Holiness of God
Very closely related to God’s goodness is his holiness. In the past it was described as “freedom from all defilement; … a purity that is total and utterly untainted.”Often it is not treated as a distinct attribute alongside the goodness, perfection, and beauty of God. Neither Lombard nor Thomas discusses it. Protestant theologians defined the holiness of God in essentially the same terms: it consists in “moral perfection” or “purity,”and it was sometimes more closely associated with God’s righteousness, his goodness, trustworthiness, or wisdom.Research into the biblical term “holy,” however, has gradually given prominence to another view. At present everyone acknowledges that the concept of holiness in the Old and the New Testament expresses a relation of God to the world. There is disagreement, however, about the precise character of that relation. With a view to texts like Hosea 11:9; Isaiah 57:15; and Ezekiel 20:9ff., Menken associated holiness with God’s condescending goodness and...