The question on the existence of God has perplexed even the most logical of Philosophers. The main difficulty being that attempts to prove the existence of God or any deity for that matter have fallen short of the ultimate requirement of personal appearance. For others, it is not enough that they see omnipotence but they also require that performance of certain acts to demonstrate such and while several acts of omnipotence and benevolence have been attributed to God or gods, there is no overcoming the fact that short of empirical proof, proving the existence of God is a difficult proposition. In fact, it has become quite a challenge that several scientists have joined in and attempted to prove God’s existence in such a manner as to silence all the arguments.
However, while it may be difficult to prove the existence of God, there is no such stringent requirement for believing in a God. For faith to work there is no need for any such empirical proof or peer reviewed articles on the matter. Faith is not bound by the requirements of science and neither do they need the confirmation of others. Faith is based on a personal belief and acknowledgement that there is a God and that one has devoted his or her life in God’s service. As such, in order for the reason for one’s faith to be proven there is a necessity of showing the reason for such existence which would be that it is plausible for God to exist. There is no need for scientific accuracy but only a moral certainty.
At this point, it must be pointed out that while there are theories that are capable of explaining the source of God as an end, meaning that God exists in order to bring judgment upon those who do not believe in him or follow his Law, it cannot be accepted fully that such would be the only reason for God’s existence. It must be remembered that the New Testament depicts a less vengeful and a more forgiving God and as such, to accept the theory would mean that God is not a beginning but the end. Therefore, the acceptable theory would be to first argue that there is a necessity for God to exist as a beginning.
The first reason why there is a God or that one should have faith in God stems from the argument presented by St Thomas of Aquinas who presents the theory of the Prime Mover. Over the years, man has evolved his thinking to start searching for the ultimate cause of things. In his quest for knowledge, man has found himself daunted by a fundamental stumbling block in this quest which is the source of it all. Searching for the cause of the cause inevitably leads one to the question of who is the singular cause of it all. As the infinite permutations for causes dwindle down to more finite options, the issue on the prime mover comes into play.
According to the theory on the Prime Mover it is but logical to assume that everything that exists has a source. Everything in life was derived from something. In fact, this can be likened to the theory of conservation of energy which can be extended to posit that there was but one source of all the energy that exists in the universe at present. In the same vein, the Prime Mover is that source of energy or the source of the first action that started the chain of almost unending and infinite reactions. Everything, according to St Thomas Aquinas, can be theorized to have originated from the act of the Prime Mover; akin to how a row of toppling dominoes comes falling down one after the other.
This argument is plausible and logical because it argues that it is necessary that there be a single person who caused the creation of everything in life. There has to be a nexus for creation and without it everything that exists would have to have created itself without the benefit of divine intervention, which is a theory that even those from other faiths are not so quick to accept. It has therefore been established that there indeed is a need for a source of all creation and according to the theory of St Thomas Aquinas, it is but logical to argue that God is this source or Prime Mover.
Another theory on the existence of God comes from a more practical aspect. Similar to the theory on the Prime Mover, there is a necessity for the existence of God because everything that exists in life can only have come from God. The theory on the divine design states that for everything in life to have manifested itself in such a way there would necessarily have to be a grand architect for this all. Just as the Prime Mover theory states that there is one common and singular source for everything that exists, this theory argues that everything exists the way that it was because of a singular will. Only an omnipotent and omnipresent person could invariably come up with the things that exist these days and conceptualize the beauty of all creation.
To have to come up with the intelligent design of having food chains and food webs and also cycles and symbiotic relationships within one ecosystem is a task that is daunting enough. To attribute all of these events and circumstances to happenstance would be unbelievable. As such, it is but logical to assume that there was one architect for all of this. The Theory of Intelligent design then argues that there is definitely a Prime Mover but this prime mover has to be God because only God would have the capacity to for creation. Given the complexities of a single cell, it is inconceivable to think that such beauty and wonder could miraculously just occur out of the blue. It is therefore logical and even more plausible that this theory does not only argue the existence of a prime mover but also the existence of that prime mover as omnipotent, these two characteristics being similar to that of God.
On a personal level, Faith in God begins where reason ends. While all these theories may rationalize one’s belief in God, faith and God’s existence are properly not dependent on such. We believe that the sun is the center of the solar system. We know that it is true. We do not bow down everyday and face the sun. We do not worship the sun like our ancestors did before. We know that the world is round and shaped liked a sphere. We know that we will not fall off from the world if we go too far away from land. We do not fear to venture out in the vast expanse of that ocean for we know that it will just take us back from where we started. All of this we know. We are sure of it. Science explains it. There is reason and logic behind it all. Everyday people go out and visit chapels. Every minute someone is kneeling down in a church and praying to God. Every second around the world people are calling to God for blessing and guidance. If you ask them if there is a God they will answer “YES” with the same conviction as they would when asked if the world is round. They believe firmly in a God whose presence cannot be proved and disproved. There is no reason or logic behind God. Science cannot explain God. We know this. We believe there is a God. We have faith.
No one puts all his faith in something whose outcome is already certain. We never hear the people say “I have faith in you” to the champion who is sure to win on 1,000,000 is to 1 odds. We might hear it said instead on the challenger’s side. That is how faith works. You do not put all your faith on something that is already proven or on something that is a known fact. Faith is usually put in places that are mysterious and unproven. Think of faith as money and mystery as a bank. Faith will only grow if you deposit it in the bank. It seems that there is more to gain if one believes in something as uncertain as the existence of God than believing that the sun is the center of the solar system.
As for if I believe in this phrase or not. I do believe that faith begins where reason ends. If I wanted to be selfish I would say that I believe only because it would mean that all the energy I put in my faith would be for nothing. I firmly believe in God. There is no reason why I should not believe in him same as there is no proof that there might be a God after all. (To counter the question of “But what if there is no God?” I ask, “What if there is a God?”)
