Good question—Why do we think God is good (for a kid)?

Date: April 12/2004

I got this question:

"Hi Glenn-
My 8-year old daughter asked me the other day: what determined that the ruler of the universe is good rather than bad? (She is a young philosophe already, and pinpointed the question more when I tried to give her a too-simple answer.)
Ultimately, I got wrapped around the axle trying to explain this. I don't like the ontological argument here for obvious reasons, and secondarily, I think it presupposes another convincing proof (e.g., cosmological) of God's existence before it can be employed (i.e., "if God exists, then he must be perfect" makes perfect (!) sense), which may lose her along the way. Anyway, I would love a more simple, communicable answer that can be shared with her.

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I replied with this tiny/hasty email:

I never got to respond to this, but I wanted to (smile)...You probably dealt with it already, but all I was going to suggest (without writing it up) was to point out that God must be perfect (or at least better that we are), because He built that perfection-radar INTO us! We only know what good IS, because a Good God made us that way--made us to love and recognize and treasure the good...that way, we can treasure the good in each other and treasure the good in our Perfect God.

So it's different than a simple 'ontological argument'--it's more aesthetic, ethical, or something along those lines...

I hope this makes sense...it's late, and I just stumbled over this email in backlog, friend...but I REMEMBER wanting to write this to you--you'll have to flesh it out, but I think it will help a young philosophe...(smile)...sorta like: how do we know God loves beauty? because He built that love of beauty into US, so WE could enjoy it too...make any sense?

An effect has to have a cause GREATER THAN itself...

I hope it helps, warmly...in His love, glenn

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