God Is Great

graven image is great, God is good, now we thank him for our food. This simple prayer reflects twin commitments in Christian belief to Gods greatness and Gods goodness. Yet Christian theodicies have often averred to Gods greatness to the detriment of his goodness. Let us interpret Gods greatness in a manner other than power. Indeed, let us consider Gods greatness, as the medievals understood Gods goodness, in terms of being goodness and being are interchangeable 1God is the most real being hence, God is the greatest being. God is great.Let us interpret Gods goodness in a manner analogous to human goodness. I take Gods goodness as analogous primarily to the parent-child relationship God is good, according to this analogy, as a father or mother is to his or her children. 2Caring for ones children is a substitution class metaphor in Scripture for Gods carefor his creatures. God is good. The purpose of this essay is to explore the ramifications of these two views for the problem of ev il and especially for the problem of hell. Judgements typically viewed hell as an eternal torture chamber perhaps with God himself as the torturer.I shall expound both views of divine goodness, present some arguments in their defense, and then locate them within the context of a Theodoric of human suffering. I shall argue that neither is singly adequate as an understanding of the divine reputation but, if both are maintained, a trilemma arises for the traditional doctrine of the eternal punishment of the damned. That is, I shall argue that one can hold the following three views nevertheless on pain of inconsistency 1. God is great. 2. God is good. 3. There is a hell (an eternal torture chamber).