Omnibenevolence is the property of possessing maximal goodness. Some philosophers, such as

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

, 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 The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ...

. However, some philosophers, such as

Alvin Plantinga Alvin Carl Plantinga (born November 15, 1932) is an American analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher who works primarily in the fields of philosophy of religion, epistemology (particularly on issues involving theory of justification, epistemic ...

, argue the plausibility of co-existence.

Etymology

The word ''omnibenevolence'' derives from the Latin prefix ''omni''-, meaning "all", and the words ''bene'' and ''volens'', meaning "good" and "will", respectively. Thus the term means "all good will".

Usage

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. The earliest record for its use in English, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', is in 1679. The

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does not appear to use the term "omnibenevolent" in the liturgy or Catechism. Saint Thomas Aquinas in particular explained in '' Summa Theologica'' that God may indirectly want evil in the physical world, when this is necessary for the greater good of the order of the universe. Modern users of the term include

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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

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figures, examples being Bishop Robert Barron, Doctor of Sacred Theology in his 2011 book ''Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith''.

Philosophical perspectives

The notion of an omnibenevolent, infinitely compassionate deity has raised certain atheistic objections, such as the

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:

Religious perspectives

The theological 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 Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. Theologians in the Wesleyan tradition (see Thomas Jay Oord) argue that omnibenevolence is God's primary attribute. Some Hyper-Calvinist interpretations reject omnibenevolence. For example, the

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is infamous for its expression of this stance. Christian apologist

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (; born August 23, 1949) is an American Analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University and at the T ...

argues that Islam does not hold to the idea of omnibenevolence.

In the Holy Bible

lists "kindness" among the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit God. So far, it is believed to be an attribute of God.

Notes

References

External links

The Goodness of God

{{Good and evil 17th-century neologisms Conceptions of God Good and evil Philosophy of religion Superlatives in religion