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Proofs for the Existence Of 1 St. Francis of Assisi Parish Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879 Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Rev. Deacon Paul O. Iacono The Reality of God Purpose of today’s class: 1) To quickly review the idea that philosophy can be used as a tool to help explain theology. 2) To learn the meaning of the terms Revelation and Faith. I. St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century Italian theologian) made an intense study of the ancient philosophers and applied that to Catholic theology. Dr. Peter Kreeft, in his book Summa of the Summa, explains Aquinas’ Five Ways (Quinquae Viae), which are five proofs of the existence of God dis- cussed by Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. Kreeft explains that these proofs take the form of philosophical arguments: 1) The argument of the unmoved mover (ex motu) Some things are moved. - Everything that is moved 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 (ex causa). 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 caused things. This causer is what we call God. 3) The argument of 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, as something can't come of nothing, and if traced back eventu- ally there must have been one thing from which all others have occurred. Therefore, there must be a necessary being whose existence is not contingent on any other being(s). This being is what we call God. 4) The argument of degree (ex gradu). Various perfections may be found in varying degrees throughout the uni- verse. These degrees of perfections assume the existence of the perfections themselves. The pinnacle of perfection, from which lesser degrees of per- fection derive, is what we call God. 5) The argument of "design" (ex fine). All natural bodies in the world act for ends. These objects are in themselves unintelligent. To act for ends is characteristic of intelligence. Therefore, there exists an intelligent being which guides all natural bodies to their ends. This guiding being we call God. 2 St. Francis of Assisi Parish Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879 Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Rev. Deacon Paul O. Iacono The Reality of God Truth is known through reason (natural thinking) and by supernatural revelation (the desire of God to share Himself with His creation in a formal relationship). Sooo, a quick summary of St. Thomas Aquinas’ proofs for the exis- tence of God: 1) MOVER - an unmoved mover from which all motion proceeds 2) CAUSE - there is an uncaused cause of all things 3) CONTINGENT (true by virtue of the way things are in reality) – some- thing can’t come out of nothing 4) DEGREE of perfection – there is a pinnacle of perfection 5) DESIGN - to guide all natural bodies to their ends Just two more additional examples of the application of philosophy as a tool to unlock the meaning of God’s revelation to mankind: A) Epistemology Aquinas believed "that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act."[51] However, he believed that human beings have the natural capacity to know many things without special divine revelation, even though such revelation occurs from time to time, "especially in regard to [topics of] faith."[52] B) Ethics Aquinas said that the cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice) are natural and revealed in nature, and they are binding on everyone. There are, however, three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. These are supernatural and are distinct from other virtues in their object, namely, God: “ Now the object of the theological virtues is God Himself, Who is the last end of all, as surpassing the knowledge of our reason. On the other hand, the object of the intellectual and moral virtues is something comprehensible to human reason. Wherefore the theological virtues are specifically distinct from the moral and intellectual virtues.[57] Furthermore, Aquinas distinguished four kinds of law: eternal, natural, human, and divine. Eternal law is the decree of God that governs all creation. Natural law is the human "participation" in the eternal law and is discovered by reason.[58] Natural law, of course, is based on "first principles": “ . this is the first precept of the law, that good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided. All other precepts of the natural law are based on this . .[59] Reference numbers are taken from The Summa Theologica in the Wikipedia article on Thomas Aquinas .
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