God: Fact or Fiction?: Exploring the Relationship Between Science Religion and the Origin of Life

by Brendan Roberts

  So the Fourth Way is ‘based on the varying degrees of perfections we find among beings’.4 St Thomas reasons that there are certain things that are more and less good, true, noble, etc. In other words these things have different degrees of perfection. Thus they have a goodness of being (ontology). An animal enjoys greater ontological goodness than a rock. ‘The animal is endowed with life and with the power of sensation, whereas the stone is not. At the same time, an animal lacks the power of understanding which a human being enjoys and is therefore less good, ontologically speaking, than a human being.’5 Something is the cause of being (esse) for all other beings, together with their goodness and every other perfection. In Summa contra Gentiles I, c. 13, St Thomas reasons that if we view one thing as truer than another it can only be because it comes closer to that which is true without qualification and to the maximum degree. Do we not see the principle of the first cause here? The Being which contains all perfection and is the first cause is the source of perfection for creatures; and is truest, perfect and noblest. Since He is the source of all goodness, and love is good, then He is most loving. As St Thomas says looking at the works of such an all-powerful and perfect Being ‘leads to admiration of God’s sublime power’ and thus inspires human hearts to revere God.6

  5. From the Order within Natural Operations In the preceding four ways we have explored God’s creative power through the way a caused subject changes; the way agents that He caused operate; the way things He causes have the power to exist and not exist; and the degree of perfections that He causes in His creation. Professor Peter Redpath calls this build up a ‘veritable artistic achievement’. St Thomas leads the reader to revere and admire God’s awesome and loving power. Finally we come to the Fifth Way and explore the order and guidedness that can be observed in our magnificent universe:

  The fifth way is based on the guidedness of nature. An orderedness of actions to an end is observed in all bodies obeying natural laws, even when they lack awareness. For their behaviour hardly ever varies, and will practically always turn out well; which shows that they truly tend to a goal, and do not merely hit it by accident. Nothing however that lacks awareness tends to a goal, except under the direction of someone with awareness and with understanding; the arrow, for example, requires an archer. Everything in nature, therefore, is directed to its goal by someone with understanding, and this we call ‘God’.

  St Thomas gives us an argument based on final causality in nature. This cause is that which is intended by an agent. Both natural agents and voluntary agents act towards an end. However not every agent knows its end. Natural or noncognitive agents do not choose a means to their end as they are determined; they have a natural inclination to an end. Hence in principle it is feasible that an intelligent agent such as a divine Being can impress an inclination towards an end on that agent. Do we not see this through the laws of nature? Do we not see that such laws account for a regularly repeated pattern of behaviour on natural agents? Does this universality detract from the likelihood of chance? It reminds us of Natural Selection always working towards the better, selecting, daily scrutinising and preserving what is good. The Fifth Way also reminds us of the Intelligent Design Theory, and how God has left His imprint on creation.

  In these Five Ways, St Thomas saw them pointing to an all-perfect and thus loving God. This God was unreachable by humanity until He revealed Himself to us through revelation. God uses natural and supernatural revelation to reveal Himself to us.

  The Summa Theologiae (summary of theology) can be found on the internet.7

  Pascal’s Wager Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont, France in 1623. He wrote what is termed the Wager especially for those who try to dismiss the concept of a Creator. Nowadays we see a predetermined bias from some people. For instance the writings of Richard Dawkins show a clear contempt towards a Creator. Some people need to stop and look at what the consequences of flippantly disregarding a Creator could be. Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli explain it superbly. They believe that Pascal’s Wager proposed that logical reasoning alone can’t decide for or against the existence of God.

  ...since the question is of such importance that we must decide somehow, then we must ‘wager’ if we cannot prove. And so we are asked: Where are you going to place your bet?

  If you place it with God, you lose nothing, even if it turns out that God does not exist. But if you place it against God, and you are wrong and God does exist, you lose everything: God, eternity, heaven, infinite gain. ‘Let us assess the two cases: if you win, you win everything, if you lose, you lose nothing.’

  Suppose God does not exist and I believe in him. In that case, what awaits me after death is not eternal life but, most likely, eternal nonexistence. But now take the other diagonal: God, my Creator and the source of all good, does exist; but I do not believe in him. He offers me his love and his life, and I reject it. There are answers to my greatest questions, there is fulfillment of my deepest desires; but I decide to spurn it all. In that case, I lose (or at least seriously risk losing) everything.8

  Though the Wager contains many good elements as I have shown throughout God: Fact or Fiction? logical reasoning can show that God exists. Through science (natural revelation) we can tell that a Creator exists. Through both supernatural revelation and science we can know with certainty that God exists. Therefore it doesn’t have to be a blind Wager, but surrender to a Creator who has been revealed to us already.

