Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyboosh
In the same way that the ontological argument offers two possibilities, (existing and not existing) and suggests that one of those is necessarily better than the other, you did the same thing with your example and suggested that a universe where people voluntarily act in a moral way is necessarily better than one where they're forced, therefore that's the thing which must exist. I thought you did it deliberately.
But, in a universe where every action is created by god, there are no moral choices because there are no choices. We can't do other than what god made us to do when he created everything. Moral theories "that view free will as the basis of morality" would be wrong in this model.
You are just assuming your conclusion that God can't create free-willed beings.
1) An omnimax God desires to create a maximally perfect universe.
2) A maximally perfect universe requires the possibility of moral value.
3) An omnimax God desires to create a universe with the possibility of moral value.
4) The possibility of moral value requires beings who can make free choices.
5) Thus, an omnimax God desires to create a universe with beings who can make free choices.
6) Beings who can make free choices can choose to do evil.
7) Therefore, a maximally perfect universe requires beings who can choose to do evil.
8) An omnimax God cannot determine beings who make free choices to not choose evil.
9) Therefore, a maximally perfect universe requires beings that an omnimax God cannot determine to not choose evil.
10) A maximally perfect universe is a universe where all beings never choose to do evil.
11) Therefore, an omnimax God cannot determine that the actual universe is the maximally perfect universe.
Where's the contradiction? Notice that omnipotence and omniscience only imply that God can do what it is possible to do, so if it not possible for God to determine that the actual universe is the maximally perfect universe, then God not doing so is not in conflict with God's omniscience and omnipotence.
You seem to think the claim that the actual universe is a maximally perfect universe is a claim of Christian theology. Some Christians, most famously Leibniz, have made this claim, but I'd say most reject it.