Fidei Defensor Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Why is "goodness" good? That is, is goodness defined by what God dictates, or is God bound, as "all-good," to only do good things because they are good? Or more simply, is goodness from God or separate from God? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 no takers? :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbTherese Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 All goodness has it's origin in God, flows from God and is sustained by God, never in a human being, therefore only God is Good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjtina Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 "To ask about the good, in fact, ultimately means to turn towards God, the fullness of goodness." Blessed Pope John Paul II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I'm just trying to discover what "good" actually is. Because if it originates in God, it's kind of arbitrary. God could have easily said killing people is "good" and commendable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Marx Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 God is good. God is Love. Therefore I would say that goodness is love. To do something good you must do the loving thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 God is good. God is Love. Therefore I would say that goodness is love. To do something good you must do the loving thing. Love is also kind of subjective. And if you say "good" is to love and you must do the loving thing… that's kind of circular since neither good or love is definable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Ooh, Euthyphro's Dilemma! My answer: You can't separate "goodness" from God. To say that God would arbitrarily "defines" goodness is to misunderstand the nature of both. It's not as if there was a time where this would have happened, God is outside of time. A good quote (from the wikipedia article on this "God neither conforms to nor invents the moral order. Rather His very nature is the standard for value" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 "Goodness" comes from God. Follow the chain of logic: God = love. To love = to want the good (for one's self and others). The good (for one's self and others) = That which supports/encourages/induces growth/development of one's abilities/functions. To reduce the above equations: Step 1: God wants what is good for us, which is whatever supports our growth/development/maturity. Step 2: God wants us to grow, develop our abilities, mature. In that state, we can take care of ourselves and others. 'The bad,' or evil, would be anything that tends in the opposite direction. So.... EXAMPLE 1: Eating = good, but gluttony (eating too much) = bad because eating supports growth and healthy bodily function but gluttony (which appears to be merely more of the 'good' of eating) actually impedes bodily function. EXAMPLE 2: Taking care of your children = good but indulging your children (doing for them what they could do for themselves) = bad because taking care develops their abilities/functions but indulging (which appears to be merely a higher form of taking care) actually impedes their growth/ability to function/maturity. So yes, God, being all good, is bound to do only good. But that goodness is not really arbitrary. Goodness is good because it promotes well-being in each individual and therefore in society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theculturewarrior Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I believe in a universal right to equal dignity and happiness. I believe that God is love, and that love is the desire to cause happiness, to redeem unhappiness, and to refrain from causing it. That is the trajectory of civilization planted one cross at a time, and that is the basis for everything noble or beautiful in life. If am wrong about that, then I know nothing, and I have wasted my life looking for truth. I will only believe the Pope if I am disputed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 "Goodness" comes from God. Follow the chain of logic: God = love. To love = to want the good (for one's self and others). The good (for one's self and others) = That which supports/encourages/induces growth/development of one's abilities/functions. To reduce the above equations: Step 1: God wants what is good for us, which is whatever supports our growth/development/maturity. Step 2: God wants us to grow, develop our abilities, mature. In that state, we can take care of ourselves and others. 'The bad,' or evil, would be anything that tends in the opposite direction. So.... EXAMPLE 1: Eating = good, but gluttony (eating too much) = bad because eating supports growth and healthy bodily function but gluttony (which appears to be merely more of the 'good' of eating) actually impedes bodily function. EXAMPLE 2: Taking care of your children = good but indulging your children (doing for them what they could do for themselves) = bad because taking care develops their abilities/functions but indulging (which appears to be merely a higher form of taking care) actually impedes their growth/ability to function/maturity. So yes, God, being all good, is bound to do only good. But that goodness is not really arbitrary. Goodness is good because it promotes well-being in each individual and therefore in society. This logic supports both theism and atheism. If you define good as above, there is no need for a God as the basis of morality and goodness—rather, he fits into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastasia13 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Why is God good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Marx Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Love is also kind of subjective. And if you say "good" is to love and you must do the loving thing… that's kind of circular since neither good or love is definable. I would say that one can define love. Love is when one looks for the better good of another without worrying about themselves. Like a Martyr who dies for love of God. Or a husband who sacrifices his free time to work for and care for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
add Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Goodness is putting on a warm dry pair of sox's fresh out of the dryer after spending an afternoon outside in the bitter cold and snow up to your eyeballs in January Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To Jesus Through Mary Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Ooh, Euthyphro's Dilemma! My answer: You can't separate "goodness" from God. To say that God would arbitrarily "defines" goodness is to misunderstand the nature of both. It's not as if there was a time where this would have happened, God is outside of time. A good quote (from the wikipedia article on this "God neither conforms to nor invents the moral order. Rather His very nature is the standard for value" THIS! He is the standard- He tells us what goodness is through Scripture, Tradition, and of course natural law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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