  Though the Wager can seem selfish it ‘can be reformulated to appeal to a higher moral motive: If there is a God of infinite goodness, and he justly deserves my allegiance and faith, I risk doing the greatest injustice by not acknowledging him’.9 Additionally the Wager shouldn’t coerce belief but rather should inspire the search for God and the indepth exploration of the evidence that there is a Being, the ultimate explanation of the universe, of all goodness and the reason why we live. It could lead one to an intellectual (rational) acceptance of God. A personal commitment could follow simultaneously or later.

  This last quote and Pascal’s explanation of the three groups should be taken as a generalisation. To find God after such a search is to have truly found Him, and loved Him with all one’s mind, heart, soul and strength; and truly loved oneself and your neighbour – for example how Blessed Mother Teresa did. It is also about coming to know oneself and realise that the process of conversion continues until we die – this transformation is our becoming fully human. Maybe we should also relate from below the italicised word, happy to contentment:

  Pascal says that there are three kinds of people: those who have sought God and found him, those who are seeking and have not yet found, and those who neither seek nor find. The first are reasonable and happy, the second are reasonable and unhappy, the third are both unreasonable and unhappy. If the Wager stimulates us at least to seek, then it will at least stimulate us to be reasonable. And if the promise Jesus makes is true, all who seek will find (Matthew 7:7-8), and thus will be happy.10

  Experience While St Thomas focused on natural explanations for demonstrating the existence of God, there is one area of evidence which I would like to bring to the reader’s attention, that is by experience. Some people dismiss religious experience as the product of superstition or imagination. But we need to look at all the evidence and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Dr William P. Alston, professor emeritus at Syracuse University says:

  If I could not find any confirmation of the Christian message in my own experience I would be less justified in accepting that message than I am in fact. To generalize the point, suppose that no one had ever experienced communion with God, had ever heard God speaking to him or her, had ever felt the strengthening influence of the Holy Spirit in a difficult situation. In that case Christian belief would be a less rational stance than is in fact.11

  There are many truths that we learn by experience. Is not the modern scientific method based on experience? Do not scientists learn from the experience of others? For Christianity we are able
to learn through others’ experience. God has revealed Himself through 2,000 years of a lived experience of the Church through the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

  One can also experience God through prayer, hearing God through Sacred Scripture as the Living Word speaks to the heart. God also speaks to us through everyday life. We can recognise His presence and action in our daily lives also through someone giving us the right advice to help us in a given situation or a friend drops into see us; and even through recognising and valuing the beauty of nature. We can also experience God’s presence through prayer when we receive a tremendous sense of peace, joy or love.

  There are also the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are usually received through the Sacrament of Confirmation, or through special prayer, such as the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. There are some saints who especially powerfully manifested some of these gifts such as St Padre Pio regarding miracles.

  God especially speaks to us through the teaching authority of the Church as mentioned in the Revelation chapter. God promised His Holy Spirit to be with the Church until the end of time, and so there is a special guidance of the Church especially in matters of faith and morals.

  My previous two books, Set Free! and Born to Be Free cover in detail about ways that I have experienced God in my life, together with how He has spoken to me especially through His Word.

  Dr Ronald Nash, Professor of Philosophy likens religious experience to someone sensing a presence of someone else in a dark room: ‘Without seeing or hearing anything, someone in a dark room may become aware of another person’s presence. Likewise, people testify, that they have become aware of God’s presence or something like this, even though they had no specific sensation.’12

  As we will cover in the chapter, Prayer, when we listen to God and sense His presence and action in our everyday lives then we can feel the Holy Spirit at work guiding and strengthening us. Moreover we can also receive the strength to forgive those who hurt us. As a result we can love in a new and selfless way, caring for others more than merely looking after number one. In fact God is placed into the number one spot as we take second or even third place behind others. We also hear God speaking to us through Sacred Scripture, the living Word of God, and the words and actions of others.

  There are many different situations that trigger a religious experience such as:

  ♦ the birth of a newborn baby. ♦ gazing in wonder at the universe – enjoying nature’s beauty. prayer.

  ♦ being given a second chance.

  ♦ feeling loved.

  ♦ loving others.

  ♦ being-with and being-for others.

  ♦ helping someone in need.

  ♦ having your prayer answered beyond your expectations or even contrary to what you had intended which helps one to grow spiritually.

  ♦ seeing a miracle.

  ♦ staring death in the face.

  ♦ suffering.

  ♦ a near death experience.

  ♦ being brought to financial ruin.

  ♦ death of a loved one.

  ♦ sensing God’s presence in the Eucharist.

  ♦ contemplating the beauty of nature.

  ♦ recognising Intelligent Design within nature.

  ♦ reading an inspirational book.

  ♦ being touched by the Word of God – Sacred Scripture.

  People are brought to a religious experience not just from what some would consider a point of weakness or using God as a ‘crutch’, such as financial ruin, but also includes times of joy. People can find God in all circumstances, including within testimonies; my first two books show that we can indeed be brought closer to God through both good and bad times. But sadly some people only turn to God when the going gets tough, and then forget about Him when things are going smoothly. Although many people are brought to a belief in God when things are tough, and often most open to God, many often still believe in Him when things are going well, which seems to defy the objection that it is used only as a crutch.

