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Does the Bible contain an unambiguous statement that God is All-Good?

(Note: I am not questioning whether God is All-Good or not, nor how we can indirectly infer God is All-God. I am not asking whether the Bible contains God is All-Loving or All-Merciful or All-Powerful, but whether Bible explicitly mentions God is All-Good or a term that unequivocally means All-Good.)

ADDENDUM

(In response to people wondering why I am wondering what I am wondering.)

In Islam there is this concept of Most Beautiful and Perfect Names and Attributes of Allah. (Obviously, all of them are from the Quran.) By itself, it is whole subject of endless research and commentary. Though God is not bounded by any number of perfect attributes, it is believed that 99 of them are mentioned in the Quran. I read that even though God is Perfectly Just, All-Just (or Absolute Just) is not a name mentioned in the Quran. (When I learned why, I was most amazed.) Then I realized that, to my understanding, there is no name that would correspond to All-Good, even though Allah is All Good. (And I have a theory why.) All of this made me curious: whether God is ever mentioned as All-Good in the Bible. I would guess not, this why I am asking here.

Finally, the answer will help me with my own research and book.

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    I think I understand your question when you say "All-Good", but you may want to elaborate so everyone is on the same page. – Adam Heeg Jul 18 '18 at 20:36
  • Welcome to Christianity.SE! When you have a moment, please take our tour and visit our help center to learn more about us. – JBH Jul 18 '18 at 23:13
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    You stated on another site Whoever makes assertions which is not directly backed up by Quran and hadith is armchair-philosophizing. It is going to be wrong, So it looks to me as though you will not be accepting answers from the Christian Bible. – Nigel J Jul 20 '18 at 15:01
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    If you tell me exactly what word you are researching, I can look up a concordance for you. But 'all-good' and 'omnibenevolence' are not English words so I cannot look them up. – Nigel J Jul 20 '18 at 15:09
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    Could you please elaborate on what you mean by "All-Good"? It's an unusual phrase, because it seems to imply that being merely "Good" is insufficient to being "All-Good", but I can't imagine any context in which that would be the case. It's a bit of a foreign concept to Christianity. – 4castle Jul 22 '18 at 9:42
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No

"Omnibenevolence" is a big word and taking you at your word, is God benevolent to all people? No.

  • As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. (Romans 9:13; Malachi 1:2-3)

  • Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. (Ex 22:22-24)

  • If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy... (1 Cor 3:17)

  • And Jesus ... cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and ... would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. (Mark 11:15-16)

  • Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost. (Acts 5:1-11)

  • When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word. (Matt 8:16)

There are a great many examples of God acting unkindly toward others. When he flooded the earth leaving only Noah and his family, it was not an act of ultimate charity or forgiveness.

Some may try to explain that by definition God acts in the best interests of all, that the individual's choices to wickedness leave no room for "better" than what God can judge for them.

But, then God ceases to be God. He certainly has no need of justification or rationalization from mortals.

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Romans 9:15)

But...

Paul makes an important point:

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. (Romans 9:14)

That God does not act with omnibenevolence is truth. That God always acts with righteousness is also truth.

If this answer doesn't sit well, then I ask for another word than "omnibenevolence" or a more suitable (and more accredited) definition than "unlimited or infinite benevolence." From Wikipedia we discover:

Omnibenevolence (from Latin omni- meaning "all", bene- meaning "good" and volens meaning "willing") is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". Some philosophers have argued that it is impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such a property alongside omniscience and omnipotence, as a result of the problem of evil. However, some philosophers, such as Alvin Plantinga, argue the plausibility of co-existence. The word is primarily used as a technical term within academic literature on the philosophy of religion, mainly in context of the problem of evil and theodical responses to such. Although even in said contexts the phrases "perfect goodness" or "moral perfection" are often preferred because of the difficulties in defining what exactly constitutes "infinite benevolence". (emphasis mine)

