Is God compassionate?

[Neithan]

com·pas·sion http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium.gif http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngcache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif /kəmˈpæʃhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciationkuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngm-pash-uhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
*–noun *1.a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Do we believe that this is an attribute of the divine goodness? Does God wish to alleviate the suffering?

 

[davidv]

com·pas·sion http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium.gif http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngcache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif/kəmˈpæʃhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngən/Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciationkuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngm-pash-uhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn]Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
*–noun *1.a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Do we believe that this is an attribute of the divine goodness? Does God wish to alleviate the suffering?

Yes. Why else would He have provided food and water to His people each day and every day for the 40 years they wandered in the desert after being freed from Egypt?

 

[AgnosTheist]

Yes. Why else would He have provided food and water to His people each day and every day for the 40 years they wandered in the desert after being freed from Egypt?

if he can do that to the jews, why wont he do that to the countless starving malnourished children around the world today?

oh no! is it that god is just a little bit compassionate?

 

[davidv]

if he can do that to the jews, why wont he do that to the countless starving malnourished children around the world today?

oh no! is it that god is just a little bit compassionate?

Because He now has the rest of us, who are fully capable of doing so, to do it. It is only the greedy and power hungry who stand in the way of an equitable distribution of the worlds resources.

 

[AgnosTheist]

Because He now has the rest of us, who are fully capable of doing so, to do it. It is only the greedy and power hungry who stand in the way of an equitable distribution of the worlds resources.

thats like a doctor seeing a dying man on the road and ignoring him saying “its not my job. i’m off duty. let the police medics do their job”.

 

[davidv]

thats like a doctor seeing a dying man on the road and ignoring him saying “its not my job. i’m off duty. let the police medics do their job”.

How so? Most of us are that “doctor seeing a dying man on the road”.

 

[AgnosTheist]

How so? Most of us are that “doctor seeing a dying man on the road”.

thats why god isnt any more compassionate than such doctors.

why didnt the biblical god redeem mankind as soon as Adam & Eve fell from grace? thats not very compassionate of him.

 

[Neithan]

I ask because I know that Catholic dogma states that God is “absolute Benignity,” but I’m not sure what that means exactly, and whether compassion would be a part of that. I would have a hard time believing God to be compassionate given that He decided to use suffering as a means to redemption i.e. the Passion of Christ and not to mention all the suffering that goes on/has happened in the world today and throughout history.

I also think that most atheists tool the Problem of Evil argument in such a way that the “goodness” of God requires compassion, which I’m not sure is necessarily true.

 

[jimmy85]

com·pas·sion http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium.gif http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngcache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif /kəmˈpæʃhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciationkuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngm-pash-uhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
*–noun *1.a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Do we believe that this is an attribute of the divine goodness? Does God wish to alleviate the suffering?

I recommed you to read the diary of St. Faustina.
St Faustina had some revelations about the endless mercy of God, it shows how endless is the mercy and compasion of God. here is a part of her diary:
St Faustina’s Diary

We are also discussing her diary in the forum’s book club:
Book Club

take care

 

[ncgolf]

thats like a doctor seeing a dying man on the road and ignoring him saying “its not my job. i’m off duty. let the police medics do their job”.

No … Christ is the doctor … however we dont like the medicine.

 

[Deist]

I’m no Theologian or anything, I’m just a joe shmoe Catholic nobody.
But this question has come to me from Atheists more times than I can count.
Basically it’s the same as asking why God just doesn’t use magic powers to cater to our every need and want.
My answer is always this question.
Why would God bother to use his omnipotency to make food grow from rocks?
Why wouldn’t he simply create us to be beings that could survive on sunlight and oxegen alone?
After that, why would he bother to create animals, plants, insects, bacteria or any components of the circle of life?
Why are we mortal?
Why doesn’t God have a physical presence on earth as the God of all creation Lord of the earth and rule us from a throne we worship?

See, the question taken to the extreme level gives you the answer.

This earth and everything in it was created with incredible attention to detail. The weather cycles, the plants, insects, single cell organisms, soil, our brains and sentience, self awareness.

It’s all for us to do with what we will, with free will to do with it as we see fit.
Why would you teach your child to do anything but suck from a bottle and eat from a spoon?
Because that is no kind of life.