Everything Has Limits

One of the major arguments which atheists make against God is that if He's all powerful, why isn't everything perfect? Why do we have a world with evil and a Universe where bad things can happen? Why can't we all have been made perfect and suffer no trials? It sounds compelling. Yet it isn't really a strong argument.

All powerful only means that God can do anything which it is possible to do, not that He can do absolutely anything. Catholic theology teaches that God cannot do what is intrinsically contradictory, for example. He can't make a rock so large that He can't lift it.

Now, He has made us humans both self aware and with free will. Could He have made us any other way? I'm inclined to argue no. What's the point of self awareness and freedom in an automaton, a robot? Is it even possible for there to be such creatures? Could they actually appreciate anything and thus have meaning in their lives? If their only option is to be exactly what they were made to be, no more and no less, could they actually find value in the world around them? Could they see value in themselves and their works? Machines may work very well, but do not realize much less appreciate what they do. I don't see how we could not be created self aware beings.

We are then faced with free will, which strikes me a necessary facet of self awareness. If you can't be free to choose is it possible to really appreciate anything? This means we can do as we please, left to ourselves. It must further mean that those who choose to do evil will exist. Evil, then, will happen and all the bad results along with it, not because God wants it, but that free will demands consequence, that our bad actions must reach their conclusion (and our good works as well). Otherwise, choice is sterile.

So, can it be any other way? Could God have created a perfect world? It is hard for me to say yes.