The Five Ways Of The Existence Of God - 1557 Words

This short paper will analyze â€Å"The Five Ways†, from Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). We cannot prove that God exists, merely by considering the word God, for that strategy work, we would have to presume to know God s essence. According to Aquinas, the existence of God can be proved. This paper will discuss what each of the five ways are that Thomas Aquinas introduced to show the existence of God. The Argument from Change: To begin with, one way to prove that God exists is to contemplate the fact that natural things are in motion. According to Aquinas, a first mover must exist if first movers did not exist there would be no other movers and nothing would ever be in motion. Meaning all the natural things are in motion, and†¦show more content†¦Simply stating that everything has a starting point which is caused by something else. It has to be a first cause, if there have no first cause exist, there would be no first effect. In fact, there would be no second or third effect for that matter either. If first causes must exist, then we must admit that is God. Aquinas did not say anything in either of the first two proofs mentioned before about things being moved or caused by earlier motion or causes. The various motions and causes he is talking about are simultaneous meaning occurring, operating, or done at the same time. In Aquinas s opinion, there is no philosophical reason that the chain of causes could not go back infinitely. His line of reasoning is that things must be caused by something earlier, and because this chain of causes cannot go back infinitely, for that reason, it must have a first cause, and it is God. A great example to help prove Aquinas s theory the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang is acknowledged by many scientists that the universe is an explosion. The Big Bang is the beginning of space, time of matter and energy, and it is the start of our expanding universe. Consequently, the universe does have an absolute beginning, which was a first physical event in which it all started. The first physical event has never been explained and it is difficult to believe the entire universe is just a chance occurrence. If the physical event is justifiable,Show MoreRelatedAristotle s Five Ways Of The Existence Of God1354 Words   |  6 Pages The existence of God, or a divine being, has been a metaphysical subject that has been contemplated since thousands of years by ancient philosophers such as Thales, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and many more. Medieval philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, who is most famously known for combining principles of faith and reason into a philosophy known as Thomism. 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