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“I answer that the existence of God can be [demonstrated] in five ways.” -St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica First Part, Question 2 Article #3
God respects our freedom and never compels us to belief in him. Nonetheless, there are powerful demonstrations of his existence. St. Thomas Aquinas, the preeminent 12 century theologian and Doctor of the Church, articulated five proofs, or demonstrations for the existence of God. I will describe each of these over the next few days. They are not proofs in the sense that they will compel belief; that would violate our freedom and make love impossible.
His first proof is “From Motion.” Aquinas argues that everything in the universe is in motion (or has moved from potentially existing to actually existing). He further notes that nothing moves (from potency to actuality or moves physically) without being moved by something else that is already in motion or actualized. As we trace back searching for the ultimate cause of motion we realize that we can’t go backwards forever (we cannot regress infinitely). Eventually we must posit a being (we must admit that there is a being) who moved and became actual without being moved on by anything else (an unmoved mover). This being is what or who we call God.
Remember, that Aquinas believes in a personal God who is our Father and became Incarnate, but at this point he is simply trying to prove that there is a God. He is not, in this section, trying to explain who God is beyond that.
 | About Pat Arensberg Patrick Arensberg is the Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Previously, he taught for 17 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, where he served as Chairman of the Theology Department. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome and holds an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is married to Connie and they live in Mobile with their 5 children. |
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