The Existence of God

Philosophy as defined by our required text is said to be "the love of wisdom. It is the search for the larger picture, the demand for knowledge." There are many questions in philosophy, many involving the subject of religion. Does God exist? Should we believe in God? Is belief in God justified? These are just some of the questions attempted to be answered in philosophy. Every philosopher has a different opinion on the existence of God.

St. Anselm (1033-1109) was a Benedictine monk; his philosophical views were very much influenced by Plato (Mavrodes 26). His greatest works were Monologium, Proslogium, Cur Dues Homo. St. Anselm had many views on God and religion, but instead of asking if God existed, he asks if the nonexistence of God was conceivable (Mavrodes 26). To proof this statement he followed it up with several statements such as: "Truly there is a God, although the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." In addition, "God cannot be conceived not to exist. God is that, than which nothing greater can be conceived. That which can be conceived not to exist is not God." This is also known as the ontological argument. St. Anselm argued that if there was a being that nothing greater could be conceived to exist, that it cannot even be conceived not to exist; then this being has to be God. Therefore, God must exist.

St Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274) belonged as a member to the Dominican Order as a university lecturer. He wrote a lot, and of those many works his principal ones were Summa Theologica which is said to be the most comprehensive official theological statement of the Roman Catholic Church and the Summa Contra Gentiles (Mavrodes 42). Aquinas also believed in the existence of God, with this he formulated five proofs of God's existence. Of this the most widely known is the "cosmological argument", this states that everything must be caused or created from something else. Therefore, there must be a first cause, and this is God (Soloman 90).

Another well-known argument is the teleological argument. The basis of this argument for the existence of God is the threat against the finite structure of being, against the unity of polar elements (Tillich 210). This argument has also been called the argument from design. Due to the fact that the universe has been designed by a great architect is to assume a great part of the conclusion is to be proved.