Some Explication From Medieval Phil.

Chapters two and three of the Proslogium contain Anselm’s famous proof. In chapter two Anselm gives three premises and a conclusion. They are numbered in this paper as follows: 1) God “art a being than which nothing greater can be conceived,” 2) “it is one thing for an object to be in the understanding, and another to understand that the object exists,” 3) “that, than which nothing greater can be conceived, cannot exist in the understanding alone,” and therefore 4) “there exists a being, than which nothing greater can be conceived, and it exists both in the understanding and in reality” (Anselm 39).

God by definition is a being in which nothing greater can be conceived; thus premise 1) is true by definition. Premise 2) is more controversial, depending upon how it is interpreted. Existence can either be a property of an object or it can be defined as existing in W possible worlds; in either case it is making the claim that existence is different from and better than nonexistence. Premise 3) is making an inference from premise 1) and 2); if God is the greatest conceivable being and existence is better than nonexistence, then the greatest conceivable being has the property of existence or exists in all possible worlds W. Conclusion 4) follows directly from premise 3), viz. God exists.

In chapter three Anselm gives a slightly different formulation of the argument. In chapter three Anselm has two premises and one conclusion; they are numbered in this paper as follows: 5) God “cannot be conceived not to exist,” 6) “there is […] a being than which nothing greater can be conceived to exist, that it cannot even be conceived not to exist,” and therefore 7) God necessarily exists (Anselm 39). The justification for premise 5) is, “it is possible to conceive of a being which cannot be conceive not to exist; and this is greater than one which can be conceived not to exist” (Anselm 39). This is saying that a necessary being is greater than a contingent being. Since, God cannot be conceived not to exist, and there is not a being conceivable that is greater than God, God exists necessarily.

Both of these arguments work together to form Anselm’s proof. The argument in chapter two shows that the greatest possible being that can be conceived actually exists. The argument in chapter three shows that this being is a necessary being. The argument also claims that God is the only necessary being.

An objection to this argument that Gaunilon raises is, it is possible to think of an island that is the greatest possible island, but that does not mean the island actually exists. Anselm replies that Gaunilon is correct in thinking about the island because it is a contingent object: it is possible to conceive of the island not existing. God, however, is not a contingent being since it is not possible to conceive of God’s non-existence - this is demonstrated in chapter two.

Even if it is objected that existence is not a property that can be had by an object, Anselm could respond that the being than which nothing greater can be conceived that exists in all possible worlds is God (Look). This formulation is also helpful in understanding how this being is also necessary, viz. in every possible world it is not possible to conceive of the non-existence of God.

Anselm’s argument is valid and sound in proving that God exists. It should be noted that this proof does not say anything about the nature of God; if one wanted to know about God, they would have to look for empirical evidence or provide different proofs for God’s attributes. This proof, however, clearly demonstrates that God exists and could not be otherwise.

Quotations taken from:
St. Anselm. Proslogium. Readings in Medieval Philosophy. Ed. and introd. Andrew B. Schoedinger. New York: Oxford Press, 1996. 36-40.

Look, Brandon C. “Anselm, Aquinas, and Pascal.” U of Kentucky Philosophy Department. 5 March, 2009. http://www.uky.edu/~look/AnselmAquinasPascal.pdf

Humanity

Why educate the masses?
So they can live a fuller life, and be more useful and productive to society.

Why not make them slaves?
Since they are humans, they have the right to achieve their full potential.

Why do they make slaves of themselves to their ignorance and passions?

Engaged

Tanya Cordova and I are now engaged. I proposed to her last Saturday night. After eating dinner with her family (it was her mom's birthday), I took her out to see "The Importance of Being Ernest" performed at Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre. Afterward we searched frantically for an open ice cream shop to no avail, I drove to the top of Table Rock, that overlooks Boise. We talked for sometime before I read Shakespeare's Sonnets 18 and 130. I then read the following poem that I wrote earlier that week,


My fair lady, my fair love:
Soft as a whisper, light as a dove.
Many come from afar to see your grace,
Among whom, none are worthy to receive your embrace.

Eyes like diamond, and roses for your cheek:
Skin of bronze, and a body of a Greek.
Though, Shakespeare’s woman be not divine,
Thou, art a goddess, whose possession is mine.

