If we assume the existence of an omniscient and omnipotent being, one that knows and can do absolutely everything, then to my own very limited self, it would seem that existence for it would be unbearable. Nothing to wonder about? Nothing to ponder over? Nothing to discover? Eternity in such a heaven would surely be indistinguishable from hell. ~ Isaac Asimov, “X” Stands for Unknown, 1984

Apart from his embarrassingly juvenile understanding of God, Asimov raises a good question, viz.: What is the best possible world? Such a world would be wonderous, and offer mysteries to discover. Ultimately, we would like to discover the most wonderous thing of all, but let’s hold that off for a moment.

Asimov’s point differs from others like him. The most common argument against God is that this world, with all its horrors and evils, could not have been created by an omniscient, omnipotent, and good God. You will note that Asimov does omit the qualifier “good”.

Let’s consider the creation of the world as described in Genesis. Note that it is more like a framework rather than a detailed description. Instead of 100, or many more, volumes with tedious details, Genesis includes just a few short chapters. That leaves plenty to discover about the creation of the world.

Spiritual texts assume a rather Platonic view of the world, provided that is understood in a very general sense. Plato is just one link of a metaphysical chain that forms the Heart of the West. The fundamental point is that, in addition to the material world, there is a spiritual world of ideas. A “thing”, therefore, is a combination of the physical with an idea. There is no definition in physics for any particular thing. That is called the “measurement problem” and is still rather mysterious. Quantum physics describes a state vector for particles that can do no more than describe a probability. There is no physical formula for a star, a plant, or a human being.

The Stages of Genesis

Genesis describes several stages of creation which match our personal experiences perfectly.

• Possibilities. The world is divided into Heaven (Ideas) and Earth (matter).
• Movement. The world is set in motion. By Newton’s First Law, matter cannot begin to move without an outside force acting on it.
• Vegetation. Life begins.
• Animals. Sentient life begins.
• Humans. Rational life begins.
• Freedom. Humans are given the gift of free will.
• Love. Only free beings can love

In your perfect world, what would you change? To be sentient means to be able to “feel”. An animal feels thirsty, so it seeks water. A robot, running low on batteries, just reads a gauge, which is not really part of him.

Asimov’s world requires rational life, beings who are able to discover things. If we knew everything, as he says, there is nothing to discover. Since we don’t, we have to stumble through the world with imperfect knowledge. The price of imperfect knowledge includes mistakes, often costly mistakes. But it also includes creativity.

Would the best world deny freedom? Perhaps we could have been programmed like robots, with something like Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Then we would always make the moral choice. The world envisioned by Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor provided for man’s needs while denying him freedom.

Finally, there is Love. Would a perfect world include the ability to Love? Only free beings can love. Many people today, in the anonymous loneliness of the modern world, substitute for it the affection of dogs, which cannot love in any satisfactory sense.

Love encompasses all the aspects of Being:

• There are intense sexual sensations at the most primitive level of life.
• The is the exhilarating feeling of falling in love with someone.
• There is the feeling associated with creativity such as that of an artist, mathematician or scientist.
• There is the thrill at understanding the loftiest philosophical understanding as described, for example, by Spinoza’s intellectual love of God.
• Ultimately there is the love of God with all one’s heart, soul, strength, and mind.

I suppose most everyone has a gripe against God and wishes things could be different. But a world with life, feelings, discovery, creativity, freedom, and love must necessarily be better than a computerized simulation of life or a world populated by programmed robots.