Say Anything Blog

Many claims are made that theism is without reason and solely the product of faith.  It seems naturalistic theism has all but disappeared from our education resulting in ignorance of its claims.  Theism is the basis of natural philosophy and natural law.  Hence, theism was instrumental in the thought and framing of our US Constitution. 

It will take a series of posts to cover the cosmological, teleological, anthropological, and ontological proofs theism offers—the greatest proof being the summation of all four proofs. The cosmological proofs will be in 5 parts over 3 posts. With all the talk on SAB about a Creator, religion, atheism, etc., and that such is really at the heart of our positions and perspectives, this topic could shed some useful light on things.

....We therefore begin with God’s existence; for the evincing of which, we may be most assured, First, that there hath been somewhat or other from all eternity; or that, looking backward, somewhat of real being must be confessed eternal.  Let such as have not been used to think of any thing more than what they could see with their eyes, and to whom reasoning only seems difficult because they have not tried what they can do in it, but use their thoughts a little, and by moving them a few easy steps, they will soon find themselves as sure of this as that they see, or hear, or understand, or are any thing.

For being sure that something now is, (that you see, for instance, or are something,) you must then acknowledge, that certainly something always was, and hath ever been, or been from all eternity; or else you must say, that, some time, nothing was; or that all being once was not.  And so, since you find that something now is, there was a time when all being did begin to be; that is, that till that time there was nothing; but now, at that time something first began to be.  For what can me plainer than that if all being some time was not, and now some being is, every thing of being had a beginning.  And thence it would follow that some being, that is, the first that ever began to be, did of itself start up out of nothing, or made itself to be when before nothing was.

But now, do you not plainly see that it is altogether impossible any thing should do so; that is, when it was as yet nothing, and when nothing at all as yet was, that it should make itself, or come into being of itself?  For surely making itself is doing something.  But can that which is nothing do any thing?  Unto all doing there must be some doer.  Wherefore a thing must be before it can do any thing; and therefore it would follow, that it was before it was; or was diverse from itself; for a cause must be a distinct thing from that which is caused by it.  Wherefore it is most apparent, that some being hath ever been, or did never begin to be.—John Howe, (1630-1705)