Divine Freedom

DEFENSE

This presupposes that there is a best solution to every problem, but often this is not the case.

Sometimes there are many solutions, all of which are equal. If the problem is to pick a random number between one and ten, there are ten possible solutions. If it is to be a random number, there are no criteria by which to judge one number better than another. Therefore, all choices are equal.

Sometimes one choice is better than another, yet there is no best choice. This happens when there are an infinite (unlimited) number of choices that can be ranked in order. The second choice may be better than the first, the third choice better than the second, and so on, but since the number of choices is unlimited, there is no final, best choice.

This is the situation with respect to God and the universe. The Church holds he created the universe freely, without any compulsion (CCC 317). If he chose not to create, then there would be no created goodness. He also could create an infinite number of possible universes, which we could rank by the amount of created goodness they would contain.

God thus has a range of choices. At one end of the spectrum there is the decision not to create a universe, representing no created goodness, then a universe with a small amount of created goodness, a universe with a greater amount, a universe with a greater amount still, and so on. But there is no maximum amount of created goodness. “With infinite power God could always create something better” (CCC 310).

This means there is no “best of all possible worlds.” God could always make a world a little bit better. The idea of a best world that infinite creative power could make is logically contradictory, like a square circle or a four-sided triangle (see Day 2).

God has an unlimited number of creative options, but no best option. He is therefore free to choose among the alternatives, including not creating at all.

TIP
For more, see St. Thomas Aquinas, ST I:25:6.