INTRO PHILOSOPHY

St.Thomas Aquinas-Proofs for the Existence of God.

Aquinas asserted that the world, known by our senses is the Natural World.

That world is known and understood by sensory perception and Reason.

However, God’s World is the Supernatural World. That world can only be known by Faith.

Reason is incapable of grasping the supernatural., yet the knowledge of the Supernatural is not Irrational/opposed to Reason.

Reason can only grasp part of it and Faith helps us understand it.

So the supernatural TRANSCENDS or STANDS BEYOND Reason.

Aquinas clarifies that he does not mean that there are two types of TRUTH.

God is the HIGHEST PINNACLE OF TRUTH , and REASON CANNOT REACH THE HIGHEST PINNACLE

So Truth has two aspects-Higher and Lower.

Reason helps us to understand the Lower aspect and Faith the Highest Aspect-God.

God, who is the Ultimate destination of all knowledge, cannot be reached by reason

However, in one way Reason is helpful to understand God’s nature.

We learn of God from the Bible and literal meaning of the words of the Bible cannot be understood by an irrational man.

But when we come to the fundamental concepts of CREATION, TRINITY, INCARNATION and the DAY OF LAST JUDGMENT, Reason is no help.

It is Faith alone that make us understand these concepts.

So Faith and Reason both are useul tools as far as total Knowledge is concerned.

Philosophy deals with Reason and Theology deals with Faith

Aquinas declares that PHILOSOPHY SERVES AS THE HANDMAIDEN OF THEOLOGY

RATIONAL PROOFS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.

· A thing is always an effect.

· It comes into existence, due to a Cause

· A Cause therefore has to Exist before the thing comes into existence

· So, a thing cannot be its own cause, because that would mean that it existed before its own existence.

· That is an absurd statement.

· So everything that exists has been brought into existence by some cause, which existed before it

· Thus, there has always been a series of cause and effects

· God is the very foundation of that series-He is the UNCAUSED CAUSE OF EXISTENCE

These proofs take the form of philosophical arguments:

1. The Argument of the Unmoved Mover

The argument of the unmoved mover, or ex motu, tries to explain that God must be the cause of motion in the universe. It is therefore a form of the cosmological argument. It goes thus:

Some things are moved.

Everything that is moving is moved by a mover.

An infinite regress of movers is impossible.

Therefore, there is an unmoved mover from whom all motion proceeds.

This mover is what we call God.

2. The Argument of the First Cause

The argument of the first cause (ex causa), tries, unlike the argument of the Unmoved Mover, to prove that God must have been the cause, or the creator of the universe.

It is therefore a form of the cosmological argument. It goes thus :

Some things are caused.

Everything that is caused is caused by something else.

An infinite regress of causation is impossible.

Therefore, there must be an uncaused cause of all that is caused.

This causer is what we call God.

3. The Argument from Contingency

The argument from contingency (ex contingentia):

Many things in the universe may either exist or not exist. Such things are called contingent beings.

It is impossible for everything in the universe to be contingent, for then there would be a time when nothing existed, and so nothing would exist now, since there would be nothing to bring anything into existence, which is clearly false.

Therefore, there must be a necessary being whose existence is not contingent on any other being or beings.

This being is whom we call God.

4. The Argument from Degree

The argument from degree or gradation (ex gradu). It is heavily based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It goes thus :

Varying perfections of varying degrees may be found throughout the universe. These degrees assume the existence of an ultimate standard of perfection.

Therefore perfection must have a pinnacle

5. The Teleological Argument

The teleological argument or argument of "design" (ex fine), which claims that everything in the Universe has a purpose, which must have been caused by God :

All natural bodies in the world act towards ends.

These objects are in themselves unintelligent.

Acting towards an end is characteristic of intelligence.

Therefore, there exists an intelligent being that guides all natural bodies towards their ends.