How do you know your deity is good?

[Theweirdtophat]

By that, I mean how do you know the god or goddess you worship is actually a good deity? As in, a decent, moral, ethical deity? I personally believe almost all the gods and goddesses, both alien and indigenous existed and interacted with humans and helped made us what we are.

But how do you know your deity actually did the good things the deity claimed they did. How do you know the deity you worship wasn't actually some evil one that did bad things. Sometimes that happens even in history where historical figures can get praise but in reality they actually did horrible things. Such as when people say history is written by the winners, the winners weren't always saints as history sometimes makes them out to be.

Sometimes in religion a god will come up and claim all other gods are evil. Are they really? Or is it perhaps that one god is evil but pretending to be good in order to get praise. Some pantheons are known to clash, but how can you tell which pantheon actually is good?

 

[jeager106]

I do not.
I only know what I read in and about the Christian Bible.
Can't speak to other religions god or gods.

 

[Kori]

Faith is based off the unknowable. However In Norse cowardice was not considered to be, well any sort of option. And anyone can view telling a lie as a form of cowardice.

 

[Riverwolf]

I consider the Gods to be, to use the phrase, beyond good and evil.

 

[Deidre]

Perhaps it depends on how we define 'good.' For me, coming back to Christianity...I view Jesus as the quintessential example of love, of self sacrifice. It is more than believing a set of stories, but rather that I experience Jesus in my own life, now.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Perhaps it depends on how we define 'good.' For me, coming back to Christianity...I view Jesus as the quintessential example of love, of self sacrifice. It is more than believing a set of stories, but rather that I experience Jesus in my own life, now.

/looks to see if this was a DIR. Nope!/ Thats beautiful.

@Theweirdtophat The way I know the spirits are good (and some bad) is I know a lot about them in general from my living family. We base it on good/bad behavor. To me, they are not either. Those spirits that no one really knows I know because I am here and alive. What could be better of being good than to give life and share stories of our history through generations that came and to come.

 

[McBell]

How do you know your deity is good?

I know my deity is good because my deity said it is good.
And so it is now on you to prove that my deity is not good.
And you have to prove it to me.
I have proven beyond any shadow of doubt that my deity is good by ignoring and dismissing anything and every thing negative said about my deity.
I mean, come on, it is self evident that my deity is good.

Check mate atheists!

 

[buddhist]

In Buddhism, although the gods might be far more powerful and enjoy far more delights then humans, they also have free choice to be moral or immoral.

So, there are "bad" and "good" gods, as well as "bad" and "good" demons ... just like there are "bad" and "good" humans, animals, ghosts, etc.

 

[Shia Islam]

By that, I mean how do you know the god or goddess you worship is actually a good deity? As in, a decent, moral, ethical deity? I personally believe almost all the gods and goddesses, both alien and indigenous existed and interacted with humans and helped made us what we are.

But how do you know your deity actually did the good things the deity claimed they did. How do you know the deity you worship wasn't actually some evil one that did bad things. Sometimes that happens even in history where historical figures can get praise but in reality they actually did horrible things. Such as when people say history is written by the winners, the winners weren't always saints as history sometimes makes them out to be.

Sometimes in religion a god will come up and claim all other gods are evil. Are they really? Or is it perhaps that one god is evil but pretending to be good in order to get praise. Some pantheons are known to clash, but how can you tell which pantheon actually is good?

Seeing that HE asks me to be good to others...

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

By that, I mean how do you know the god or goddess you worship is actually a good deity? As in, a decent, moral, ethical deity? I personally believe almost all the gods and goddesses, both alien and indigenous existed and interacted with humans and helped made us what we are.

But how do you know your deity actually did the good things the deity claimed they did. How do you know the deity you worship wasn't actually some evil one that did bad things. Sometimes that happens even in history where historical figures can get praise but in reality they actually did horrible things. Such as when people say history is written by the winners, the winners weren't always saints as history sometimes makes them out to be.

Sometimes in religion a god will come up and claim all other gods are evil. Are they really? Or is it perhaps that one god is evil but pretending to be good in order to get praise. Some pantheons are known to clash, but how can you tell which pantheon actually is good?

In the Cross of Jesus Christ I see the perfect coming together of mercy and justice, love and holiness. Who has heard of this, God dying for the sins of humanity, taking the punishment they deserved? There is no love like this that I have ever seen, and it is one of the main reasons, among many, that I view God as good.

Other reasons would include simply getting to know God personally through His Word, to "taste and see that the Lord is good", as God Himself encourages in Psalms, and having a relationship with Him that has stood through the years and has only grown stronger through all the ups and downs. God truly is the source of all joy, and I can find no satisfaction in anything but Him.

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

I was being plagued by an evil person.
I prayed: 'save me Jesus, save me!'
He appeared before me clearly and said:
'make the evil into that which is good'

 

[Quintessence]

By that, I mean how do you know the god or goddess you worship is actually a good deity? As in, a decent, moral, ethical deity?

As someone who could be described as a moral nihilist (that is, I reject "good" and "evil" as being qualities of the universe/gods), I do not bother to ask this question because I do not care about the answer. I worship gods that other humans label as "good" and ones that other humans label as "evil." I do not care about the moralizing of humans; I regard such things as projections onto what is a fundamentally amoral reality/gods/universe.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

In the naturalistic version of virtue ethics (Aristotle, Rosalind Hursthouse) "good" means the same thing in "good book", "good dog", and "good person". It means a specimen with minimal imperfections and maximal excellencies. A banana is a good fruit because it's nutritious, but it's a bad tree because it's sterile and depends on humans for it's survival.

So, a good god would be a god who did the sort of things that a god ought to do from a god's point of view. In other words, I don't know enough about what gods get up to do judge them objectively. I can, however, judge them as I'd judge a book or a fruit, on the basis of how they interact with humans. On that basis, they have a pretty good track record.

 

[syo]

Only people are evil, not Gods.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Only people are evil, not Gods.

Except for the gods that are clearly evil.

Seriously there are Gods that have done the same things human have done. Being more powerful does not make you a better person.

 

[Milton Platt]

By that, I mean how do you know the god or goddess you worship is actually a good deity? As in, a decent, moral, ethical deity? I personally believe almost all the gods and goddesses, both alien and indigenous existed and interacted with humans and helped made us what we are.

But how do you know your deity actually did the good things the deity claimed they did. How do you know the deity you worship wasn't actually some evil one that did bad things. Sometimes that happens even in history where historical figures can get praise but in reality they actually did horrible things. Such as when people say history is written by the winners, the winners weren't always saints as history sometimes makes them out to be.

Sometimes in religion a god will come up and claim all other gods are evil. Are they really? Or is it perhaps that one god is evil but pretending to be good in order to get praise. Some pantheons are known to clash, but how can you tell which pantheon actually is good?

I believe in none of them, and have always asked the same question.

 

[Milton Platt]

Only people are evil, not Gods.

That begs the question. how do you KNOW??????

 

[Riverwolf]

Only people are evil, not Gods.

I can think of a few stories...

 

[psychoslice]

I think whatever deity we worship, we then reflect that deity, if we reflect love towards others, then your deity of choice is good.

 

[syo]

That begs the question. how do you KNOW??????

know what? that Gods aren't evil? nothing makes them evil. why on earth are they evil? but I admit there are human religions that wish for evil gods, what can I say.