c. 2007 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) When I was studying philosophy as a seminarian, I was delighted to come across St. Thomas Aquinas’ five proofs for the existence of God. Finally, I thought, I’ll be able to prove God’s existence to all of my doubting friends!

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Thomas and his famous proofs, which he first advanced in the 13th century. There have been so many attacks on God’s existence in recent months that it’s hard to keep up. “The End of Faith” by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” were both national bestsellers. Another bestseller, “God is Not Great,” by Christopher Hitchens, was recently nominated for a National Book Award.

These three popular books say, among other things, that one cannot prove the existence of God, and the result of this irrational belief is ignorance, prejudice and violence. From an irrational belief, they say, flows irrationality.

Now here’s a dirty little secret that most believers don’t like to admit: You can’t rationally prove God’s existence.

It’s not for lack of trying. The ancient Greeks took up the challenge first, with Aristotle arguing for a “first cause.” Aristotle said if we believe in cause and effect, we have to conclude that something must have caused the universe to exist. And that “first cause” was God.

In the 11th century, St. Anselm of Canterbury said if God is the most perfect being, then it would make sense that a perfect being would be real, because reality is more perfect than unreality. (Anselm’s overly intellectual proof is pretty unconvincing.)

Two centuries later, Thomas Aquinas set forth his famous five proofs. The most well known may be the “argument from design,” which observes that even inorganic things seem destined for an end result, like an “arrow is directed by the archer.” Therefore, there must be an intelligent being who directs these things to their end.

In my experience, the most compelling proof is still the “First Cause.” Something must have caused the universe to exist. That’s why the most difficult question for atheists is this: Why is there something, rather of nothing at all?

But let’s admit it: judging by the number of atheists around, none of these proofs have fully “worked.” For a proof to work, it has to convince people.

The question of logic, however, is where many atheists miss the mark. Most atheists conclude that if there isn’t a logical proof for God, then God doesn’t exist. This strikes me as arrogant: It sets up human reason as the sole measure of existence. It says that if the human mind cannot comprehend something, it cannot exist. Yet lots of things that we can’t “prove” exist. Love, for instance.

Many believers would say that they’ve experienced God’s presence in ways that go beyond the bounds of reason. They stand on the seashore and feel profound longing. They hold their newborn baby and feel unbounded joy. They stand in a church, synagogue or mosque and feel an intense sense of connection to others. They feel drawn to their sacred scriptures, to worship and to service. All of these things, they say, are evidence of God in their lives.

The believer may never be able to use logic to prove that God exists. And since Aristotle, St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas all failed, it’s probably not worth trying! Most believers know that it’s often best to begin with experience, and to let others see the effects of God’s existence.

It’s something like the wind, which is also one of the oldest metaphors for God. You can’t see it, you can’t touch it, you can’t catch it, you can’t pin it down, but you can see what it does. And you know that it’s there.

(James Martin is a Jesuit priest and the author of a new book, “A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage with Jesus, Judas and Life’s Big Questions.”)

KRE DS END MARTIN650 words

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