In a much discussed New York Times piece called ‘An Imperfect God’, the philosopher Yoram Hazony opens by stating the standard descriptions of God, namely that God is all powerful, all knowing and good.
But, as Hazony explains, there are numerous problems with this view:
The first is that it appears to be impossible to make it coherent. For example, it seems unlikely that God can be both perfectly powerful and perfectly good if the world is filled (as it obviously is) with instances of terrible injustice.
The questions Hazony's piece raised were taken up by HuffPost Live host Josh Zepps, who was joined by a group of philosophers and theologians.
Baylor professor of philosophy Trent Dougherty outlined the problem as:
..an apparent incompatibility between the hypothesis that the world is the result of a perfect being and the imperfections that we all observe in every area of our life. The puzzle is how those two things fit together.
While the pastoral theologian Stephanie Crumpton suggested that the dilemma was exacerbated by the limitations of language, philosopher Trent Doughterty offered his take:
Keep in mind is that for the ordinary believer, logic only goes so far. Need is what drives the belief in God. And for the ordinary believer, the arguments of philosophers has little effect.
Click to see the entire segment A Flawed God
What do you think? How do you resolve the question of a 'perfect God'? Add your thoughts in the comments section.