Omnibenevolence

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Omnibenevolence 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“.

Etymology

“Omnibenevolence” appears to have a very casual usage among some Protestant Christian commentators. The earliest record for its use in English, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is in 1679. The Catholic Church does not appear to use the term “omnibenevolent” in the liturgy or Catechism.

Modern users of the term include George H. Smith in his book Atheism: The Case Against God (1980), where he argued that divine qualities are inconsistent. However, the term is also used by authors who defend the coherence of divine attributes, including but not limited to, Jonathan Kvanvig in The Problem of Hell (1993), and Joshua Hoffman and Gary Rosenkrantz in The Divine Attributes (2002).

The terminology has been used by some prominent Roman Catholic figures, examples being Father Robert Barron, Doctor of Sacred Theology in his 2011 book Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith.

Eisnebelhalo, Celestial Phenomenon

Philosophical perspectives

The term is patterned on, and often accompanied by, the terms omniscience and omnipotence, typically to refer to conceptions of an “all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful” deity. Philosophers and theologians more commonly use phrases like “perfectly good”, or simply the term “benevolence”. The word “omnibenevolence” may be interpreted to mean perfectly just, all-loving, fully merciful, or any number of other qualities, depending on precisely how “good” is understood. As such, there is little agreement over how an “omnibenevolent” being would behave.

Give thanks to your Lord.

The notion of an omnibenevolent, infinitely compassionate deity, has raised certain atheistic objections, such as the problem of evil and the problem of hell. Responses to such problems are called theodicies and can be general, arguing for the coherence of the divine, such as Swinburne’s Providence and the Problem of Evil, or they can address a specific problem, such as Charles Seymour’s A Theodicy of Hell.

Proponents of Pandeism contend that benevolence (much less omnibenevolence) is simply not required to account for any property of our Universe, as a morally neutral deity which was powerful enough to have created our Universe as we experience it would be, by definition, able to have created our Universe as we experience it. William C. Lane contended that Pandeism thereby offered an escape from the evidential argument from evil: In 2010, author William C. Lane contended that:

In pandeism, God is no superintending, heavenly power, capable of hourly intervention into earthly affairs. No longer existing “above,” God cannot intervene from above and cannot be blamed for failing to do so. Instead God bears all suffering, whether the fawn’s or anyone else’s.

Even so, a skeptic might ask, “Why must there be so much suffering,? Why could not the world’s design omit or modify the events that cause it?” In pandeism, the reason is clear: to remain unified, a world must convey information through transactions. Reliable conveyance requires relatively simple, uniform laws. Laws designed to skip around suffering-causing events or to alter their natural consequences (i.e., their consequences under simple laws) would need to be vastly complicated or (equivalently) to contain numerous exceptions.

Religious perspectives

Belief in God’s omnibenevolence is an essential foundation in traditional Christianity; this can be seen in Scriptures such as

Psalms 18:30: “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him,”

and

Ps.19:7: “The law of the Lord is good, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

This understanding is evident in the following statement by the First Vatican Council:

The Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church believes and acknowledges that there is one true and living God, Creator and Lord of Heaven and earth, almighty, eternal, immeasurable, incomprehensible, infinite in will, understanding and every perfection. Since He is one, singular, completely simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, He must be declared to be in reality and in essence, distinct from the world, supremely happy in Himself and from Himself, and inexpressibly loftier than anything besides Himself which either exists or can be imagined.

The philosophical justification stems from God’s aseity: the non-contingent, independent and self-sustained mode of existence that theologians ascribe to God. For if he was not morally perfect, that is, if God was merely a great being but nevertheless of finite benevolence, then his existence would involve an element of contingency, because one could always conceive of a being of greater benevolence. Hence, omnibenevolence is a requisite of perfect being theology.

Theologians in the Wesleyan Christian tradition (see Thomas Jay Oord) argue that omnibenevolence is God’s primary attribute. As such, God’s other attributes should be understood in light of omnibenevolence. Christians believe in the idea of unconditional love.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NIV)

Some Hyper-Calvinist interpretations reject omnibenevolence. For example, the Westboro Baptist Church is infamous for its expression of this stance.

Christian apologist William Lane Craig argues that Islam does not hold to the idea of omnibenevolence.