Proving Our God's Existence - 5 of the Most Important Arguments

Who created the Earth? Who created us? Why are we here? If God is real, what kind of God is he? These are all questions that have been asked for thousands of years. Today we will prove the existence of God through both faith and reason.

This might be the most important article I have ever written. So many Catholics profess the Catholic faith yet can not defend it when posed with debate or questions. That is why for the next few issues of the magazine, I will be including an apologetics article as the last article. For this issue’s apologetics article, I will be starting with the basics — proving God’s existence.

Throughout history there have been numerous proofs for God’s existence, some more faith based, others more logic based. I will be making use of a number of these, and I suggest you read them all, as each of them provides insight into our God.

1 — The first proof of God’s existence I want to discuss is often called the “The First Cause Argument.” There is a famous phrase that comes with this argument — “something can not come from nothing.” Thinking about this logically, nothing in the universe can simply come out of nothing. We wouldn’t say that a pencil just appeared, a fully grown polar bear just appeared out of thin air, or that a 36 year old human just popped into existence. We wouldn’t say any of those things because they are illogical. The same goes for the universe. By saying the universe just “popped” into existence, we disregard a logical truth that something truly can not come from nothing. Secondly, let us discuss the Big Bang. The Big Bang could have very well occurred and created conditions for life on Earth, but what started the Big Bang? The Big Bang came from within the universe and using logic we know that nothing in the universe could have created the universe, therefore, the Big Bang didn’t create the universe. What set the Big Bang into motion? What truly created the cosmos and our planet? There is only one answer left — a being which can create out of nothing, an immaterial being who loves us so much that he willed us into existence. God is the first cause. God set everything into motion.

2 — The second argument for God’s existence comes from our desires in our life, and simply a logical argument. Throughout our life, we have a desire to be completely happy and satisfied. No matter what one says or thinks, they in the end, truly want to be happy. But we know that nothing on this earth will ever completely satisfy. Yes, there will be amazing times of great joy, such as the birth of a child or getting married, but there will always be things to bring your spirits down, things that are meant to make you upset. Therefore complete happiness isn’t an option on Earth. But we know that the desire is there. Therefore, if there is a desire for something, that means that the fulfillment must exist somewhere. We wouldn’t innately desire something unless we knew it was attainable. Therefore, although we may not definitely receive complete happiness, it exists, and it isn’t on this earth. Therefore is must exist somewhere greater, somewhere where happiness and love prevail.

3 — The third proof of God’s existence that I have always found quite interesting is often called the “Argument from the Human Brain” Through this proof, we analyze all that is in this universe, specifically the human brain. Let us use the atheist argument for a second, that God is truly not real and that we were created out of mere chance (everything went perfect so that conditions for human life were met, and humans were born). If we are here out of chance, that would mean that our brain was the result of chance. In our society, we often do not trust things that come from chance — why would we trust our brains then. Without God, without an intelligent being that created us and our brains, we truly wouldn’t be able to trust them, since they would be the result of mere chance.

4 — The fourth argument for the existence of God I want to mention is St. Thomas Aquinas’s third proof: The Argument from Contingency. In this argument, Aquinas points out something quite logical, but something often forgotten in our society — we didn’t have to exist. Whether we were the result of a loving God who created us or the result of mere chance, we didn’t have to exist. We are not logical necessities. Furthermore, we are all continent beings. Our existence relies on another being for its existence. We relied on our parents, our parents relied on our grandparents, and so on. No human being can come to life on its own, yet when we trace back to our original parents, we must question how they came to life. On what being is their existence continent on? And that is where Aquinas says God comes into play — in a universe of continent beings, there must be at least one being who isn’t contingent, one being who doesn’t rely on another being for its existence. This being is God. God is eternal and was never created. He creates.

5 — The last argument for God’s existence isn’t so much a proof as it is a logical bet. It is often known as “Paschal’s Wager,” created by philosopher Blaise Pascal. Pascal presents a simple bet — the only way to win is by betting on God being real. If you choose to say that God isn’t real and you are right, nothing happens and you die — end of story. If you choose to say God is real and you are right, you are met with salvation (hopefully). If you choose to say God is real and you are wrong, then nothing happens. You die — end of story. Now, if God is real and you say he isn’t, and life your life as an atheist, you could be facing eternal damnation. Therefore, for the betting man, the only true way to “win” is by betting on God.

There are SO many more proofs of God’s existence, so many more that I could literally fill up at least 10 more pages. But I simply wanted to provide you with a little taste of the arguments for God’s existence. I also selected these because I feel they are some of the strongest and most logical out there. Remember — always try to educate yourself on the faith. The more you know, the more you can defend what you believe in.