(Pro) The Christian God is malevolent vs benevolent (Con).

They don't differ too much from my opponents definitions and are just an example of me being picky. Argument (1) 1) The concept of good and bad presuppose God to begin with. I have a few arguments for this conclusion which, if true would prove that it should s incoherent to say that God is malevolent as he is the ultimate standard of good (if these arguments are sound). Moral argument: 1) Obligations are contingent on a person. 2) Moral values are obligations. Therefore moral values are contingent upon a person. 3) Moral values transcend human persons. Therefore moral values are contingent upon a transcendent person. Therefore a morally perfect transcendent personal entity exists. While this is usually used as an argument for Gods existence I believe that it shows that moral values are contingent on God and therefore God cannot be malevolent but rather is essentially benevolent. This argument is often presented by the philosopher Peter S Williams. Regarding this argument he says: "An objective moral value is a transcendent ideal that prescribes and obligates behaviour; but an ideal implies a mind, a prescription requires a prescriber and an obligation is contingent upon a person. As H. P. Owen argues: On the one hand [objective moral] claims transcend every human person" On the other hand" it is contradictory to assert that impersonal claims are entitled to the allegiance of our wills. The only solution to this paradox is to suppose that the order of [objective moral] claims" is in fact rooted in the personality of God. " Ultimately I think this argument provides excellent evidence that God could not be malevolent. Many Athiest philosophers have also acknowledged that without God morality cannot exist. Turning to the first premise, many atheists acknowledge that "if god doesn"t exist, then objective moral values and goodness cannot exist". For example, Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that it is: "extremely embarrassing that God does not exist, for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven. There can no longer be any good a priori, since there is no infinite and perfect consciousness to think it. " This is of course not to say that that atheists are immoral. More often than not atheists live lives that put beleivetr's lives to shame in terms of morality. One point can be made here. If God truly is malevolent then why do atheists make an argument against God based on all the evil and malevolence in the world. Argument (2) 2) The Christian God sacrificed himself in Jesus Christ to save all humanity from eternal shame and punishement. This is the gospel message of Christianity. It is found all over the New Testament. In the book of Phillipians chapter one we read of how God gave his beloved son into the world to save the world. Surely this an act of a benevolently God. If God was a malevolent moral moral monster then why did Jesus (who is God according to Philippians 1)dive into the world and sacrifice himself for the salvation of all humans. Nothing we could ever could make us worthy to stand before God. We are also too sinful too stand before him so God gave his only son too die for us all so that we could stand before God. These are not the actions of a malevolent God but of a benevolent God. Argument (3) 3) All over the Bible God expresses disguise at evil. This is very evident from the biblical data. In Ezekiel 18 we read "God does not take pleasure in the deaths of th wicked but would rather that they turn from there evil ways and live". We see here that God grieves at the death of those who disobey his laws(biblical definition of wicked) and wishes that they would turn to him and live. This is strong evidence that God is not malevolent. Some extra bible verses: In proverbs 8:13 we read "To respect God is to hate evil". Proverbs 97:10 says "Let all those who live the Lord hate evil". 1 John 4:20 says "If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can[b] he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. These verses tighter with my above arguments show the Christian God is benevolent and not malevolent at all.