perfection? imperfection?

What makes something perfect to you?

Is it something that is technically flawless? Like a perfectly grown crystal, free of all inclusions? 

Or... is it something you find to be beautiful? A sunset, a painting, a photograph - the face of someone you love? 

Paradox? 

Think about it. In the debate about the existence of a Creator - what's one of the classic questions - "If God created the world, why didn't He create it perfect?" - this really further begs the question of why God would create a dynamic vs. a static world, which is a subject I'm not going to touch directly this evening - my point tonight is, "what makes something perfect?" 

Is our definition of perfection, also God's definition of perfection? 

When I think of perfection, yes, from a technical perspective, to some extent I do think of a perfectly grown crystal, free of inclusions. Or, a computer code for some kind of data simulation, free of errors, that runs flawlessly. Note: this does NOT happen if I'm the one writing the code! So, back to the perfect crystal! For those of you who haven't had the (mis)fortune of having crystal structures beaten into you at some point in school, think about a diamond. The most expensive, most sought after diamonds are those that would be considered to be, essentially, perfectly grown in nature. No inclusions - i.e., no dirt or other junk in the crystal - and colorless - i.e., no other atoms sneaked into the lattice of carbon to give the stone a hint of yellow or some other color. 

But, when I think of perfection, I also think of the amazing sunset I watched the other night, or the alpenglow on the Sandia mountains at sunset. Or the stunning moonrise I saw when I was out running the other night - it was so exquisite, I actually stopped running and sat down to watch it. 

I also think of the perfection God has offered me everyday in the people I am blessed to make this journey with - people who aren't "perfect" in the sense of flawlessness. They are people who don't necessarily believe the same things I do, people who don't think the same way I do, who didn't come from the same places, and haven't shared the same experiences. Nonetheless, they are people whose presence has blessed my life, changed my life, made a difference in it, made my world a better place to be. 

So what's perfection? And how does God relate to it? What would His idea of perfection be, if we could be wise enough to know? 

I certainly don't claim to know the mind of God or all His intentions, but when I think in terms of science, in terms of the created world - in terms of the world I believe He created - I see a view of perfection that runs against what many of us, and certainly what science, would traditionally consider perfect. 

What do I mean? Well, even the most flawless diamond is still just a metastable state on a carbon phase diagram. Look it up if you don't believe me. If you don't know what I'm talking about, a diamond is, very simply, a nice looking phase of carbon atoms arranged in a particular way that is metastable - meaning it is stable for an extended period of time at what we consider to be normal conditions, but it isn't stable indefinitely. Eventually, it'll just be another piece of graphite. Pencil lead. Sorry everyone, a diamond isn't forever. (And yes, I do wear a diamond wedding band. Fully aware of the irony, folks.) 

Anyways - yes, diamond is a metastable state. How many of us would consider a lump of graphite to be "perfect"? (Unless we were looking for a pencil... ?)

What about a ruby? Rubies are a beautiful example of technical imperfection. When a small number (~1% or less) of chromium atoms replace aluminum atoms in crystalline aluminum oxide, the colorless aluminum oxide transforms to brilliant red. Yeah. Chromium is basically a contaminant. Nothing perfect there. The same is true for sapphires (aluminum oxide again, though this time, the contaminant can be iron, titanium, or a few others, depending on the color of the sapphire). 

So if all of these things are created by God, and they're not some kind of cosmic accident, what does that say about God's view of perfection? I'd say it says that God finds perfection in His creation, period. He made it, and therefore, it is good - despite our contrived ideas about what makes something perfect. He could have created rubies a completely different way. He could have made the diamond part of the carbon phase diagram more than metastable. 

On the human end, He could have created us all the same - heh, being carbon-based life forms, kind of gives new meaning to the idea of a "carbon copy," doesn't it? But He didn't, because I believe God finds each of us to be perfect, in the sense that we are His perfect creation. Not that we all act perfectly, obviously we don't, because of original sin and so on and so forth... which brings us to free will, and an idea for another post at another time. 

Shouldn't this remind us again of the dignity of humanity, the beauty of human life? If God considers us to be His perfect creation, even with all our human flaws, how much more should we value human life, human dignity, and yes, each other?

Mmmhmmm, perfection. It's all around us.


+peace, and all good!