  A young soldier reflects on an experience he had concerning the existence of God. This soldier wrote the following prayer: Look, God, I’ve never spoken to you before, but now I just want to say ‘hello’. They told me you didn’t exist, and like a fool I believed them. But last night I looked up at the sky from a shell hole. When I saw the beauty of the stars, and thought how big the universe is, I knew they were telling me a lie.

  I wonder if you will shake hands with me when we meet? Somehow I feel you will understand all my failures. Strange how I had to come to this horrible place to get to know you. What was I doing before this?

  There isn’t much more to say, but I’m sure glad I got to know you today. I feel the zero hour will soon be here. This is going to be a horrible fight. Who knows but I may come to your house tonight.

  I’m crying! Fancy me crying! I never thought this could happen to me. I have to go now. Strange, since I met you, I’m no longer afraid to die.13

  It is important to note that there have been many questionable claims made on the basis of experience. One has to sort out the valid experiential claims from the false, using the God-given reason we have. However, the evidence from religious experience should not be dismissed, but should be taken in conjunction with the other evidence in demonstrating the existence of God.

  Dr William Rowe, professor emeritus of philosophy at Purdue University advises us not to discard all such evidence: If we reject the principle for all experiences (nonreligious and religious), we would be saying that all experiences should be judged guilty until proven innocent, a move that would entail skepticism with regard to a great deal of what we think we know about the world. On the other hand, Rowe admits, if we retain the principle of credulity with regard to nonreligious experience and reject it only with respect to religious experience, our move will appear arbitrary.14

  Summary We can thus reason for the existence of God. The Five Ways of St Thomas of Aquinas reveal to us a Necessary and loving Being – the first cause. This Necessary Being is all-powerful and thus almighty

  – this Being we call God. He is truest, best, noblest, and pure love. He reveals Himself through the laws of nature and Intelligent Design, especially through religion, faith,reason and experience.

  Experience leads us closer to God. We should not discount someone’s experience outright. There are so many treasures from the writings (thus experience) of the Church Fathers and the Saints. The greatest experience is of Jesus and His Apostles from Sacred Scripture together with the lived experience of the Church for almost 2,000 years.

  It is important to remember that we live in a world that divine revelation explained has been redeemed and in which the Holy Spirit is at work. The demonstration for the existence of God opened up to us through natural and divine revelation, helps us in our quest to know and love the God of salvation.

  Dr Stephen Davis, Professor of Philosophy sums up St Thomas and the Five Ways: His method was first to prove the existence of a Necessary Being (as well as the first mover and first cause of the first two Ways and the intelligent being who directs the behaviour of unintelligent things of the Fifth Way). He then did an inventory, so to speak, of all the beings he believed to exist on other grounds (including theological grounds). Finally, he asked, which of them could be the same being as the being or beings proved to exist in the Five Ways? The answer he found, naturally enough, was that only God could be a first mover, first cause, necessary being and Intelligent Designer…This was why he said, ‘and this all men speak of as God’. Who else could a first mover be than God?15

  But what should we do with the information from this chapter? This was an intellectual exercise to demonstrate the existence of God and more importantly to show you another splendid aspect of God’s nature, which is to be approached with openness, humility and reverence. Furthermore I wanted to show the need to know this Necessary Being who has creat
ed us as unique individuals – His loving creation. Therefore this Necessary Being, God is personal. We as personal beings reflect our Creator, the eternal loving God. Therefore God wants a response, a personal relationship with you, as I reveal and expound upon in the chapter, Personal God.

  Notes

  1. Peter Kreeft ed. Summa of the Summa (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1990), pp. 63-64.

  2. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q.2, a.3 as cited by Peter A. Redpath. A Simplified Introduction to the Wisdom of St Thomas (Washington: University Press of America Inc., 1989), pp. 121-139 (gives all Five Ways to demonstrate the existence of God).

  3. Anselm. Proslogion II.

  4. Brian Davies ed. Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae: Critical Essays (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.), 2006, p. 65.

  5. Ibid., p. 66.

  6. See St Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, II, p. 2.

  7. www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/summa.pdf; for text and video explanations of the five ways see www.home.duq.edu/~bonin/thomasbibliography.html#summa. Also see www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/5ways.html.

  8. Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli. Handbook of Christian Apologetics, (Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1994), p. 86.

  9. Ibid.

  10. Ibid.

  11. William P. Alston. “Christian Experience and Christian Belief,” in Faith and Rationality, ed. A Plantinga & N Wolterstorff (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983), p. 103.

  12. Faith & Reason: Searching for a Rational Faith, 145 – see Richard Swinburne. The Existence of God (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), pp. 250-251.

  13. Flor McCarthy ( SDB), New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies Year B, (Dublin: Dominican Publications, 1999), p. 153.

  14. William Rowe. “Religious Experience and the Principle of Credulity,” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 13 (1982): p. 89.

  15. Stephen T. Davis. God, Reason & Theistic Proofs, (Grand Rapids; Michigan: WMB Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997), p. 184.