Quote Originally Posted by Worldsong View Post
I think you might be making some assumptions about what are mandatory requirements for a deity or person to be Lawful Good.
Well if they are described in game terms as lawful good then they have to actually be lawful and good.
A DM could refuse to provide the actual alignment of the gods and have a god with good propaganda who pretends to be lawful good, but that god could not than have actual lawful good paladins out doing evil deeds for him on a regular basis (he might manage to hoodwink a few paladins into indirectly serving his evil goals now and then, but only on a temporary basis).

Actually that's not entirely fair. Your interpretation of Lawful Good is valid...
Thank you.
...but I don't think it's the only one and if a DM made such an empire and said it still qualifies as Lawful Good I'd see it as an example of how Lawful Good can end up being problematic rather than it being not Lawful Good.
I would see it as an example of a DM who hasn't really thought out what lawful good really means and what all the implications are for the game he wants to run. I might enjoy such a game as a player, but I would definitely have words to say to the DM about it. Especially if I were playing a 3.5 or earlier paladin.