philothea Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Dec 3 2005, 12:10 AM']"God is good!" "All the time!" "All the time!" "God is good!" so there. [right][snapback]809095[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I think that pretty much settles it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Domini Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Evil is by nature a privation (absence of something that should be present) not a substance. When a man is sick we say he is in a bad way, right? Why is that? Because good health is the normal functioning of all his internal systems and bad health is what happens when the natural functions of the body become impaired. Evil can only ever be known in the absence of some good that should be present. However, in God there can be no privation. As St Thomas Aquinas teaches: [quote]I answer that, The existence of God can be proved in five ways. The first and more manifest way is the argument from motion. It is certain, and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are in motion. Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another, for nothing can be in motion except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is in motion; whereas a thing moves inasmuch as it is in act. For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality. But nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality. Thus that which is actually hot, as fire, makes wood, which is potentially hot, to be actually hot, and thereby moves and changes it. Now it is not possible that the same thing should be at once in actuality and potentiality in the same respect, but only in different respects. For what is actually hot cannot simultaneously be potentially hot; but it is simultaneously potentially cold. It is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both mover and moved, i.e. that it should move itself. Therefore, whatever is in motion must be put in motion by another. If that by which it is put in motion be itself put in motion, then this also must needs be put in motion by another, and that by another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover; seeing that subsequent movers move only inasmuch as they are put in motion by the first mover; as the staff moves only because it is put in motion by the hand. Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God. --Summa Theol.I:2:3 [/quote] I would recommend to you the following chapters of the Summa Theologica: [url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/104800.htm"]This one dealing with evil[/url] [url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/104900.htm"]This one dealing with the cause of evil[/url] INXC Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paphnutius Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='JeffCR07' date='Dec 2 2005, 11:58 PM']"God" as a meaningful term is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." If I conceive of God as being "evil" or even as being not supremely good, then I could conceive of a being greater than God (namely, a supremely good being). However, refering back to our definition, we find that God can only be that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore, the evil being I was conceiving of before was never God in the first place, and only the supremely Good being can be God. Yours in Christ, Jeff [right][snapback]809078[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Leave it to the Anselmnian to say such a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadreSantiago Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 (edited) God is beyond good and evil. God probably doesn't even know what that means because he isn't in any way like a human being. I mean what if some secret bible passage was found that said God was evil and satan was good what does that even mean to them. If god is evil well than that's all there is. If god was good well than that would be all there is. Edited December 3, 2005 by PadreSantiago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='Paphnutius' date='Dec 3 2005, 08:50 AM']Leave it to the Anselmnian to say such a thing. [right][snapback]809497[/snapback][/right] [/quote] hahaha, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='PadreSantiago' date='Dec 3 2005, 08:57 AM']God is beyond good and evil. God probably doesn't even know what that means because he isn't in any way like a human being. I mean what if some secret bible passage was found that said God was evil and satan was good what does that even mean to them. If god is evil well than that's all there is. If god was good well than that would be all there is. [right][snapback]809498[/snapback][/right] [/quote] God is not Nietzsche. Moreover, this post is evidence that you are not actually aware of what the term "God" means. If you understood what the term means, you would see that it is definitionally impossible for God to be evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadreSantiago Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 (edited) I'm always thought god mean a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality. You can't personify god because god is not a human. when you say things like god cannot be evil well your right and he can't be good either. Edited December 3, 2005 by PadreSantiago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PadreSantiago Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 haha and anyway didn't you hear? God is dead...and we killed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='PadreSantiago' date='Dec 3 2005, 02:03 PM']haha and anyway didn't you hear? God is dead...and we killed him. [right][snapback]809806[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Nietzche came so close, he was only off by one letter. God is dad. hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='PadreSantiago' date='Dec 3 2005, 01:59 PM']I'm always thought god mean a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality. You can't personify god because god is not a human. when you say things like god cannot be evil well your right and he can't be good either. [right][snapback]809800[/snapback][/right] [/quote] If this is your idea of God, then you should know that this is not the same idea that orthodox Christians have. For us, God is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." So what you might think of as "God" or "a God" is not the same as what we mean by "God." Thus, when a Catholic answers the question "Is God evil?" with a resounding "No," that person is right to do so, because they understand "God" to mean "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." To give you a more basic example, let's imagine there is a sorceror who can call down fire from the sky and who forces people to worship him. With your definition, he might be called a god. However, no catholic would ever do so, because being God isn't just having magical powers and being worshipped, being God is being "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" - and I can most certainly conceive of a being much greater than the wizard in question. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 [quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Dec 3 2005, 02:36 PM']Nietzche came so close, he was only off by one letter. God is dad. hehe [right][snapback]809826[/snapback][/right] [/quote] "God is dead" ~ Neitzche "Neitzche is dead" ~ God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezic Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 the entire summa is online at www.newadvent.org (it was mentioned earlier) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Well... "Is God good or evil?" "Is the pope Catholic?" Someone get Aquinas into the author of this thread's hands double quick. God bless, Mikey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tojo Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 The Dictionary of Tomasio127: good: adj. like or similar to the nature of God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N/A Gone Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 God=good, for our understanding of good-right, or natural, or inteneded or Joy, thus God is the absolute of this, steping away from God is away from a natural intention thus is is an "evil" for it is away from the God. We realise this "evil" because of free will allows us to step away from God if we desire. In the fall with the continuted depravity of creation that evil is more obvious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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