The following argument was presented on a discussion forum (clubhouse) by an atheist on what he perceived was a logical problem of evil and why God cannot exist. I listened carefully and asked for clarification on the premises. The following is what I heard. In my opinion, the argument is so bad that I don’t know if I’m representing it properly below. Nevertheless, I asked for clarification and listened as others did, too. After the atheist repeated the argument, I hope that I have accurately represented his position. If I have not, it was not on purpose. It is not my intention to misrepresent any argument against Christianity. I try and repeat them accurately and then examine them. Nevertheless, what follows is what I heard. I’ve listed it out and then repeated it with commentary after each point

1. God is morally perfect
2. The world is morally imperfect
3. If God is morally perfect, prior to God creating anything, the world was morally perfect.
4. If God is morally perfect, then his actions cannot decrease the degree of the moral perfection of the world.
5. If before creation, the world was morally perfect, but it is not morally perfect now, then the actions of God have decreased the moral perfection of the world.
6. Therefore, God does not exist.

My response to an argument against God via a logical problem of evil

1. God is morally perfect
   1. Neither God nor “morally perfect” are defined. Which God? What standard of moral perfection is presented? Is he considering one, or is he just generically proposing a condition of moral perfection with any particular god?  It would seem the latter.
   2. If the atheist is proposing a generic god and whatever it means to be “morally perfect,” then he is implying that there is a universal standard of moral perfection to which god, whatever god it is, must be subject. But, this would not be the Christian God.
   3. If the critic was presupposing the Christian God, then moral perfection could only be described based on His self-revelation found in the Bible.
   4. If the atheist would want to extract from the Scriptures those moral qualities that pertain to God, then fine. But, I do not believe he would dare undertake such a task.
   5. If the atheist is trying to posit a god that is morally and internally consistent, then that would be a generic statement that I could work with.
2. The world is morally imperfect
   1. The word “world” was not defined until later in the discussion – which I will show was confusing. But, it necessitates that the word “world” here would seem to imply our world now since there is moral imperfection within it.
3. If God is morally perfect, prior to God creating anything, the world was morally perfect.
   1. A world before creation? Someone called him on this, and he responded by saying ‘world’ here referred to the realm in which God exists – before he created anything. Really? Where is he getting this? So apparently, some god he is thinking about exists in a world that existed before God created anything. I would love to know what this world is like.
   2. Perhaps the atheist was thinking of the ancient pantheon of Greek gods or the god of Mormonism who came from another planet. I don’t know. But he is not talking about the Christian God.
4. If God is morally perfect, then his actions cannot decrease the degree of the moral perfection of the world.
   1. Where is the logical necessity in the statement? What logic necessitates that if any particular god created a world that his actions cannot decrease the degree of moral perfection of the world – whatever that means! Again, if whatever ‘god’ he is speaking about is morally perfect, what necessitates that the world this particular god creates must also be morally perfect like him?
   2. Furthermore, if the atheist is using this argument against the Christian God, then he doesn’t understand Christian theology. If we were to grant some form of moral perfection to the Christian Trinitarian being, it would mean that such a moral perfection cannot be possessed by anything created. After all, in Christianity, moral perfection is a quality of God alone. This is because in Christianity, moral perfection (the inability to sin and or the state of sinlessness) would be a quality of the nature of God, not a created thing.
5. If before creation, the world was morally perfect, but it is not morally perfect now, then the actions of God have decreased the moral perfection of the world.
   1. So, as I said above, this particular atheist proposed that there is a hypothetical place in which God dwells before he made anything. Is he saying that this ‘world-thing’ where God dwells was morally perfect but now is not morally perfect?  It didn’t make sense.
   2. And yet, he says the world is not now morally perfect. So, which world is he talking about? Is it the one in which God dwelt before he made anything, or is it the one in which we dwell now?
6. Therefore, God does not exist.
   1. It should go without saying that the conclusion is in no way validated by any of the premises above since they are incoherent and undefined. The argument is surprisingly bad.