(Omni)benevolence

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The Nature of God: (Omni)benevolence

The term is often translated to ‘all-loving’ or ‘well-wishing’.

Biblical examples of benevolence

There are a number of Bible verses that highlight God's benevolent nature.
- ‘For God so loved the world he gave his only son’ (John 3:16).
- “He is good; his love endures forever” (Psalms 139).

No cause and innate goodness

Scholars have wrestled with the idea of God benevolence for centuries. Here are some of the varying ideas:
- God’s goodness lies in himself – it is part of God being ‘that than which nothing greater can be conceived’(Anselm). The first Vatican council reaffirmed this belief when they said that God is ‘every perfection’.
- God’s love doesn’t have a cause – that is, he doesn’t love us because of any specific thing we do – it is just part of his nature to love.

Judgement, forgiveness & Christ

God’s love is expressed through judgement and forgiveness – punishment for sin is because of his love for his creation.
- Swinburne compares God’s love to that of a parent: God’s goodness may at times involve rewarding and punishing his creation. In the same way as a parent would with their children.
In the New Testament, God’s love is shown through Christ. Without Christ, there is no salvation or redemption. This also refers to agape - love through actions, not just a feeling (John 3:16).

Criticisms of benevolence theories

Hume would argue that eternal punishment in hell for finite acts on earth is not good or loving. One of the aims of punishment is reformation. This can’t be achieved in eternal hell!

Counter-arguments to criticism

Hell is a part of the totality of evil. Therefore, it is not something that undermines God’s goodness. Remember, according to Augustine’s theodicy, Adam and Eve brought sin and suffering into the world, not God.
French theologian John Calvin would argue that because humans are corrupt by nature, no one is worthy of being saved. As such, the ‘limited election’ of some to heaven - that Calvin and Augustine proposed - is better than no one in heaven. As such, God remains benevolent.

Applying Boethius' Argument to (Omni)benevolence

Boethius' book ‘The Consolations of Philosophy’ tries to square the idea of apparent ‘predestination’ of events (due to God’s omniscient nature).

The Consolations of Philosophy

Boethius wrote ‘The Consolations of Philosophy’ while in prison.
- He was trying to square the idea of apparent ‘predestination’ of events (due to God’s omniscient nature) and the idea that God could possibly be fair in his judgement of us if acts are not freely made.

Book V: divine foreknowledge

In book V of The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius (pictured) states the problem of divine foreknowledge: ‘there seems to be a hopeless conflict between divine foreknowledge of all things and freedom of the human will. For if God sees everything in advance and cannot be deceived in any way, whatever he foresees will happen, must happen’.
As such, God is not benevolent or just – remember justice is something that many philosophers tie into the idea of benevolence.

God's 'eternal present'

Boethius solution to this problem is to explain that because God’s existence is atemporal, God ‘comprehends the whole plenitude of endless life together’ (115) ‘as if it were now taking place’(116).
This means that God doesn’t have ‘foreknowledge’ of our lives, because He is seeing them in His ‘eternal present’.

Free will & conditional necessity

That means in our lives, we freely choose our actions because of our free will – which relates to conditional necessity.
As such, God can judge us fairly for the actions we choose in our time. God is truly omnibenevolent.

Strengths of Boethius' argument

God does not lack any knowledge - this preserves his omniscient nature.
God cannot be accused of injustice because we are free to add conditions to our simple necessity.

Limitations of Boethius' argument

His view only works if we accept the idea of simple and conditional necessity.
Boethius believed that he had solved the issue of divine foreknowledge and benevolence. But Boethius’ model of God doesn’t know ‘what time it is for us now’, as he only sees in an ‘eternal present’. This reduces God’s omniscience and potentially discredits his whole argument.
How can Boethius’ God answer my prayers now if God sees all my life in one ‘infinite sweep’?

