The idea of Good must be an absolute; it cannot be conceived as something relative. Otherwise, the concept is really one of more-or-less-better-than, i.e. relatively better than something else, neither of which is wholly Good.
Furthermore, the idea of Good must be rooted in an acknowledgement of the existence of God. Good must be freely generated from a Creator-of-the-Good, and that Goodness must be a feature of the Creator's God-ness.
Goodness must be "free". Why? It must be "free" in the sense that it's essence is not determined by any condition outside of itself. That's part of the absoluteness of the concept: i.e. "Good" is good because that's what we call its inherent essence. It's not "good" because it's better than something else. It's not "good" because it's sometimes "good" for a limited time or situation or particular entities. What is found to be "good" is good because it bears recognizable qualities of the "Good," and what is called and known as "Good" is Good because it is a hallmark of the One Who Is Good: God.
I think I'm suggesting that the "Good" is a facet of God's Being which is made most manifest in Christ, much as we have come to understand Truth being most perfectly revealed in Christ-The-Word.
I think what I'm searching for or contending with is a way to describe and contrast my experience of what I know about God and God's Creation, most particularly God's Eternal Reality versus the contemporary myth or world-view of our culture. Most people I know recognize that our cultural thinking carries a propaganda that there is no Truth, let alone a Truth that can be known; there is only relative perspectives and opinions and preferences. Similarly, most people recognize that our social thinking promotes the lie that nothing is good or bad, there is not absolute basis for a morality, there is only that which is more or less preferable and it's based on each person's or group's passing notions of such.
Furthermore, our culture/society has nearly succeeded in persuading most of us (even Christians) that anything that is "real" has a divided nature. "There are two sides to every coin." "There are two sides to every story." "You can't know what is good unless you have also experienced the bad." "You can't make a choice unless there are at least two things available." I would argue that all of this thinking is part of the lie first expressed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. I.e. I am arguing that dualistic thinking and conceiving is never fully or adequately revealing of that which is True because that which is True is One. Similarly, that which is Good is Whole.
I'm sure there have already been some very great thinkers who have expressed very well what it is I am trying to understand as I try to describe my thoughts. I realize that my present search for how to express something which I know deep w/in myself to be True is much like eyes trying to see through the darkness the Face of One Who's Voice they have heard in their heart.
More later.
Furthermore, the idea of Good must be rooted in an acknowledgement of the existence of God. Good must be freely generated from a Creator-of-the-Good, and that Goodness must be a feature of the Creator's God-ness.
Goodness must be "free". Why? It must be "free" in the sense that it's essence is not determined by any condition outside of itself. That's part of the absoluteness of the concept: i.e. "Good" is good because that's what we call its inherent essence. It's not "good" because it's better than something else. It's not "good" because it's sometimes "good" for a limited time or situation or particular entities. What is found to be "good" is good because it bears recognizable qualities of the "Good," and what is called and known as "Good" is Good because it is a hallmark of the One Who Is Good: God.
I think I'm suggesting that the "Good" is a facet of God's Being which is made most manifest in Christ, much as we have come to understand Truth being most perfectly revealed in Christ-The-Word.
I think what I'm searching for or contending with is a way to describe and contrast my experience of what I know about God and God's Creation, most particularly God's Eternal Reality versus the contemporary myth or world-view of our culture. Most people I know recognize that our cultural thinking carries a propaganda that there is no Truth, let alone a Truth that can be known; there is only relative perspectives and opinions and preferences. Similarly, most people recognize that our social thinking promotes the lie that nothing is good or bad, there is not absolute basis for a morality, there is only that which is more or less preferable and it's based on each person's or group's passing notions of such.
Furthermore, our culture/society has nearly succeeded in persuading most of us (even Christians) that anything that is "real" has a divided nature. "There are two sides to every coin." "There are two sides to every story." "You can't know what is good unless you have also experienced the bad." "You can't make a choice unless there are at least two things available." I would argue that all of this thinking is part of the lie first expressed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. I.e. I am arguing that dualistic thinking and conceiving is never fully or adequately revealing of that which is True because that which is True is One. Similarly, that which is Good is Whole.
I'm sure there have already been some very great thinkers who have expressed very well what it is I am trying to understand as I try to describe my thoughts. I realize that my present search for how to express something which I know deep w/in myself to be True is much like eyes trying to see through the darkness the Face of One Who's Voice they have heard in their heart.
More later.