A gentle spirit, and a soul that is fair:
Lacking no sympathy, and abounding in care.
I dare not put thee to the test,
For injustice towards the helpless will release a tempest.

What great a treasure, what great a pearl:
How did I come by thee, so great a girl?
Surely, Divine Providence has had its way.
Now quickly, tell me what you say,
For, I ask for your hand this day!

Since we agreed to not proclaim our love of one another while dating, she was quite confused as to what I was doing (we did not speak of any plans of an engagement before this date, so she was completely unsuspecting). I reached behind my seat and present this ring, and asked her if she would marry me. Stunned in disbelief, she said yes, and wept a little.

We are planning on being married on September 12, 2009 at Capital City Christian Church by Tom Velasco.

Midnight Ramblings

Everyday my mind is pressed to the grinding wheel.

Lectures, papers, exams, discussions, readings, etc.

I can discern ever more accurately;
I can see ever more clearly...

But, how dull and blind I still am!!!


My ideas are sifted through the great sieve of tradition;
Only the purest remain.

But wait! What is this?!
A hole: a gaping hole.

Has nobody noticed?
Who shall repair it?
It is far beyond the fix of any patch.

Four Spititual Circles?

A while ago I read an interview with James Choung (here it is). In it he explains how he came to use four circles to explain the gospel to our current culture that is interested in social justice. Part 1 of a brief video is here; part 2 is here. I think it is a good tool that is more relevant than "The Four Spiritual Laws," though that can be useful too. I suggest reading the interview before watching the video.

We Are Rich!

For one of my classes this semester, I was assigned to read "The Crisis of Islam" by Bernard Lewis. It is a really good book that attempts to give a brief history of how and why "The West" and radical Islam are in the current conflict.
There was a passing comment that I thought was interesting though...

"Among the components in the mood of anti-Americanism were certain intellectual influences coming from Europe. ... In this perception, America was the ultimate example of civilization without culture; rich and comfortable, materially advanced but soulless and artificial; assembled or at best constructed, not grown; mechanical not organic; technologically complex but without the spirituality and vitality of the rooted, human, national cultures of the Germans and other 'authentic' peoples" (69-70).

It appears to me that there is at least some truth to this...
"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" -Rev. 3:14
Maybe we need more than just culture....

Questioning the Faith?

Engage Truth has been recording video testimonies for the last year or so. They edit them down to a three minute video that they play before the service every couple of months. They recorded mine last week. I briefly spoke about my history before coming to Christ as an atheist and the process I began afterward. Here is an excerpt; I will post the video when it is done.

After I became a Christian, I had a lot of questions that need to be answered; it was a long process that didn't happen overnight. I spent a lot of time reading the bible trying to understand what it meant, praying for wisdom about specific things I didn't understand, reading Christian books (there are a lot of people who have had the same questions as you), and talking with my Christian friends. I would ask my friends questions, often about things that they didn't have answers to but we would begin to work out the answers together.

As I took the time to study, reflect, and work through the questions that I had, I began to find answers. I see a lot of people who struggle with questions and doubts but they don't appear to be bothered about finding the answers. It is almost like they are more upset that their world has been shaken up a little, than they are about finding the truth. The fact of the matter is we all have questions and we all need to be taking part in the dirty work of finding the answers.

I suspect that part of what happens when people have doubts and questions that eventually lead them away from the faith is, a lot of questions build up and never get answered. They may begin by asking: is the bible reliable, is Jesus really the messiah, does God answer prayer, did God approve of genocide in the old testament, if god exists does he cause suffering in the world, and many other valid questions like this, but they never find the answers. Eventually there comes a point when they say, "there sure are a lot of things that don't make sense, so God must not exist." The tragedy with this is not that they are asking questions but that they are not finding or even looking for the answers.

I would encourage anyone who has doubts or questions to not feel bad; it is normal and good to ask questions. The important thing though, is to not stay in that place of merely questioning; move on, look for the answers. We believe in God by faith, but it is a faith based on reason; it should not be done blindly. Jesus claimed to be "the way and the truth and the light" John 14:6a. I really think that as we begin to look for him he will begin to reveal himself to us (Matt 7:7-11). I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression either. It is not as though I have all of the answers, but I have began the journey of finding them with Him.