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Presents
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= Knowledge of God |
Philosophers, theologians, and religious leaders have for centuries asserted that there can be a knowledge of God in spite of the fact that God is not perceived by humans. Others have said that, while there may be no direct knowledge, there can be a certainty about God?s existence based on a variety of proofs. |
Two of the best-known attempts to prove the existence of God were made during the Middle Ages. In the 11th century Anselm of Canterbury used what is called the ontological argument for the existence of God. (Ontology is a difficult philosophical study of being.) Anselm defined God as the most perfect being conceivable. That being, than which nothing greater can be conceived, must necessarily exist. (See also Anselm of Canterbury.) |
The argument of St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century is somewhat easier to follow. It is called the cosmological argument?cosmos means ?world.? Thomas said that the world is not self-explanatory. It requires a reason or cause for its existence. Following the philosopher Aristotle, Thomas noted that there are in the world change, causality, dependency, degrees of excellence, and varieties of design. All of these together, and the world itself, require a first cause. (See also Aquinas.) |
Similar to the cosmological argument is the argument from design. Because the world exhibits an obvious design and specific patterns of activity, it must be the product of an intelligent designer. |
Both the cosmological and design arguments have been criticized by philosopher David Hume and many other thinkers. They have said that, if there is a designer, he must take credit for the defects of his creation as well as for the good. Hume wondered whether such defects as evil and waste do not imply defects in the designer, or at least limits on his power. If the power were limited, the designer could not be all-powerful. |
In the 18th century the philosopher Immanuel Kant rejected previous proofs about God. He stated instead that humanity?s moral nature requires a higher moral power to exist, and that power must be God. (See also Kant.) |
In India the school of Vedanta Hinduism turns the whole matter of proof upside down. It insists that God is the only reality, and the world is only an appearance. If anything demands proof, it is not God but the world of perception. Similar ideas have been derived from the Greek philosopher Plato. |