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  • I'm curious what your response would be to the scriptures in my answer. I don't think of being good as being "nice", but rather as "having a high moral standard." All of those first scriptures you've shown demonstrate God's justice, and therefore his goodness. – 4castle Jul 19 '18 at 1:48
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    @4castle, I personally think therein lies the problem. I believe God is ultimately just, righteous, and therefore "good." But mortals put a lot if different spins on the concept of "good." What's "good" for me? Apparently it's not enormous wealth. 😀 All of our definitions are, not surprisingly, from our points of view. God is "good" by definition because He's "right" by definition. But the word "benevolent" has a specific meaning. You can't be omnibenevolent without being 100% forgiving, and He isn't (Matt 12:32). So my problem isn't with the concept so much as the word. – JBH Jul 19 '18 at 3:16
  • Well, as far as the Bible is concerned, God's works are stated as being good, so one way we can learn the Bible's definition of "good" is by studying God's works. We don't necessarily have to guess at the definition. However, the word "omnibenevolent" doesn't have the luxery of being defined in the Bible, so I just went off of how the question seemed to define it, which was "All-Good." – 4castle Jul 19 '18 at 3:59
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    @4castle, The reason I'm attacking the word and not the concept is that "good" is a realtive term. Good compared to what? In a favorite episode of the BBC's "Doctor Who" a character intones, "your good is my evil." To make my point, all four of your quotations are not the voice of God, but the voice of a psalmist who is praising God. Man's definition. Was God "good" when He flooded the earth, killing many? Is a parent "good" when they take their belt to a child? God is right. "Good" is an adjective applied by man, and we're very good (pun intended) at spinning it for our benefit. – JBH Jul 19 '18 at 17:06
  • I can understand "good" as a relative term in comparison to words like "great", but it can also be an absolute term when it's used as an antonym to words like "bad" or "evil", as your quote does. Since the term "all-good" seems to be an absolute, and the scriptures I showed are dealing in absolutes (they aren't in comparison to anything less good), the scriptures I showed fit the criteria. Since the words are inspired of God, they are also accurate. – 4castle Jul 22 '18 at 10:07
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Did Jesus say that God is “ALL GOOD”? No. When Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19) it means that, although human beings can do good things, only God is WHOLLY GOOD.

Jesus was pointing out that no human can claim to be good because only God is good. Good is grounded in the very nature of God, and what He wills is good because He is good. God always acts in accordance with what is right, true, and good. Goodness is part of God’s nature, and He cannot contradict His nature. Holiness and righteousness are part of God’s nature; He cannot do anything that is unholy or unrighteous. God is the standard of all that is good. “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). God invites everyone to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). God can create only what is good, because He is fully good.

Goodness is only one of God’s attributes and qualities. God is love. God is also holy, righteous and just and his judgments are good. What we are talking about here is DIVINE goodness, not the stuff that mere mortals think is “goodness.” This is the definition of “good” according to The Collins English Dictionary, published in 1979:

Better, best; having admirable, pleasing, superior or positive qualities; not negative, bad or mediocre; morally excellent or admirable, virtuous, righteous. Goodness = virtue, righteousness, piety. “Good” = the force that controls or effects positive moral qualities or virtue.

The Bible shows that God is so much more than just that. Yes, God is good and only God is good and goodness is one of God’s attributes – goodness is part of the very being of God, just as God is love.

Did Jesus say that God is “OMNIBENEVOLENT”? No. This is the definition of “benevolence” according to The Collins English Dictionary, published in 1979:

Intending or showing good will; kindly, friendly; an inclination or tendency to help or do good to others. Omnibenevolence comes from the Latin omni = all and bene = well and velle = to wish.

Benevolence is not the same as goodness, and that is why I struggle with the theological concept of God being “omnibenevolent.” God is not some sort of Santa Clause figure who dispenses good will to all and sundry as the mood takes Him.

God's revelation of Christ is called the appearing of “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior” (Titus 3:4, ESV). It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), goodness is one of the results of His indwelling Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and He brings goodness to fruition in our lives through faith (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Rather than cobbling together Latin words to come up with describing God’s goodness as omnibenevolence, I think it is more accurate to simply acknowledge that God is WHOLLY good, FULLY good, DIVINELY good.

