THIS JUST IN: PROOF THAT GOD EXISTS!
When I was in third grade, a lot of the kids dreaded going to Sunday School because it was boring. I dreaded it for another reason. At eight years old, I had become deeply skeptical about the existence of God. (Okay, maybe not that deeply.) This was particularly inconvenient as I was the minister’s daughter at our Baptist church. I was not supposed to be an atheist. Especially not before I was tall enough to ride most roller coasters, old enough to drink caffeine, or able to multiply by six without using my fingers.
So when my Sunday School teacher passed around bright, green, half-page sheets with the heading “Proof that God Exists” at the top, I couldn’t read fast enough. Proof! Here was proof! Give it to me!
Under the heading were several lines. They read (something like):
- God is the greatest thing that can be conceived.
- We conceive of God.
- It is greater to exist in reality than only in the imagination.
- Therefore, the being of which we can conceive must exist in reality. (Otherwise, we could conceive of something greater, which is impossible.)
On the bottom of the page was a single name: Anselm. Forget Madonna or Prince. Anselm was my new celebrity crush.
I folded the proof and stuck it in my Bible, right in the middle (probably in Psalms or Proverbs). I started asking adults left and right if they had seen the proof. They would raise their eyebrows, then I’d pull it out and pass it over. They would politely read then hand it back, offering something absent like, “How about that.” Over and over again, I made people uncomfortable in this way. I saw it as my mission to reach everyone who hadn’t heard: Logic has spoken! Hark! God is real!
Eventually, for the record (what record?), I found my way to a personal belief in God based on faith, not reason alone. But the other day, Anselm and his argument came to mind. LSAT instructor that I am, I was curious to revisit it from the perspective of an adult with a pretty good handle on logic.
The proof, which dates back to the Eleventh Century, has been controversial pretty much ever since. Even Kant jumped in the conversation. Philosopher Steven Law writes that while few philosophers today find Anselm’s argument convincing, “there remains no consensus as to exactly what is wrong with it.” It’s definitely simple and elegant. Take a stab at it, yourself. Where are the gaps and term shifts?
Or, if you’re more interested in Kant’s critique than your own, check out Law’s blog post on the proof, where he clearly and interestingly outlines a few critiques.
And if it convinces you that God does, in fact, exist… Well, my third grade self would be very happy.