Thomas Aquinas Proof For The Existence Of God

The existence of God can be proven in five ways according to Thomas Aquinas. Two of these proofs are from the nature of the efficient cause and the gradation to be found in things. Aquinas’ argument from the efficient cause says in the world, there is an order of efficient causes. The efficient cause can’t be the cause of itself, for if it was, it would be before its being, which is impossible. It is impractical that these efficient causes should regress into infinity because each one of these causes is reliant on a prior cause, and if a cause is defined as the first cause of the effect, then it then is reliant on a previous cause as well. Therefore, if the cause is taken away so then is the effect. If there is no first cause, then no other

Rather if he is something, which Aquinas is arguing, what caused him? How is it that some being can randomly come to be and cause everything that there is today with no efficient cause? This is a solid reason that which many would need a definite answer to confirm this proof valid or not. In this case, there is no known visible proof for the reason or cause of how God came to be, which allows many to disregard this proof and claim it to be false. According to Occam’s Razor, there can’t be assumptions made that time has a beginning, middle, and end. In response to this principle, early Greek philosophers did not assume there was a beginning of time. For example: “We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. To this purpose, the philosophers say that Nature does nothing in vain, and more is in vain when less will serve; for Nature is pleased with simplicity, and affects not the pomp of superfluous causes.” (philosophy.lander.edu) In Aquinas’ first proof, it is assumed that there was a beginning of time, which is considered wrong according to this principle and even to the early Greek philosophers, because if the universe was assumed to always be in existence there would be no account for a beginning. Therefore, God would be irrelevant to being the efficient cause. Aquinas’ second proof calls attention to the argument that there is nothing perfect, and even if there was, how would we know that God is perfect. What is a perfect being? Difficulties arise when measuring goodness. Who is the judge of what is better or worse, and to which degree is this being? How are we to know that what we think is the best really is? Goodness is a moral quality, a function of human purpose and intention, not a degree of being. As Spinoza argues in his Ethics, “As for the terms good and bad, they indicate no positive quality in things regarded in themselves, but are merely modes of thinking,