The Five Ways and God’s Existence: The Second Way
Aquinas's second proof regarding the existence of God, is one of the most important. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is simple! It directly proves God to be an Efficient Cause, or should I say, the Efficient Cause. Before we dive in to an amazing yet deep understanding of this proof, I should probably clear up any words that may puzzle you. An efficient cause, according to the dictionary, is "an agent that brings a thing into being or initiates a change." The context of this definition is obviously referring to a supernatural being as 'the agent'. What else can bring something into existence or initiate a change?
One would think an efficient cause always has to be a supernatural being or an intelligent designer but that is incorrect. When a mother bears a child, wouldn’t that make her the efficient cause of that child? When Adolf Hitler enforced his genocidal ideals on the Jewish people, wouldn’t he be an efficient cause as his actions greatly changed the lives of the Jews he wanted to destroy? As you can see, an efficient cause can be both a regular human being like you or me and it can be a supernatural one! I brought those two examples to your attention so you can better understand efficient causes which will be discussed in depth throughout this blog. The efficient cause I will be discussing here is God. In the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, we read some profound things about God's existence and how we can know it.
Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." As we read in Genesis, we see that God's existence is made perfectly clear; God is the Efficient Cause. Since God created every human and shaped the heavens and the earth then that would make Him an efficient cause. It’s very simple to us believers because we believe God to be the greatest and primary Efficient Cause. We can see the existence of God in the world around us. Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Also in Romans 1:20: "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."
So, we humans have much proof for the existence of God as is alluded to in the Bible. However, what happens when a person who has no knowledge of God or the Bible asks you to prove God’s existence? After all, the Bible is just a regular book to a person such as an atheist and these such people don't care at all how many verses you cite, regardless of how clear. How will you prove to them that God exists just by using logic and reasoning? We know that God cannot be perceived or proved scientifically, that is, with empirical, sensory evidence, but what if there is a way to use logic and reasoning to prove the existence of God? Well, following the methods of our dear friend and brilliant theologian Thomas Aquinas, we can see that there are compelling reasons to believe that God really and truly exists. However, let us first consider some compelling arguments Aquinas offers against the existence of God and which he later refutes.
It may seem to us as though God does not exist because if one of two contraries are infinite, the other would be completely destroyed. At the same time, we know the word 'God' means that He is infinite holiness. So if God did exist, then there would be no evil in this world because God's infinite holiness would completely destroy all evil as they are both contraries, one being infinite. From these observations, we can conclude that God does not exist. Further, it is superfluous to suppose that what can be accounted for by a few principles have been produced by many. But it seems as though everything we see in this world can be accounted for by other principles, supposing God did not exist. For all natural things can be reduced to one principle which is nature; and all voluntary things can be reduced to one principle, which is human reason or will. Therefore, there is no need to suppose God's existence. As you can see, there seems to be contradicting statements about the existence of God! So how can we explain these contradictions to people who actually believe them? Who can we use to help us?
This, my friends, is where Thomas Aquinas comes in to play. In one of his greatest works the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas talks about the two contradictions I presented earlier and gives us some important and logical answers as to why they are incorrect. The first objection to the existence of God was "If God did exist, then there would be no evil because if one of two contraries are infinite, then the other would be destroyed." Well, Aquinas uses our other great friend and theologian Saint Augustine to help with this objection. (Enchiridion xi): "Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were to bring good, even out of evil." This is part of the infinite goodness of God that He should allow evil to exist and out of it, produce an even greater good. Although we sometimes cannot fathom how God can bring good out of the most evil things that happen, God is sovereign over everything and sometimes He does not make His goodness obvious to us in the midst of evil. Our brains cannot fathom or explain a lot of mysterious things about God yet we believe them because He is good and true and can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In the second objection, we read: “If our world was produced by many principles, how is it that we can explain the things of this world with only a few?” Well, since nature works for a determinate end under the direction of a higher agent, whatever is done by nature must be traced back to God, as to its first, or efficient cause. Likewise, whatever is done voluntarily must also be traced back to some higher cause other than human reason or will, since these can change or fail; for all things that are changeable and capable of defect must be traced back to an immovable and self-necessary first principle, or cause.
As we can see, the contradictions we discussed are no longer contradictions, as our friends Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas have showed us. In summary, in the world of sense, we find there is an order of efficient causes. There is no known case of an efficient cause to be the efficient cause of itself. For every effect, there is a cause and for every cause there is an effect. It is impossible to deny the existence of God or at least explain how the world came into existence by itself without any cause, without finding yourself stuck in a web of contradictions, questions, and falsehoods. God is the Efficient Cause of the universe and, contrary to popular opinion, His existence can be proven and explained using logical and philosophical evidence. Also, as has been emphasized before on this blog, empirical science has not and will not ever disprove the existence of God, the First Efficient Cause of the whole universe. I hope you enjoyed reading about the existence of God and Aquinas's Second Way for God's existence. This will be nowhere near the end of our discussions about God, mind you, and His existence and attributes. I hope that you learned a thing or two about God or at the very least, found an answer to a question you had about God and His existence.
