analogies seem to be poor. If the analogy is good, then it seems to explain that God has a limitations like people.