1Philosophy of Religion

1.1Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato

1.1.1Plato's Understanding of Reality

1.1.2Plato's Theory of Forms

1.1.3Plato's Analogy of the Cave

1.1.4The Purpose of Plato's Analogy of the Cave

1.1.5Evaluation of Plato's Theories

1.2Ancient Philosophical Influences: Aristotle

1.2.1Aristotle's Understanding of Reality

1.2.2Aristotle's Four Causes

1.2.3Aristotle's Prime Mover

1.3Ancient Philosophical Influences: Soul, Mind, Body

1.3.1Plato & Aristotle's Views of the Soul

1.3.2Metaphysics of Consciousness

1.3.3Materialism - Ryle’s Philosophical Behaviourism

1.3.4Materialism - Identity Theory

1.4The Existence of God - Arguments from Observation

1.4.1The Teleological Argument - Aquinas' Fifth Way

1.4.2The Teleological Argument - Paley & Evolution

1.4.3The Cosmological Argument

1.4.4Hume's Criticisms: Teleological & Cosmological

1.5The Existence of God - Arguments from Reason

1.5.1The Ontological Argument

1.5.2Criticisms of the Ontological Argument

1.6Religious Experience

1.6.1Introduction to Religious Experience

1.6.2Mystical Experience

1.6.3Conversion Experience

1.6.4Understanding Religious Experience

1.6.5Issues Relating to Religious Experience - Validity

1.6.6Issues Relating to Religious Experiences - People

1.7The Problem of Evil

1.7.1Presentations of the Problems of Evil

1.7.2Discussion Points -

1.8The Nature & Attributes of God

1.8.1Omnipotence

1.8.2Omniscience

1.8.3Boethius - Divine Knowledge, Free Will & Eternity

1.8.4(Omni)benevolence

1.8.5Eternity & Free Will

1.9Religious Language: Negative, Analogical, Symbolic

1.9.1Apophatic & Cataphatic Way

1.9.2Symbol

1.9.3Discussion Points: Religious Language

1.10Religious Language: 20th Century Perspective

1.10.1Logical Positivism & Verification Principle

1.10.2Wittgenstein

1.10.3Falsification Symposium: Flew & Hare

1.10.4Falsification Symposium: Mitchell

1.10.5Discussion Points: Verification & Falsification

1.10.6Discussion Points: Aquinas vs Wittgenstein

2Religion & Ethics

2.1Natural Law

2.1.1St Thomas Aquinas - Telos & Four Tiers of Law

2.1.2St Thomas Aquinas - Precepts

2.1.3St Thomas Aquinas - Real & Apparent Goods

2.1.4Discussion Points - Natural Law & Doing Good

2.1.5Discussion Points - Telos & Double Effect Doctrine

2.2Situation Ethics

2.2.1Fletcher's Situation Ethics

2.2.2Fletcher's Concept of Conscience

2.2.3Discussion Points: Moral Decision-Making

2.2.4Discussion Points - Agape

2.3Kantian Ethics

2.3.1Introduction to Kantian Ethics & Duty

2.3.2Hypothetical & Categorical Imperative

2.3.3Summum Bonum & Three Postulates

2.3.4Discussion Points: Kantian Ethics

2.4Utilitarianism

2.4.1The Utility Principle

2.4.2Act & Rule Utilitarianism

2.4.3Discussion Points: Utilitarianism

2.5Euthanasia

2.5.1Key Concepts for Euthanasia Debates

2.5.2Discussion Points: Natural Law & Situation Ethics

2.5.3Discussion Points: Sanctity of Life

2.5.4Discussion Points: Autonomy & Medical Intervention

2.6Business Ethics

2.6.1Corporate Social Responsibility & Whistle-Blowing

2.6.2Good Ethics & Globalisation

2.6.3Discussion Points: Utilitarianism & Kantian Ethics

2.6.4Discussion Points: CSR, Globalisation & Capitalism

3Developments in Christian Thought

3.1Saint Augustine's Teachings

3.1.1Human Nature

3.1.2Original Sin & God's Grace

3.2Death & the Afterlife

3.2.1Heaven, Hell, & Purgatory

3.2.2Different Interpretations of the Afterlife

3.2.3Election

3.2.4The Final Judgement

3.2.5Discussion Points: Heaven, Hell & Purgatory

3.3Knowledge of God's Existence

3.3.1Natural Knowledge

3.3.2Revealed Knowledge in Faith, Grace, & Jesus Christ

3.3.3Revealed Knowledge in the Bible & Church

3.3.4Discussion Points: Reason & Belief in God

3.3.5Discussion Points: The Fall & Trust in God

3.4The Person of Jesus Christ

3.4.1Jesus Christ’s Authority as the Son of God

3.4.2Jesus Christ’s Authority as a Teacher of Wisdom

3.4.3Jesus Christ’s Authority as a Liberator

3.5Christian Moral Principles

3.5.1The Bible & Love

3.5.2Bible, Church & Reason

3.5.3Discussion Points: Christian Ethics

3.5.4Discussion Points: Love & the Bible

3.6Christian Moral Action

3.6.1Dietrich Bonhoeffer & the Confessing Church

3.6.2Bonhoeffer & Civil Disobedience

3.6.3Bonhoeffer's Teaching on Ethics as Action

3.6.4Discussion Points: Civil Disobedience & Bonhoeffer

3.7Development - Pluralism & Theology

3.7.1Pluralism & Theology: Exclusivism & Inclusivism

3.7.2Pluralism & Theology: Pluralism

3.7.3Discussion Points: Salvation

3.7.4Discussion Points: Pluralism Undermining Beliefs

3.8Development - Pluralism & Society

3.8.1Development of Multi-Faith Societies

3.8.2Responses to Inter-Faith Dialogue

3.8.3The Scriptural Reasoning Movement

3.8.4Discussion Points: Social Cohesion & Scripture

3.8.5Discussion Points: Conversion

3.9Gender & Society

3.9.1Waves of Feminism

3.9.2Traditional Christian Views on Gender Roles

3.9.3Christian Views on Gender Roles & Family

3.9.4Discussion Points: Secular Views of Gender

3.9.5Discussion Points: Motherhood & Family

3.10Gender & Theology

3.10.1Rosemary Radford Ruether

3.10.2Mary Daly

3.10.3Discussion Points: Ruether & Daly

3.10.4Discussion Points: Male Saviour & Female God

3.11Challenges

3.11.1Secularism - Sigmund Freud

3.11.2Secularism - Richard Dawkins

3.11.3Christianity & Public Life

3.11.4Discussion Points: Spiritual Values

3.11.5Discussion Points: Social Values & Opportunities

3.11.6Karl Marx

3.11.7Liberation Theology

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