The Question of God

I have a question, do you know why during CCD and other religious formation events, such as retreats, people get flustered when they are asked to prove that God exists. I believe that He exists but have been puzzled by the realization that no one seems to have an answer. However, being at a Catholic college, this point has been brought up. It's come into question and we've been pushed to see new things and to question our beliefs. For me, this has been a good thing because it has made me believe more.

Today we looked at Aquinas' proof of God, earlier in the week we looked at Saint Anselm's proof of God and even earlier in the semester we looked at Descartes proof of God. I am fascinated by these proofs and, because of this, I have continued to research them. After class today, I looked further into these proofs. Upon doing so I went to the Catechism which stated that "The Church teaches that the one true God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty from his works, by the natural light of human reason (cf. Vatican Council I, can. 2 § 1: DS 3026)" (Catechism 47). I found this interesting because it shows that we humans have been given the tools to prove that God exists. However, God is an immaterial being so he does not exist in space and, therefore, He is not tangible. For example, we know that 5 + 3 = 8. We know for certain that this concept exists and holds true but if we were to ask where in space this concept is physically located, we would not be able to give an answer. As a lover of numbers and a lover of faith, this is so fascinating to me.

It puzzles me, though, because I have been Catholic all my life, have attended CCD and other various religiously edifying events but I have never come across this until now. How, if many people question the existence of God, including religious education students, is this information not widely know? We as Catholics say we love our faith. Many would fight to the death for it. Yet, when non-believers and even questioning believers ask us if God exists, we start tripping over our words. In truth, God exists! However, sadly, many of us do not understand this. We believe that be we don't understand it. Believing without understanding is not fully believing. Sadly, this means, we are missing the full truth.

The Church believes that God exists and we believe that God exists. There are at least three proofs for the existence of God. The Church believes that human reason, exemplified in these proofs, can prove the existence of God. How come these bits of information are available but they don't often join together to create a full picture? The proofs are simple and easy to follow but no one, at least that I know, seems to know they exist. The idea and the belief of God is dying but we have all the proof in front of us. We need to use it. Think about it: if faith without works is dead then what happens to faith that is not speckled with bits of understanding?