We believe in ONE God 1) God vs. No God (Atheism) 2) One vs. multi-gods (Polytheism)
2 god[1]
Transcript of 2 god[1]
According to St Augustine, there is in man a search for deep sense of joy
A kind of “restlessness” until he finds his joy in God…
Not in knowledge Not in material things
Not in other religions or philosophies
Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee…
MAN’S NATURAL LONGING FOR GOD: MAN’S THEOLOGICAL VOCATION
Is there a God?
Man looks for meaning in a higher power
as there are many things beyond his control
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS’5 WAYS OF PROVING GOD’S EXISTENCE
MOTIONCAUSALITY
CONTINGENCYGRADATION
DESIGN AND GOVERNANCE
Something that is moving cannot move itself unless moved by another
There must be the first mover, the source of all motion: THE UNMOVED MOVER
MOTION
There can be no infinity of mover
An object cannot cause itself, its cause is outside of itself
There must be a first cause:
THE UNCAUSED CAUSE
CAUSALITY
CONTINGENCY
The NECESSARY BEING brings existence out of non-existence
Something that exist was first non-existent
There must be a being who is non-contingent
If everything was non-existent, nothing will cause existence
GRADATION
“That which nothing greater can be thought of…”
St. Anselm
Object come in greater or lesser contents.
There must be someone who has all the characteristics
in the maximum possible degree
THE ABSOLUTE BEING
DESIGNER AND GOVERNANCE
All things have their end or purposeAll things are able to reach their end and purpose
There must be a designer who makes all things reach their end or purpose
GOD IS THE DESIGNER AND GOVERNOR
IMAGE OF GOD
GOD MADE MAN IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS
“No one has ever seen God”1 John 4:12
God is…SPIRIT / MYSTERY
CANNOT BE PERCEIVED BY THE SENSES
TRANSCENDS ALL HUMAN EXPERIENCES
We SPEAK of God ANALOGOUSLY
To speak is a human experience
We speak in terms of what our senses perceive
resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike
SIMILARITY comparison based on such resemblance
ANALOGOUS
God is a Father
God is a Mother
God is a Healer
Anthropomorphisman interpretation of what is not human or personal in
terms of human or personal characteristics: HUMANIZATION
The attribution of human qualities to God
We realize that our finite minds can only speak of God analogously. We know that we can have no direct, clear, or full idea of our Creator. "We see through a glass, darkly," as St. Paul said.The very way we come to verify and clarify our everyday knowledge is by illuminating our sensations with the mystery beyond us. We somehow already recognize this mystery, our minds move toward it by the universal grace of God, and we use it to give meaning to what confronts us in the world. Hence, mystery serves as a criterion of truth, a backdrop to all our finite thought. The mystery, which is God, answers the human quest for truth. Absolute mystery serves as a measure for the all-too-human striving of our intellect.
http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=0995-james