There are two great powers that govern the world these days: Religion and Politics. People believe that the former came from God and the latter from man.
Today, no one can really say that he is not involved in politics or political practices. Why? It’s because each one of us is under the political government of each country. We cannot just commit a crime and justify it with our religious beliefs. No, we can’t do that. We must learn to obey some basic laws of the land in order to enjoy the blessings of freedom in the country.
The so-called “world powers” (political powers) are governed by political leaders. These political leaders have something to say about God and Religion. That is why I don’t believe that religion has nothing to do with the two Great Wars in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Before World War I, a group of military men asked Pope St. Pius X to bless them before the battle but the Pope answered, “I bless Peace not War.” Out of his great sorrow, before the Great War began, the pope died.
Many believed that the series of 3 World Wars was planned by a group of people in order to reduce population. They say that this group of people believed in the same doctrine that the Gnostics in the first century held. (Gnosticism believed that flesh is evil, that human body is a battle ground of good and evil, so it must be destroyed.)
Last year (2017), many Catholics believed that God is going to punish the world for its sins. They said that the failure of the 21st century Popes and Bishops to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is one of the reasons why there is no World Peace at present. Some even believed that World War 3 shall take place at the Centennial of Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.
In a world that has many problems and conflicts, many people began to doubt and ask, “DOES GOD REALLY EXIST?”
There was a time when I heard a radio program whose anchorman is an atheist. He claimed that God does not exist. Our neighbour named Yayo (an old man) once told me, “There is no God. If God exists why did he let our family suffer so much poverty?” As a Catholic lay “apologist”, I just answered, “Our poverty does not prove that God does not exist, just as the poverty of stubborn children who escaped from their parents house does not prove that their parents do not exist. The Bible said ‘The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God” (Psalms 13:1, Douay Bible).
Well, how can I prove that God exists? Can I use a telescope or a magnifying glass to see God and prove to others that He exists? Can I use the Bible to prove to an atheist that God really exists? Can I use the instruments in a laboratory so I can prove to others that God exists?
By simply using our reason, we can infer that God exists. How? By using reason, we can use some arguments to prove the existence of God.
In our time, when many people return to paganism brought by dialectical materialism (the ideology behind Communism), we Christians need to know how to explain briefly to the world that there is God. God really exists.
I had encountered an athiest 15 years ago. He defended his atheism by making many arguments. After a series of talks with him in a week (9:00 p.m. till 3 a.m. dawn), he was convinced that God really exists. He joined a religious order, entered the seminary and became a priest. At present, he is assigned in a city here in Mindanao, Philippines. He restored his belief in the Triune God and that is something helpful for some people.
Did God really exist? This question is a dividing line between atheists and God believers. Atheists denied the existence of God. God believers adhered to their religious belief that God really exists.
But what is God? What is meant by the word “God”?
When we talk about god, we are referring to “any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary, p.578).
“The creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all powerful, and all-knowing; SUPREME BEING.” (ibid.)
There are different thoughts about God. Here are some of them:
Monotheism - the thought that there is only one God. This was the original belief of the earliest people who lived on earth.
Polytheism – the thought that there are many gods. This was the belief of some groups of people prior to the coming of Christianity. The old Greek and Roman mythology based their beliefs in polytheism. The early Hindus also believed in polytheism. That is why they have plenty of the so called “gods and goddesses”.
Deism (17th-18th cent.) - This thought proposed that by using purely rational grounds without reliance on Divine Revelation or authority, we can prove that God created the world but takes no further part on its functionings.
Pantheism – the thought that everything in this world is “god”. This was proposed by J. Toland (1705 A.D.), an English deist (believer of God on rational grounds without reliance to Divine Revelation).
Gnosticism – an occult system based on mythology and Greek philosophy stressing gnosis (knowledge) as essential and viewing matter as evil.
Agnosticism – the thought that the human mind cannot know whether there is a God or an ultimate cause or anything beyond material phenomena.
Atheism – simply a denial that God exists. The atheist thought that there is no God.
There cannot be many Gods because there cannot be more than one Supreme Being. The Order and Design of nature as well as the material universe gives us hints that there is only One Supreme Being who created and is the Ruler of the Universe. Therefore, Polytheism must be false.
God is not just a Creator but the Ruler of the Universe. As a Ruler, He must rule the universe. Ruling the universe is the very nature of God. Otherwise, He is no longer God. Therefore, Deism must be false.
God is the Creator, Ruler and Supreme Being. The Creator is not the creature and cannot be a creature. God rules, God creates and as such must have the Will and Intellect. The created universe cannot be god because it has no will or intellect of its own. Therefore, Pantheism must be false.
