(commenting on Bob Seidensticker’s article “And God Is Not Good, Either”)

Hi Bob. Thanks for your in-depth study about the goodness of God.
You have certainly done your research. However, your entire premise has
one major flaw. None of us can agree on what "good" actually is. Every single person has a different definition of what "good" is.

For example, one person might say it's not "good" for two men to marry. Another person might say that it's not "good" to try and keep two people who love each other apart. Thus, the definition of "good" is relative depending on whom
you're talking with. Because of this discrepancy, like it or not, we have to go to the ultimate authority on what is "good".

God might not fit your mold of what is "good", but the beauty of it all is that He doesn't have to. God is sovereign; meaning God has authority over you, not the other way around. You will answer to God, God will never answer to you.

I would challenge you to carefully consider what it will be like when we all stand before judgment. If you think you will have an opportunity to accuse God of anything, you are mistaken. Every time someone in scripture comes in contact with God, they fall on their face and tremble in terror. They can't even move unless God gives them permission to do so. There won't be a time when God is on trial.

I don't like several laws that I have to obey. I don't like having to slow down to 35 miles per hour in a school zone when the school is 4 blocks away from the highway where the lights are flashing. But, if there is a sign posted and lights flashing, I'm still subject to obey the law, whether I agree with the law or not.

God is good, all the time and all the time God is good. Not because we say so, but because He says so. The sooner you realize that, the better off you will be.

Maybe you have a hard time submitting to a God that doesn't answer to your set of moral standards. If you've read the book of Genesis, you know that's exactly what happened to Adam and Eve. They didn't feel that it was "good" that God withheld from them what they wanted. That, sir, is why we have to deal with injustice in the world. Man is imperfect because God gave them a choice as to which tree they would eat from. The tree of life, or the tree death. They chose death. God could have stopped it, but he didn't. He chose to give us free will. In other words, God gave you the choice to accuse Him of all the things you're accusing Him of. Don't you think that's "good"?

On several occasions, I've sat and wondered why in the world Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. The Bible says they walked with God daily in the garden. What an incredible opportunity! Yet they still disobeyed God and tasted the forbidden fruit. But then again, You and I are guilty of the same thing. God has set before us the tree of life, and the tree of death. We can choose to accept Christ and live, or reject Christ and die. In short, we have an opportunity to walk with God in the garden to. Unfortunately, many people reject this opportunity because God isn't they way they want Him to be.

Which, on a side note, you most likely don't agree that Adam & Eve were real people, however, Jesus himself believed that they were. And, if a guy can raise himself from the dead, I'll believe everything that guy says. If you don't believe this either, you should do an in-depth study on this topic with former atheists that tried to disprove it.

In conclusion, instead of spending time researching how God isn't good, you should have spent time researching how God isn't fair. If you want to spend time researching this topic you will have more than enough evidence to make a solid point. If you need help, let me give you a point of origin for your study. Start at the foot of the Cross where God sent his son to die for your sins. That certainly wasn't fair. But then again, God is God, and he can do whatever he wants. Including raising from the dead three days later.