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Godard--
First of all, I'm not convinced God *has* to create the best of all possible worlds, even if there were such a thing. Mind you, at the end of the day I'd probably agree, but I know top notch Philosophers who would disagree (Peter VanInwagen, for example).
As to the possibility of there being a best possible world, let me ask you the following questions.
1. Horses are good, right? So how many horses does the best possible world have? Is there an optimal number of horses?
2. Is a world with intelligent, conscious creatures necessarily better than one without them?
3. What about the null-world, the world without anything other than God? What makes that world worse than this one?
4. Is a world with Asaris better than one without Asaris? What if God could only either create a world with Asaris or a world with Jones, but not a world with both? On what basis could we say one is better than the other?
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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