The Showcase of God's Glory: an introduction cont.

Gottfried Leibniz introduced, in large part, the notion of this world being the best of all possible worlds in his 18th century work, Theodicy. While specifically a response to the problem of evil, the “best of all possible worlds” argument remains one that extends beyond any one genre of philosophy or theology. Rather, it employs various inter-disciplinary arguments and deductions to provide a comprehensive picture of the nature and character of God played out in the Creation Act. Since the publishing of Theodicy in 1710, Leibniz’s proposition has undergone numerous and extensive critiques, attracting as many opponents and critics as proponents and new authors.
It is beyond the scope of this paper to provide an entire description of the debate concerning the “best of all possible worlds” argument. Rather, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the goodness of God forms the crux of the “best of all possible worlds” argument. Depending on one’s philosophical assumptions and theological beliefs, the debate of possible worlds may be a moot point. However, the “best of all possible worlds” argument, whether or not one finds it viable, is dependant on the Christian theistic doctrine of the goodness of God. Contrary to the arguments of Knudson, Reichenbach, and Plantinga, the goodness of God, which informed Him in the actualizing of Creation, allows the Christian theist to argue that God created the best of all possible worlds.