Proof for the Existence of God: An argument from a blog.

  

Hey everyone, I'm right here. You just have to look.

 "Does God Exist?" is a question one may hear in their life, especially in the more modern, post-enlightenment, age of today. As a Theist the easy answer, and act, is to say "YES!". Shockingly, neither your enthusiasm, nor mine, is good enough to convert the masses with such a statement. At this point we begin into the realm of apologetics; a defense for what we believe. As with any good defense (read: intelligible argument), we must begin with reason. And for that, thanks be to God, He gave us a rational soul. It's almost like He knew we'd need a rational soul, but more on that later.

First, to prove the existence of God! 

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote something called the Five Ways in his Summa Theologica, see below. However, as great as his Five Ways are, there are three other proofs in which can be more easily understood, even though there will be some overlap. The citations from the Summa Theologica are shown below, but they are read as follows (Summa Theologica, Book 1 (or 2-5), Question 2, Article 3). Foot note in citation, "ibid." is the Latin term "ibidem", meaning from the same place.

1. Argument from Motion (ST I, Q2, Art 3)
2. Argument from Efficiency (Efficient Cause) (ibid.)
3. Argument from Necessity (ibid.)
4. Argument from Degrees (or gradation) (ibid.)
5. Argument from Finality (Final Cause) (ibid.)
6. Proof from Design (proof from order in nature).
7. Proof from Causality
8. Proof from Dependence

For those who wish to read the Five Ways of St. Thomas Aquinas, I recommend the book written and co-authored by Mr. Matt Fradd (of Pints with Aquinas), and Dr. Robert Delfino (Associate Professor at St. John's University in NYC, NY). The book is called Does God Exist? A Socratic Dialogue of the Five Ways of Saint Thomas Aquinas. 

I will begin with the Five ways of St. Aquinas, as listed above, but I will paraphrase to keep them brief. 

1. The argument of motion is as follows: everything is in motion, as we can see, motion is caused to be by something else. To prevent an infinite regress of things moving other things ad infinitum, the source of everything moving is the unmoved mover (as nothing caused it to move in the first place). This unmoved mover is called God. 
2. The argument from efficiency is as follows: We find in the world that there are efficient causes (causes that have a specific maker i.e., a luthier and a violin). There is no known thing where the thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself (a violin making itself without any maker). As such efficient causes are without infinite regress as you have the principle efficient cause, intermediate causes, ultimate causes (ultimate cause is the final thing). The principal cause, or first efficient cause caused all things afterward to happen; therefore, God is the first efficient cause.
1. This is the original form for the Proof of Causality
2. All things are caused to be, by another cause non in infinitum, God caused all things; He is the Uncaused Cause
3. The argument from possibility (sometimes called contingent) is as follows: everything that exists, read: that can be or not be, relies on the one thing that gives it being. Without infinite regress all things are contingent upon the one being that is not contingent on another, due to necessity, and that is God.
1. Father Joseph White, O.P. explains in a great way here.
2. This is the original format of the Proof from Dependence.
1. All things that exist, exist due to the cause of another, and the original cause of all things is God; therefore, all things are dependent on God. 
4. The argument from Degrees (also called gradation): This is the arguments of the more or less approach. There are things that are more or less the exactness of something. This argument of more or less is based upon a perfection of being or substance. Aristotle called fire the Ultimate hotness, as there is nothing hotter in comparison, and anything less hot is said to be so in reference to the hotness of fire. The maximum of that genus (fire/heat) is the cause of all things in that genus (fire is the cause of all hot things). Something to which all beings is the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection is God. He is perfect in every regard. 
1. Father White, O.P. explaining again here.
5. The argument from Finality: All things act towards their end (the purpose of something). The formal nature of things indicates the order in all things, and these things were put in place by a transcendent intelligence. This is given due to the necessity of order, and the way in which all things act towards their end, or final cause. The final cause of all things, the thing to which all things are ordered, is God. 
1. Fr. White, O.P. explains in a manner that also brings up a modern objection to this argument here. 
2. Very similar to the Proof from design, where in it refers to the Intelligent design. God is the intelligent designer of all things due to the intricacy and the interconnectedness of life. This is a Teleological argument shown here.

These arguments make some compelling physical and metaphysical arguments for some being that is the source of all movement, causation (efficient and final), and the source of perfection in which we compare things. It comes by this act of natural apologetics that we come to a theistic conclusion of the existence of a God. It stands to reason that this type of argument removes the inference of polytheism as it deduces an uncaused cause in one and an unmoved mover in another where they would have to act upon one another to do something in propagation of causality and movement. It is the action of Christian Apologetics that we then come to the conclusion of the Abrahamic God, namely the God of Christianity, i.e., God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.