r/theology • u/NewtonianVariant • 7d ago
Is God all-good
So my question is relatively straightforward but does require a little logical ladder that must be followed to understand it. Firstly, we accept that, even though God knows our past, present, and future, we have free will. That’s the basis of my question. God allows us to make our own decisions in life. However, logically speaking, He is an all knowing deity. That just follows from religious thought for the last several thousand years. So we can logically conclude that God knows an infinite amount of information about our reality in comparison to us. Now, to bring up the counterpoint. A parent knows almost infinitely more about reality than an infant does. This is, of course, relative. However, would an infinitely more intelligent parent allow their infant to do something that would end with their suffering. Let’s say for example, the child is playing with an outlet. The good parent would not allow their child to do that. Of course there is the argument that a child does not know, and is therefore not responsible for their deeds simply because they have no experience. Now let’s say the child knows that it is wrong to hurt the family dog, yet they do it anyways for whatever reason. A good parent would not allow their child do go down the path that would lead to their own harm (I.e. the mental outcomes of harming things as a child usually leads to darker actions in the future). A good parent would not let their child do this because harm would come to them either physically or mentally. Now God allows us to make our own choices that lead us to damnation. But He knows more than us of course and knows the horrors that await. A parent knows the horrors that await their own child if they follow down a foolish path, knowingly or otherwise. How can we say as Christians that God is all good given he allows us to follow a path that even a parent would not allow an infant to do. I am Christian and this is not any hatred towards Christianity, only a logical fallacy that I cannot follow. Any explanation or conversation on the matter would help.
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u/cbrooks97 7d ago
Actually, there are many good parents who refuse to wrap their kids in bubble wrap and actually let them get minor, educational injuries.
Then there is the question of whether you can really have free will when someone is there magically stopping you from ever actually exercising that will. We are free to choose to obey God or not -- that is the only free choice that matters. If we cannot choose to disobey God, we're just robots or puppets.