The Existence of God: Intro

Introduction

How does one come to the acknowledgement of a “higher being?” Are there any ways or avenues that can indicate one towards an understanding of God?

The pretty simple, yet provoking questions to most believers/non-believer’s of God is, “How can we truly know if there is a god if we don’t see him/her?” “How do I know God exists?” “Can we find God in the cosmos, nature, human beings, or thought?” “Can God exist outside of the canon of Scripture?” Although many of these questions are only the surface or generic questions of much deeper interests, they can help us pinpoint some places we want to get to in this series. This series does not pretend to answer all philosophical, theological, and biblical questions on the existence of God. Rather, it serves the reader in focusing on the broader view of our own worldview. The existence of God is not only found on the biblical text (although it gives us “signs” to where we might find our answers) but also on reason, experience, and nature. There will not be a focus on “Mathematical and Scientific evidences” on the proof of God.

First, the issue of reason and its impact on how we perceive god shall be dealt with first. Dealing with reason and its impact on our perception of ourselves and God will allow the reader to see the reasonable argument view of who we are and who God is. Second, I intend to briefly look into the debated controversial element of, experience. Western society has led many to judge their worldview according to their experience. It is true, “what we experience in our childhood, characterizes who we are in the future.” Can the experience of God affect how we perceive God? If so, does this leave God empty handed? Thirdly, we will look at the “five ways” of Thomas Aquinas’s arguments for the existence of God. Fourthly, a brief look into modern culture and its impact on our society whether for the “better/worse” impact. We will notice that even in that discipline, it does affect our perception of God. After this note, I will wrap it up with brief notes of evaluation of my thought of the philosophers of Scripture and their intention for writing.

Series Author: Alex Barrientos