Building on what we mentioned last week about the "idea" of God being a part of every person's inner soul, we move on to the idea of the necessary existence of a Perfect Being. Some philosophers and theologians set forth that the very fact we can think of a perfect Being is a proof for God's existence. This is often called the ontological argument from a Greek word meaning "being."
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' " (Psalm 14:1; 53:1) What does the fool mean by the word "God"? By saying, "there is no God, " does he mean that no person or being is any more knowledgeable than another; or that no one is more powerful than another, or that no one is any kinder or loving than another? Of course not! We see degrees of these qualities are around us. What he does mean is that there is no Being (person or spirit) that is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-kind and loving. But the fool has an idea of what it means to be the "perfection" of these traits. Some people pocess more of these qualities than others, but no one, the fool believes, possesses the attributes to perfection--for he knows if that Being did posses these to a perfect degree that person (Being) would be God as we almost universally define Him.
Where did the idea of a perfect God come from? I know that the Scriptures set Him forth as perfect in all His attributes, but we are talking about this definition of God needing to be perfect even in the minds of those who do not know theScriptures. The very idea of a Perfect Being seems to require the existence of God, for if God did not exist He would not/could not be a perfect being. Accordingly, we cannot even think of the concept of a Perfect Being without admitting His necessary existence. This concept requires some serious thought, but it seems to me to have a valid point that leads to admitting God's existence. There is more to this argument than we can write here, but think about it. Other proofs, more easily understood and persuasive will be presented in the articles to follow.
Ted J.Clarke