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  • Edit: Looking at the 99 Names of Allah I found this: All Compassionate All Merciful All Comprehending All Aware All Powerful The Creator of All Power The Creator of Good The Doer of Good Christians realise that God has many attributes, and some of them are discussed in this article: gotquestions.org/attributes-God.html – Lesley Jul 22 '18 at 17:18
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Here are a few scriptures which directly comment on God's absolute goodness and uprightness.

Good and upright is Jehovah.
That is why he instructs sinners in the way to live.
— Psalm 25:8

Declaring that Jehovah is upright.
He is my Rock, in whom there is no unrighteousness.
— Psalm 92:15

You are good and your works are good.
Teach me your regulations.
— Psalm 119:68

Jehovah is good to all,
And his mercy is evident in all his works.
— Psalm 145:9

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  • That God is good is not being disputed. – Lesley Jul 22 '18 at 8:41
  • @Lesley "Does the Bible contain an unambiguous statement that God is All-Good?" is the exact question being asked, so I showed scriptures which answer it in a straightforward manner. – 4castle Jul 22 '18 at 8:46
  • I do not disagree with any of those Bible verses you have quoted. God is good and his works are good. But I can't see any verse which says God is ALL-good, or omni-good. – Lesley Jul 22 '18 at 8:51
  • @Lesley The scriptures I've shown state in black and white terms that "God is good." There is no wiggle room for God to be "sometimes bad" according to these scriptures. – 4castle Jul 22 '18 at 8:55
  • You misunderstand. I am not suggesting that God can be "sometimes bad". God's attributes make that impossible. The difficulty is in how some people interpret "good." Jesus said only God is "good" but this question is asking if there is any unambiguous Bible verse that says God is ALL-good. – Lesley Jul 22 '18 at 8:59
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What is Good?
You are asking about the word Good, and I would define that perhaps a little differently than others. At the end of the day the word good is relative to person and context.

God is complex, yet He is benevolent
On another note, I don't think there is a specific text that says something along the lines of 'God is Good, only Good, and always Good." I mean, he is clearly wrathful, but still further his wrath is directed at evil, so it is good.

God is not both Good and Evil
God is not some Being who himself is Good and Evil like some other religions hold their deity's to be. God is not a composite of Good and Evil, like the Tao or Brahman (very weak on Buddhism, but I think that is the idea).

Texts about God's Goodness
Exodus 34:6-7 seems to fit your request. God is describing Himself and it all sounds very good to me:

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Job 28:28 implies that God is not Evil

And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

Jesus Himself stated in Mark 10:18 that God is good.

“And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

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Omnibenevolence (from Latin omni- meaning "all", bene- meaning "good" and volens meaning "willing") is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence".

Some philosophers have argued that it is impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such a property alongside omniscience and omnipotence, as a result of the problem of evil. However, some philosophers, such as Alvin Plantinga, argue the plausibility of co-existence.

The word is primarily used as a technical term within academic literature on the philosophy of religion, mainly in context of the problem of evil and theodical responses to such. Although even in said contexts the phrases "perfect goodness" or "moral perfection" are often preferred because of the difficulties in defining what exactly constitutes "infinite benevolence".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibenevolence

Simple answer

"All things work out for GOOD for those who love Him" (Romans8:28)

Eternal and Almighty God created the world by His sheer "GOODNESS"....(CCC Prologue Chapter 1)

God created everything and saw that it was GOOD. (Book of Genesis on creation).

A creature cannot defined God's infinite GOODNESS by earthly words or men finite understanding.

If we claim we understood God then He ceases to be God. (St. Augustine)

So from the question is God All-Goodness?

God is infinitely more than All - Goodness, He is the source of All - Goodness.

Almighty & Eternal God existed in eternity before one single creature can utter the words All - Goodness.

Godbless

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Jesus said something about this, when someone called him a "good" teacher, he responded as such

Matthew 19:17 New King James Version (NKJV) 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

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