One would think an efficient cause always has to be a supernatural being or an intelligent designer but that is incorrect. When a mother bears a child, wouldn’t that make her the efficient cause of that child? When Adolf Hitler enforced his genocidal ideals on the Jewish people, wouldn’t he be an efficient cause as his actions greatly changed the lives of the Jews he wanted to destroy? As you can see, an efficient cause can be both a regular human being like you or me and it can be a supernatural one! I brought those two examples to your attention so you can better understand efficient causes which will be discussed in depth throughout this blog. The efficient cause I will be discussing here is God. In the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, we read some profound things about God's existence and how we can know it.
Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." As we read in Genesis, we see that God's existence is made perfectly clear; God is the Efficient Cause. Since God created every human and shaped the heavens and the earth then that would make Him an efficient cause. It’s very simple to us believers because we believe God to be the greatest and primary Efficient Cause. We can see the existence of God in the world around us. Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Also in Romans 1:20: "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."
So, we humans have much proof for the existence of God as is alluded to in the Bible. However, what happens when a person who has no knowledge of God or the Bible asks you to prove God’s existence? After all, the Bible is just a regular book to a person such as an atheist and these such people don't care at all how many verses you cite, regardless of how clear. How will you prove to them that God exists just by using logic and reasoning? We know that God cannot be perceived or proved scientifically, that is, with empirical, sensory evidence, but what if there is a way to use logic and reasoning to prove the existence of God? Well, following the methods of our dear friend and brilliant theologian Thomas Aquinas, we can see that there are compelling reasons to believe that God really and truly exists. However, let us first consider some compelling arguments Aquinas offers against the existence of God and which he later refutes.
It may seem to us as though God does not exist because if one of two contraries are infinite, the other would be completely destroyed. At the same time, we know the word 'God' means that He is infinite holiness. So if God did exist, then there would be no evil in this world because God's infinite holiness would completely destroy all evil as they are both contraries, one being infinite. From these observations, we can conclude that God does not exist. Further, it is superfluous to suppose that what can be accounted for by a few principles have been produced by many. But it seems as though everything we see in this world can be accounted for by other principles, supposing God did not exist. For all natural things can be reduced to one principle which is nature; and all voluntary things can be reduced to one principle, which is human reason or will. Therefore, there is no need to suppose God's existence. As you can see, there seems to be contradicting statements about the existence of God! So how can we explain these contradictions to people who actually believe them? Who can we use to help us?
This, my friends, is where Thomas Aquinas comes in to play. In one of his greatest works the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas talks about the two contradictions I presented earlier and gives us some important and logical answers as to why they are incorrect. The first objection to the existence of God was "If God did exist, then there would be no evil because if one of two contraries are infinite, then the other would be destroyed." Well, Aquinas uses our other great friend and theologian Saint Augustine to help with this objection. (Enchiridion xi): "Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were to bring good, even out of evil." This is part of the infinite goodness of God that He should allow evil to exist and out of it, produce an even greater good. Although we sometimes cannot fathom how God can bring good out of the most evil things that happen, God is sovereign over everything and sometimes He does not make His goodness obvious to us in the midst of evil. Our brains cannot fathom or explain a lot of mysterious things about God yet we believe them because He is good and true and can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In the second objection, we read: “If our world was produced by many principles, how is it that we can explain the things of this world with only a few?” Well, since nature works for a determinate end under the direction of a higher agent, whatever is done by nature must be traced back to God, as to its first, or efficient cause. Likewise, whatever is done voluntarily must also be traced back to some higher cause other than human reason or will, since these can change or fail; for all things that are changeable and capable of defect must be traced back to an immovable and self-necessary first principle, or cause.
As we can see, the contradictions we discussed are no longer contradictions, as our friends Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas have showed us. In summary, in the world of sense, we find there is an order of efficient causes. There is no known case of an efficient cause to be the efficient cause of itself. For every effect, there is a cause and for every cause there is an effect. It is impossible to deny the existence of God or at least explain how the world came into existence by itself without any cause, without finding yourself stuck in a web of contradictions, questions, and falsehoods. God is the Efficient Cause of the universe and, contrary to popular opinion, His existence can be proven and explained using logical and philosophical evidence. Also, as has been emphasized before on this blog, empirical science has not and will not ever disprove the existence of God, the First Efficient Cause of the whole universe. I hope you enjoyed reading about the existence of God and Aquinas's Second Way for God's existence. This will be nowhere near the end of our discussions about God, mind you, and His existence and attributes. I hope that you learned a thing or two about God or at the very least, found an answer to a question you had about God and His existence.
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