Euthyphros Dilemma:
Is an act right because God says it's so?
Does God say it's so because it's right?
Good question! I hadn't heard this before!
Reading through the Bible has been such a journey. I read the stories and sometimes have exclaimed "What?" Who I thought God was was different than who the Bible revealed him to be. Stories took turns that I didn't see coming! I heard a scripture that said Wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it. Then that time Paul said he was sad about sending a letter but later felt glad about it because it produced repentance. One time a stripper was befriended by this Christian friend of mine. Then this stripper got beat up by her boyfriend which led her to getting saved and her life transformed. Was it good she got beat up if it led her to Christ? These things made me question what is good? Maybe the world was more complex. Then guess what? The boyfriend that beat her up spent some time in prison - became a Christian himself, got out, they got married, had another child and are serving the Lord together. I never saw that coming! Was that good?
Is "good" only positive things that we think are good or is "good" a concept that goes a little deeper? I have been perplexed about this topic for a while and I keep getting surprised by God about what good means.
So, was the tsunami good? I read that it led to better forms of alerts and whatnot for that region, but that another tsunami will probably come by 2040 and kill most of the remaining people there. But that one story of that family that were separated and all reunited and survived was good. It led to us having this conversation which I personally find good.
What about what God allowed poor Job to go through? Then when God speaks I was surprised because he basically said I'm God, I created everything..what did you create? And Job got humbled and shut his mouth. That made me go hmmm. But yeah, he's God, he created everything, he gets to decide what good is. He is sovereign and knows everything. He has more knowledge than mere men so we don't know the whole story. In interactions with people..if you don't know a person's story you might not understand their behavior. When you learn the whole story, it makes sense. It doesn't make it right per se in the case of man, but the concept is there. So I guess my final answer is I don't have all the data that God has, so I am going to believe, based on the data I have that good is more complex and I believe God to be good in spite of the tsunami happening.
