God Exists

ONE

I used to believe that knowledge of God wasn’t possible, that claims of His existence were matters of opinion. Probably based more on wishful thinking due to fear of our own death rather than proper evidence. When I found out that there are “proofs” for His existence, it blew me away! “Why didn’t anyone ever teach me that?” I wondered. St. Paul says this to the Romans;“For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature…has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Rom 1: 19-20). In other words, we can use our logic and inference, reflect on what is known, and conclude what was previously unknown. In so doing, we can realize with certainty that the existing universe and all that is in it needs an explanation of why it is there.  St. Augustine offers this challenge; “question the beauty of the Earth, question the beauty of the sea…question the beauty of the sky…question all of these realities and all respond: see, we are beautiful. Their beauty is a profession. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them is the Beautiful One, who is not subject to change” (CCC #32.) Thus, from the world’s order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and end of the universe. (ibid.)

TWO

The Pagan world held this principle universally;  the gods existed and needed to be appeased. But modern man has rejected this, seeking not to appease God but for Him to appease us by explaining Himself for all the injustices. When describing the reason for the atheism of his youth, C.S. Lewis said, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust.” This apparent case against God reveals more about him and the modern ego-centered biases than it does about God. Lewis discovered this after having been challenged by his Christian friends. “How had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. To what was I comparing this universe when I called it unjust?”  He realized that he needed a deeper understanding of the standard of justice and goodness in order to offer his critique, a standard that must originate in God. Therefore, he realized that his argument and chief complaint against God was simply illogical. Through our moral conscience that tells us right from wrong, we discover the author of this internal law that Lewis’s argument demanded. As the CCC teaches, “deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey…for man has within his heart a law inscribed by God.” (#1776).  How do my beliefs of right and wrong affect my view of God?

THREE

Faith and reason are not opposed. Further, they actually work together to give us certainty about God’s existence. Reason alone is hampered by our love of sin, however. This is why we can end up doubting God (cf. CCC, #37). This is why I doubted Him. Thus, as humans, we stand in need of being enlightened in our minds by God’s revelation. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…through whom He has created the world” (Heb 1: 1-2b). Our faith in God rests on the absolute credibility of His testimony. We need God’s revelation of Himself in order to heal our skeptical tendencies and affirm the certainty of our religious belief. This affirmation of truth enables us to understand those moral and religious truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, these truths can be known…with certainty and without error” (CCC # 38).

FOUR

“We can name God, starting with the manifold perfection of His creatures, which are likenesses of the infinitely perfect God, even if our limited language cannot exhaust the mystery” (CCC # 48). Divine Revelation provides us with ways of speaking about God so that our words can and do express His reality. Words like Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of Man, Redeemer, Savior, etc. are all names He has given to us so that we can speak with Him relationally. He wants a relationship with us - let that sink in! He wants a relationship with you! This infinite and vast and all-powerful God wants you and me to be His friend, to be His child! Therefore, He reveals Himself to us, so that our conversation with the Divine can have personal meaning. Our hearts need to be hospitable to Him. We must give both time and room for Him in our hearts to enter and dwell. Too often, though, we are so distracted with other things, especially screen time, that we give God neither time nor space to enter. This is why our relationship with Him flounders, not because He doesn’t care about us, but because we don’t care enough about Him. Lord, teach me to care by giving you more time and more of my desires, meditating on your voice in your Scriptures, so as not to allow the voice of the world to distract and bombard me through my screen time. Let us be attentive!

FIVE

“Without the Creator, the creature vanishes.” (CCC #49). Without God, we have no reason to believe in the innate dignity of each person. Thus, attacks on the dignity of the human person, especially when the person is powerless and vulnerable and in need of protection, are also attacks on the nature of God. And attacks on the nature of God are attacks on the dignity of the person. He creates us freely out of love, gives us the ability to discover Him in His creation, but seeks us out as a shepherd looking for His lost sheep in order to enjoy a relationship of love and friendship. Satan’s plan to disrupt and destroy this relationship begins with a lie which he sows in the heart of this fallen human race: obey no one because you are the god of yourself! This lie leads to deception, misery, and death. Don’t be fooled! Instead, let us close with this act of faith and so disperse the lies of the devil and affirm our faith that God exists:

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because in revealing them you can neither deceive nor be deceived.