> I state that "God is good" on the basis of my own evaluation of empirical
> evidence.  That (evidence) is apparent to me in all that I see has been
> created.  That on-going creation seems to me to be full of all of the 
> qualities I have come to associate with goodness:  giving, nuturing,
> caring, loving, increasing. 
> 
> DADNO

    Please forgive a slight disagreement from a fellow Christian.  Let me
ask a question, and I think my own objection will be made plain.

    Does God tithe?  If so, why?  If not, can He be all good?

  The absurdity in the above question is obviously that it attempts to apply
God's will for mankind (human virtue) to the source of the same.  God cannot
be held up to some prior standard (since there is nothing prior to a Creator),
and He cannot be held up to the human standard (since God is not a man).  And
so, when someone objects or questions the proposition that God is not all-good,
then we must grant them this insofar that "good" refers to the human good.  If
the divine virtue is considered (God's omniscient (and therefore authoritative
knowledge of the) elucidation of His singular divine virtue), then we can 
indeed say that God is all-good.

  However, it can be made plain that God is the source of human morality. So,
in answer to the general topic of this string, I offer a small analogy to 
make this clear.

  Suppose you are a mechanically enclined individual who knows nothing about
cars, but who is charged with fixing his car.  You have complete knowledge
of all the tools at your disposal, but have no idea how the several parts in
the car work.  Because of this, your own observations of the workings of the
parts tell you nothing-- you have no idea how they are _supposed_ to work,
and thus have no idea what to do to the car to make it run again.  What
do you do?

   A first thought might be to consult a mechanic.  Surely they are an
authority on the workings of cars, and can be trusted to tell you rightly
how the several parts are supposed to work.  However, even a mechanic may
not know *all* that it necessary.  Eventually, you may realize that the most
authoritative voice on the workings of your car are the makers of the same.
The design team at GM (or whatever), which designed your car, knows what is
best for the car, and how it ought to work.  Keep in mind that you may indeed
be capable of doing a great many things to the car, but only certain things
will make the car work as it ought, and that design team will be the most
authoritative on this matter.

  Do you see the analogy?  Our free will are the hands who hold the tools,
the car is our body and the fruits of our actions.  The designers are, of
course God.  God is called omniscient, which means he knows all.  Insofar as
human morality falls into the set of "all", God must also know of human
morality.  Therefore, insofar as there is virtue, God is the authority on the
same.

   Cool huh?

    - Bo

   (Christianity is so damned reasonable, it's scary)