5 Reasons God Exists

5 Reasons God Exists - St Thomas Aquinas

SUMMARY:
The First Reason: Argument from Change:
Our senses prove that some things are changing.
Things change when potential change becomes actual change.
Only an actual change can convert a potential change into an actual change.
Nothing can be at once in both actuality and potentiality in the same respect (i.e., if both actual and potential, it is actual in one respect and potential in another).
Therefore nothing can change itself.
Therefore each thing changing is changed by something else.
The sequence of change cannot extend ad infinitum.
Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first changer, changed by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.

The Second Reason: Argument from Efficient Causes:
We perceive a series of efficient causes of things in the world.
Nothing exists prior to itself.
Therefore nothing is the efficient cause of itself.
If a previous efficient cause does not exist, neither does the thing that results.
Therefore if the first thing in a series does not exist, nothing in the series exists.
The series of efficient causes cannot extend ad infinitum into the past, for then there would be no things existing now.
Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.

The Third Reason: Argument from Possibility and Necessity:
We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, that come into being and go out of being i.e., contingent beings.
Assume that every being is a contingent being.
For each contingent being, there is a time it does not exist.
Therefore it is impossible for these always to exist.
Therefore there could have been a time when no things existed.
Therefore at that time there would have been nothing to bring the currently existing contingent beings into existence.
Therefore, nothing would be in existence now.
We have reached an absurd result from assuming that every being is a contingent being.
Therefore not every being is a contingent being.
Therefore some being exists of its own necessity, and does not receive its existence from another being, but rather causes them. This all men speak of as God.

The Fourth Reason: Argument from Gradation of Nature:
There is a gradation to be found in things: some are better or worse than others.
Predications of degree require reference to the uttermost case (e.g., a thing is said to be hotter according as it more nearly resembles that which is hottest).
The maximum in any genus is the cause of all in that genus.
Therefore there must also be something which is to all beings the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection; and this we call God.

The Fifth Reason: Argument from Design
We see that natural bodies work toward some goal, and do not do so by chance.
Most natural things lack knowledge.
But as an arrow reaches its target because it is directed by an archer, what lacks intelligence achieves goals by being directed by something intelligence.
Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.

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[SuperBspb]

There is no reason to assume that the law of causality applies outside of our universe.

[delphos1223]

For more proof of God visit my channel!

[Pgaither84]

Good work on the video, even though I disagree with it's content.

[MrAlexo333]

@radgrindintom God created mother Earth.

[perrin6]

An alternative to the first cause argument is that the cosmos is a simple energy field, but divisions in this substance might cause a chain reaction producing particles that can interact and combine without returning to the original 'smooth' energy field. These particles might combine and produce more types of larger particles and so on upwards, with each type of particle having different properties that combine in different ways, produce a huge number of different phenomena.

[radgrindintom]

our creator (mother earth) thinks christians suck

[superchang847]

@TataRoids well actually the correct interpritation would be the contextual interpritation. i recomend you watch the video this is a response to. and you will understand that he was basically saying that from the perspective he was at and the knowledge he knew these are reasonable hypothesis to why god exists.

i'm saying that they weren't without flaws even atr it's time hence why i didn't attack anything not of his time.

to his knowledge the reason for goodness was a greater goodnes.

[superchang847]

@TataRoids i wasn't claiming that there was no start to time (and you acuse me of strawmen?) i said that he was affirming the consequent by saying because god could cause he did cause. you however are taking the other side because in light of the fact that their other ways to"break an egg" you now deny the antecedent "Your analogy was a fail if it was meant to be a fallacy".

so present me an analogy of the "affirming the consequent" fallacy because you claim mine was wrong. tbc