Does God have Preferences

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nfinke

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I know God likes the good, and hates evil. And obviously some things are more good than others.

But let’s say there are two hypothetical things that have the same level of goodness. Would God be able to look at those things and say “I like A more than B”, the same way I might look at two amoral things (chocolate and vanilla ice cream) and say I like one more subjectively?Or would He be indifferent to it?
 
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You’re talking about goodness as though it is external to God somehow. God is the source of all goodness, and that which is good participates in God’s goodness to some degree.

-Fr ACEGC
 
That’s an interesting question.

Preferences in one sense seem to imply limitation. If I like heavy metal music but not techno, that doesn’t necessarily mean techno isn’t good (like you say, there are many things that are good), it’s just that I gravitate to one or the other more because of how my individual predilections were formed. I did not have the same process of conditioning as one who listened to rap or techno all his life, so I prefer another type of music. If I was in another person’s shoes, techno would also be for me “likeable.”

Now, for a God who is all-knowing, who knows this universe through and through, I don’t see why he couldn’t have an infinitely broader appreciation for all things that participate in some level of his goodness. In that sense I think God is a far more experienced and sophisticated connoisseur of taste than any of us can expect to reach in this lifetime. But that’s just my opinion; ultimately I don’t see how we would be able to know his likes and dislikes in this non-moral sense.
 
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I’m not sure the point of this question. God loved the Jewish people from the beginning of Abraham. Abraham was good in God’s eyes! So, a short answer to your question is, yes, God is able to size up a situation and choose one good over another good. We shouldn’t dwell on this. God is the creator of all things!
 
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