Potential Better World

Can God created world in a better state? Let me clarify, this question is not about whether God can potentially make a world in a better state in the future. The Bible is clear about this, especially when we look at the book of Revelation, beyond doubt. So, this question is directed in the beginning of time, that is to say, can God make a different world and thus better in state compare to the world we have today? This is the main issue. Well, God as the all wise and all knowing must had considered the best world. It is logically to assume that since God is the most perfect being, His decision to make the world today is the best possible world despite our doubt and skeptical mind. This is what Leibniz argue, as an omnipotent and wholly benevolent, God has must be chosen the bet world. But for the sake of digging deeper, we can then try to trace the rationale of God creating the universe in this way, not that way. 

Actually this question has been raised by Aquinas as he asked whether God can create a better universe. If the greater good comes out of parts then the more the parts of universe that God created then universe can be better. With regards to this, yes God could make it better or as Aquinas says, ''Improvement''.

However, the state of universe whether is good or not cannot be measured by mere quantity (Endless: for three is better than two, four is better than three, five is better than four and so on) but rather quality and purpose, that is to say, regardless how many parts He might or had created (He is sovereign, and hence up to Him), as long as He created for the good purpose in mind hence, we can say that's a best universe He would like to create and in fact, no comparison of "better" world should and cannot be made of for all potential universe is all just potential and not an actual state of affair. 

Of course people can further ask, can God create a better world without evil and suffering? And I think, there is a strong case to argue that that kind of potential better world without evil cannot be happened with this very reason, that the world as we live today is the best possible world for activating love and compassion and whereby the genuine relationship can be fostered. If God created the world by closing the potential of evil arising, then that the end of real human freedom so to speak for we cannot potentially do the otherwise (I reluctant to use free-will, since I believe that free-will in the fullest sense of the term somehow arbitrary, all free-will of human being is always a restricted will). Thus, we cannot have a real relationship for real relationship need to have a dimension of will, to say yes and no in the relationship.

Can God then create a world whereby human has some sense of freedom and yet at the same time did not commit evil. Yes, I think it is possible. God could created the world like the heaven in the first place, a heaven that we hope will come at the end of the history but, we will will miss the great story of love that can be better expressed through suffering and sacrifice. We cannot get that expression of love if God only created just heaven. There will be a great missing, the knowledge of love and the modes of relationship that cannot be expressed better other than through the cross of Christ. We also cannot learn the deep dimension of God's character, God who forgive, God who punish, the Wrath of God, God who offer grace and so on. 

If the end product of a perfect world is the same, that is to say the new heaven and earth (either created at the beginning or created at the end). Hence, we can deduce and conclude that this world is the best possible world as it will bring a greater glory and greater doxology in knowing the deep and rich character of God that cannot be explained by any other possible world, that is to say, a world with no suffering at all. Only through this possible world we can know the love of the savior and the unconditional love of God. To make it more precise, Norman Geisler has put it greatly that theist does not have to claim that our present world is the best of all possible world, but it is the best way to the best possible world. I think it is important to be reminded again, God created the best of all possible worlds not for the sake of humanity, but out of a moral constraint to perform the greatest good.