There are beautiful things and scenes in this world. The food we eat, the water we drink, etc. helped us survive each day to see the beautiful things, places and persons in this world. Matter is not at all evil. Not everything in this world is evil. Therefore, Gnosticism must be false.
The human mind has the power to think correctly. By using our reasoning we can arrive at the conclusion that there is an ultimate cause of everything and that God exists. Therefore, Agnosticism must be false.
God really exists and the denial of atheists in the existence of God only proved that God really exists. If God does not exist, atheists do not need to deny God’s existence. God really exists. Atheists only denied His existence. Therefore, Atheism must be false.
The existence of God cannot be proven by using instruments of laboratories such as what usual scientific investigations are doing. God believers need to know how to prove that God exists by using the human faculty of the soul which is called reasoning. In discussing with atheists, we can prove that God exists by using our reasoning.
ARGUMENTS ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
- THE ARGUMENT OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
If there is a cause, there is an effect. An effect is the necessary result of a cause.
If there is an egg, there must be a hen. If there’s a puppy, there must be a mother dog. If there’s a piglet, there must be a mother pig. If there’s a building, there must be an engineer. If there’s a house, there must be a carpenter. If there’s a fire, there must be someone who ignited this fire.
The fire in the kitchen is prepared by the cook. But there is a big fire up above that cannot be ignited by the cook in the kitchen. There must be Someone more powerful than the cook who ignited this big fire up above we call The Sun. That Someone, who ignited that big fire, is what we call GOD.
- THE ARGUMENT OF ORDER AND DESIGN
If there is an order and design, there must be a designer who designed and arranged these things.
A beautiful movie is designed by a movie writer and director. A beautiful dress was designed by a tailor. A beautiful building is designed by an architect or an engineer. A beautiful work of art (an obra maestra) is designed by an artist. The beautiful planets in the solar system were designed by Someone more expert than any artist in this world. That Someone who designed the planets in the solar system and the rest of the universe, is what we call God.
- THE ARGUMENT OF MOTION
If there is motion, there must be a mover. A cart is moved by an animal. A pushcart is moved by man. A vehicle is moved by a driver. A plane is moved by a pilot. A drone plane is moved by the man who controls that plane. The moving satellites in the outer space are moved by scientists. The satellites of Saturn, as well as the rest of the satellites and heavenly bodies of the universe, are moved by Someone more powerful that the scientists. That Someone who moved these heavenly bodies of the universe, is what we call God.
- THE ARGUMENT OF THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE
We go to school to learn many things. The voice of our teachers taught us which is right and which is wrong. When we play basketball or soccer or any sport, we listen to the voice of our coach. When we work in a construction, we listen to the voice of the architect/engineer. If we are movie actors, we listen to the voice of movie directors. While we do something bad and alone, there is “a kind of voice” that commands us to do what is right and avoid what is wrong. That mysterious voice within us is the Voice of Conscience given to us by God to remind us that He is going to reward the good things we do or punish the bad things we had done.
- THE ARGUMENT OF THE LAW OF DEPENDENCY
Puppies depend upon their mother dog. The mother dog depends upon its “master”, the pet owner. The pet owner as an employee depends upon his employer. The employer depends upon the government. The government depend upon its leaders and the people. The people of a country depend upon farmers who harvest staple food for the people. The farmers in the fields depend upon the rain given by God from above to help their plants grow. Proud people depend upon doctors at the hour of death but pious doctors depend on God’s providence that has the ultimate power to restore the health of the patients. Many farmers and doctors depend upon God.
- THE ARGUMENT OF GRADATION
In this world, we were taught about things which are good, better or best. We see things which are beautiful, more beautiful and most beautiful. There are happy and happier moments in this world. But these happy moments, although we call some of them as happiest moments, are not really the happiest moments in our lives. The happiest moments are still coming when there will be no more tears and pains after those moments. These happiest moments are prepared by the ever happy Being Who is the Source of all happiness. That Someone who is the Source of all Happiness is what we call God.
- THE ARGUMENT OF NATURAL REVELATION
Everything in this world had a beginning. And everything that has a beginning has an end. Men, plants, animals came and die. We watched wonderful inventions of men and women of this world. But there are wonderful things around which cannot be made anymore by the bare hands of man. The natural wonders of this world proved to us that there must be Someone who created them. That Someone Who created these wonderful things around is what we call God.
Each nation or group of people are governed by laws. They were made by man. But there are laws around us which are not made by man. These are the laws of nature, i.e. law of bouyancy, law of gravity, etc. These laws proved to us that there is Someone (a Supreme Lawgiver, Who made all these things including mankind) who governs by His Natural and Moral Laws. There must be God.
GOD REALLY EXISTS. This had been proven by simple reasoning.
GOD REALLY EXISTS no matter how difficult life is.
