Theology

Throughout history men have sought the difficult task of proving God’s existence, or the lack thereof. Two of these men, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Anselm, have provided us with their own explanations for the existence of God. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologia, presents a compelling case through five logical proofs of how one can conclude that God exists. While St. Anselm’s Proslogion also offers an attempt to prove God’s existence, its case is a much less compelling one. In order to understand why Aquinas’ piece succeeds so well in its argument, one must first understand how Anselm’s work falls short.
In St. Anselm’s Proslogion, Anselm attempts to prove God’s existence through an ontological proof; essentially, Anselm attempts to prove God’s existence by arguing that it is impossible for one to negate the statement, “God exists” without contradiction. Anselm does this in a three-step process. First, Anselm defines God as the being than which nothing...