One of
the many things that convinces me that God exists is the fact that every
culture has developed a concept of God. Of
course, that doesn't mean that every person believes in God, but the fact that
every culture, ancient and modern, has expressed some understanding of a divine
being that transcends us speaks volumes to me.
This fact shouldn't be surprising if we accept that humans are both physical
and spiritual beings. Now, before I get a ton of comments from
people who are “spiritual but not religious,” let me clarify that spirituality
is different from religion. When I speak
of spirituality, I’m talking about our sense of connectedness with each other,
with the world around us and with God.
Religion, on the other hand, is a group’s thoughts and teachings that
interpret spiritual experiences. We,
therefore, can be spiritual but not religious (though I don’t recommend it). As spiritual beings, we are drawn to the
transcendent – that which is beyond us. As
the Catholic Church teaches, the desire for God is written on our hearts, and
God never ceases drawing us to him.[1] That’s why every culture has developed a
concept of God.
So how can we know that God
exists? Well, Saint Thomas Aquinas, in
his Summa Theologica, developed 5
proofs for the existence of God that are pretty convincing to me. While the 5 proofs are well worth the read, I’d
like to share some simple explanations that touch in certain ways on Thomas’
proofs. First, for the believer and
non-believer alike, the desire for God is expressed in our ongoing quest for
truth, beauty, love and perfection. Where
did our understanding and desire for truth, beauty, love and perfection come
from? Against what standard do we base
our judgment of what is true or beautiful?
How do we know we are in love? We
have never seen perfection, so why do we strive for it? Well, God
is truth, beauty, love and perfection.
And although God transcends us, God also envelops us and dwells within
us. As one person put it, helping
someone find God is like helping a fish find water. So we understand and seek truth, beauty, love
and perfection because we are spiritually connected to and permeated by the
source of all truth, beauty, love and perfection – God.
Second, all people have a
conscience – a sense of right and wrong.
Some people exercise it more than others, but we all have it
nonetheless. We've all had that nagging
feeling of the right (or wrong) course of action to take in a particular circumstance. We've all felt guilty when we've done something
wrong, and we've all experienced a sense of conviction and purpose when we do something
good. Where does our understanding of
right and wrong, good and evil, come from? To some extent, one could argue that it comes
from our parents, from the society we live in or even from what we learned in
kindergarten. But what is the ultimate origin of society's understanding of right and wrong? And why do we still feel
guilty for bad acts even when no one is looking – when there is no chance that
we’ll be caught? It’s because “the good”
also transcends us. It envelops us and permeates our very beings. That inner voice we hear guiding us to do
good ain't Jiminy Cricket; it’s God. “For
man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.
His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes
in his depths.”[2]
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