Is God absolutely good?

This question is one of many that many people try to understand at several points in time. Atheists, Christians, and the irreligious all try to make sense of this question once in a while.

For the atheist, it forms the basis of a conclusion that if God is good, he wouldn't allow evil to happen. And if God was just, he wouldn't allow evil to go unpunished. As such, it must be that God is neither good nor just or it would be that God simply does not exist. And every time an atheist brought up this summation during a discuss with a believer, the next minutes would be taken up by heated arguments.

For the Christian, the basis of God's goodness cannot be question or challenged. God is all good and all just and he allows evil to happen in the context of man's own will. This is drawn from the conclusion that when Adam first ate the fruit in the garden, he was acting based on his own volition and God was bound by man's volition not to interfere even though he knows the future.

When these topics are up for discussion, a lot has to be considered contextually in order to sufficiently solve the question. But in the long run, the solution to this question can never be fully accepted by both sides. "The atheist will not be converted by eloquent words," declares the Christian "only by the word and demonstration of power". The atheist, on the other hand, concludes that to the believer "logic and reasoning mean nothing, as long as they don't end to the glory of God".

Is there a middle ground in all of this? If God is as he is spoken of, is it in the best interest of man that he is absolutely just? When you fall under the weight of his justice, will he still be good?

But I'm not interested in the argument today. I just can't help but ponder on the possibility of that sword swinging both ways. The very foundation of God's mercifulness is predicated on the notion that man is infinitely flawed. "if we say we have no sin, we make God a liar". A just God, like the atheist puts it, should mete out judgement to "sinners".

But who really is a sinner?