One of the goals of Apologetics is to deal with the objections that people have regarding the existence of God. For the last several weeks, we have been listing some of these objections and the arguments that address them. Here is where we address the objection that God must be imperfect because the world is imperfect:
Imperfect World, Imperfect Cause. It is objected that, if there is a cause of the universe, it need not be perfect, since the world is imperfect. If a cause resembles its effects, then it would seem that the world must be caused by an imperfect, finite, male and female group of gods. For this is what we know as the causes of like imperfect things in our experience.
The ultimate cause, however, cannot be imperfect, since the not perfect can only be known if there is ultimately a Perfect by which it is known not to be perfect. Nor must the cause be identical to its effect. The cause cannot be less than the effect, but it can be more. The cause of finite being cannot be imperfect, since it is Being itself or Pure Actuality. Only Pure Actuality can actualize a potency (potentiality). No potency can actualize itself. Hence, the Cause of being must be perfect in its Being, since it has no potency, limitations, or privation that can constitute an imperfection.
Geisler, N. L. (1999). In Baker encyclopedia of Christian apologetics (p. 292). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
