<strong>Penn</strong> <strong>Philosophical</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong> His line <strong>of</strong> reasoning implies that through an act <strong>of</strong> creation,God’s perfection is increased. To make God’s choice to enterinto an act <strong>of</strong> creation a moral necessity deems that if God doesnot act in such a way, then He will act contrary to His ownnature (for God would not be acting in a perfect way). YetI believe that to follow such a line <strong>of</strong> reasoning contradictsingthat if God did not create the world, then He would notbe supremely wise. The problem with this argument is that itholds that God’s act <strong>of</strong> creation adds to His goodness and wis- -to or improved upon, but by necessitating this choice <strong>of</strong> God’s,that a perfect being, who carries all aspects <strong>of</strong> perfection in hisDiscourse)must engage in an act <strong>of</strong> creation. For God was perfect in naturebefore His creation <strong>of</strong> the world and His decision to createa void that existed before the creation <strong>of</strong> the world (again, it is-God’s perfection. To necessitate God’s act <strong>of</strong> creation is to attemptto necessitate something that is not necessitated due tosibleworlds is necessitated by the goodness <strong>of</strong> His character,His choice as to whether or not to engage in an act <strong>of</strong> creation for the moral necessity <strong>of</strong> God’s creation hangs upon his unarguedassumption that God’s decision not to create would notact,” and assumes that creating the best <strong>of</strong> all possible worlds<strong>of</strong> reasoning plausible. For I do not see how, given God’s initialperfection, a choice to create is the best choice. God couldperfectly well remain in His initial perfection, complete in Hisglory and goodness, forever enjoying himself, without the creation<strong>of</strong> a world. perfection was complete in its nature before He chose to createa world. God, before creating the world, was perfectly self-which comes to God from his work is not at all essential tosennot to create a world instead <strong>of</strong> creating this world. He wascompletely free to choose as He pleased, and there was no no-tinctionbetween metaphysical necessity and moral necessity interms <strong>of</strong> God’s decision to create or not. For any necessitatedthere is a difference between these two types <strong>of</strong> necessity in-God did have a choice whether or not to create a world, but byJanuary 2010to create would cause a contradiction in His nature, somethingwhich God obviously cannot do (because it would violate His-not have a choice because choosing not to create would causea contradiction in the nature <strong>of</strong> God. Instead, I claim that Godwas perfectly free to choose whether or not to create a worldat all. I hold to a libertarian notion <strong>of</strong> choice in terms <strong>of</strong> God’s-for stronger reasons the creation <strong>of</strong> the world, is a necessary any necessary relation to a single one <strong>of</strong> his creatures” (162).God is not required, in any sense <strong>of</strong> the word, to enter into anact <strong>of</strong> creation because He can exist perfectly without the creation<strong>of</strong> any world. God’s perfection is not dependent upon Hiscreating, but rather creation is dependent upon God’s perfec-necessitated to act in accordance with His nature. God does notHis goodness and wisdom. God must continue to act in accordwith His nature because not to do so would go against His verynature, and thus He would cease to be God. ingthe best <strong>of</strong> all possible worlds (due to God’s perfection andIt does not follow that given God’s perfection, He must engagein an act <strong>of</strong> creation. For by attempting to make God’s choicefectionbecause such an argument assumes God’s nature can beaugmented by an act <strong>of</strong> creation. To augment a perfect being-reason to hold in God’s choice to create a world.Works CitedModern Philosophy:An Anthology <strong>of</strong> Primary Sources. Indianapolis: HackettPublishing Company, Inc., 1998. Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness <strong>of</strong> God,the Freedom <strong>of</strong> Man, and the Origin <strong>of</strong> EvilYale <strong>University</strong> Press, 1952. Treatise on Nature and Grace. 910
<strong>Penn</strong> <strong>Philosophical</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong>January 201010
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