As Suan Sonna argues in his Two-Worlds Theodicy, if we expect God to create the greatest possible world, then this would necessarily be a world in which evil exists. Sonna points out that, although finite goodness can certainly exist without evil, the maximum depth of goodness cannot. The example he gives is one of a soldier rushing into battle to save his comrades. If it’s absolutely impossible for any harm to befall the soldier as he’s charging into battle, then there’s really nothing virtuous or brave about the act. While it’s certainly good in itself, the act cannot achieve the maximum quality of goodness unless some evil actually exists that could harm the soldier. As such, evil is shown to have the ability to amplify finite goodness to its maximum degree. Thus, if God truly is all-good and all-powerful, and we would expect Him to create a world with maximum goodness because of this, then the only world He could have possibly created that accomplishes this is one in which evil exists in actuality, and not simply potentiality.
The Greatest Possible Evil
The Greatest Possible Evil
The Greatest Possible Evil
As Suan Sonna argues in his Two-Worlds Theodicy, if we expect God to create the greatest possible world, then this would necessarily be a world in which evil exists. Sonna points out that, although finite goodness can certainly exist without evil, the maximum depth of goodness cannot. The example he gives is one of a soldier rushing into battle to save his comrades. If it’s absolutely impossible for any harm to befall the soldier as he’s charging into battle, then there’s really nothing virtuous or brave about the act. While it’s certainly good in itself, the act cannot achieve the maximum quality of goodness unless some evil actually exists that could harm the soldier. As such, evil is shown to have the ability to amplify finite goodness to its maximum degree. Thus, if God truly is all-good and all-powerful, and we would expect Him to create a world with maximum goodness because of this, then the only world He could have possibly created that accomplishes this is one in which evil exists in actuality, and not simply potentiality.