"People sometimes say, as if it were a weighty consideration, that God is not only loving, but also holy; he is not only merciful, but also just. What is the point of such a remark? Suppose I should say that God is not only loving , but also wise. This second remark, like the first, is no doubt true, and might even have a real point in an appropriate context. But neither remark justifies the idea that God sometimes acts in unloving ways. For if God is love, as 1 John 4 : 8 and 4 : 16 declare, and it is therefore his very nature to love, then it is logically impossible that he should fail to love someone or should act in unloving way towards anyone. It is as impossible for God to act contrary to someone’s ultimate good, in other words, as it is for him to believe a false proposition or to act unjustly."
Universal Salvation? The Current Debate, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, edited by Parry and Partridge, 2004. “A Pauline Interpretation of Divine Judgment”, Thomas Talbott, p.32.
