In short: YES and YES

Next question…



Ok, fine, I’ll give you the details.

One of the arguments for the existence of God is called the ontological argument. What is ontology, you ask? Well, ontology comes from two Greek words: on, which means “being,” and logia, which means “study.” So ontology is the study of being alive and existing. Pretty heavy stuff, but something we all ponder at one point or another. When you see the word ontology, think of Hamlet agonizing over “To be, or not to be” or Descartes stating, “I think; therefore I am.”

The ontological argument simply stated is this:

If humans can think of a perfect God in their minds, then He must exist.

In other words, if humans can understand what is meant by the concept of “God,” then it is impossible for Him not to exist.

As an example, imagine a perfectly round circle. Now, imagine a four-sided circle. If one grasps the concept of a perfectly round circle, then one cannot imagine a four-sided circle, that is, a square. If one can conceptualize a perfectly all-powerful, all-knowing God who is everywhere, then He must exist.

Anselm of Canterbury first conceived the ontological argument. He was a theologian who wrote on several important apologetic topics, and most of his works address (at least tangentially) the relationship between faith and reason. Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli present Anselm’s logic in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. The logic is that “God means ‘that than which a greater cannot be thought’… Therefore, God exists in the mind and in reality”. Anselm’s conclusion argued that if God does exist in the mind of both believers and atheists, then God must truly exist.

To simplify the argument, everything the human mind can know is based upon some reality, even if it is somewhat distorted. Using a series of premises, one can see that the ontological argument supports the existence of God. These premises are the following:

    1. Humans can conceptually know things exist.
    2. God is conceptually known.
    3. Therefore, God must exist.

Absolute truth does exist, even though some claim it does not. It has to. If one was to claim that there is no truth, then that is a self-defeating claim. It is a tautology to make such a statement. Frank Turek says, “A self-defeating statement is one that fails to meet its own standard”. The very concept of absolute truth demands that it exists just as much as the concept of a perfectly round circle and a perfect all-powerful God.

While the ontological argument does have weaknesses and might be considered one of the weaker arguments, it still deserves enough respect to be examined by the critics. One might say, “I can think there are Vulcans in spaceships zooming around at the speed of light in our universe, but that does not mean they exist.” While that is true, there are some thoughts about that concept that are true. Spaceships can travel at high velocity. There are other planets in our universe. There are people with extra-pointy ears. Even though the conclusion that extraterrestrial life outside of planet earth is not plausible, the possibility, based on reality, is rational. Some Christians and atheists have laughed off the ontological argument, but when thoroughly investigated, it has proven to be more difficult to destroy than it first appears. To some, the argument is very confusing. Even worse, it can have the potential to be presented as some logical trick or wordplay rather than something to take seriously. Even believers in God might see it as an unhelpful self-circling argument.

The ontological argument also has strengths. First, it argues from God rather than to Him. It is founded on the nature of God and is, therefore, specific to the true and living God rather than to the general idea of just a higher being. It does not demonstrate God as a concept that could or could not be and that we need to provide evidence for one way or another. It is also not based on the percentage of chances that God exists or does not exist. If the ontological argument is valid, then it is wholly valid. It does not demonstrate God to be most likely to exist, but rather that He has to exist. Therefore, it takes the logical human aspect out of the position of making a call of what is true. Instead, it places humans in the position to respond to the truth.

In scripture, we can find the ontological argument in the following passages:

“‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart’” (Jeremiah 24:7). Here in this passage, the message from God through Jeremiah states that it is God who has placed it in man to “know” Him.’

In conclusion, the ontological argument provides logical, philosophical, and biblical evidence for the existence of God. Logical, because we can come to a conclusion; philosophical, in that we can reason; and biblical, in that we can turn to the passages and read them for ourselves. The ontological argument proves God exists!

So YES, We can KNOW God exists, and YES, that is proof in and of itself!

I love you,

Alex Mills

(This is an excerpt from a paper I wrote on the existence of God called: Our God He is Alive. The paper examines all four major arguments about the existence of God. If you want to read it in full I can give you a copy of the paper with the full bibliography. )