Absolute Good: Divine Perfection and Human Creativity
Absolute good, when identified with God, appears not so much as the result of human creation as an expression of participation in the divine fullness of being. According to one source, man is called to do good individually, realizing his unique purpose in the world and affirming his transcendent individuality. This is emphasized in the statement:"Absolute good, for each, lies in the fulfillment of one's individual, unique purpose in the world, in affirming one's transcendent individuality, in achieving the absolute fullness of eternal being. ... The task of embodying good in one’s life is a purely creative individual task; one must create good individually rather than mechanically following an order, whether it comes from reason or something else." (source: link txt)On the other hand, absolute good in its full sense is only possible within the Kingdom of God, where it is not divided into good and evil. Beyond this sphere, good is always bound with the manifestation of free choice, which makes moral life complete. Thus, man cannot become an automaton of absolute good – it is precisely his freedom, creative act, and ability to set goals and embody values that determine his role in this concept. This is also reflected in the reasoning that excessive automation in the pursuit of following an absolute model of good deprives a person of moral life:"Absolute good and absolute perfection outside the Kingdom of God turn a person into an automaton of good, that is, essentially, they deny moral life, for moral life is impossible without the freedom of spirit." (source: link txt)Thus, man, possessing free will and creative energy, can creatively approach absolute good, although absolute good in itself bears a characteristic inherent to God – it is the complete, all-pervasive self-value and meaning of being. Man’s place in this concept lies in participation, in free choice, and in the creative striving toward higher values, where it is his individuality and ability to love values in their proper order of importance that become the condition for approaching absolute good.