The Knowledge of God

The knowledge of God is one of many issues on which people share divergent views. Atheists and theists share different views on whether God exists or not, and provide different evidence and arguments. The Bible itself begins with explanation that God created a man in his own image, so that he/she could love Him with all his/her heart and enjoy a relationship of eternal blessings; and the Book ends with describing of how the residents of New Jerusalem will see God, and have His name written on their foreheads. This describes that man/woman should recognize God, and have a connection with Him, this is itself claimed to be a source of information and knowledge of the existence of God, and those who will believe in Him will get salvation (Bouillard, 1969).

Knowledge of God is a fact, which makes people decide whether to share a relationship with God or not. Theists are those, who believe in God; while atheists are those, who do not share a belief in existence of any supreme being. The theists argue that existence of God cannot be proved or demonstrated. Neither the scriptures nor the councilor decrees argue that the continuation of God can be confirmed mathematically just as a geometry problem can be proved. Theists, therefore, do not accept any deductive method of proving the God’s existence.

However, the Catholic teachings assert that the existence of God can be proved logically. They arrive at this conclusion using an inductive process through knowledge that is innate or intuitive by reasoning. But most men believe in the reasoning that God is the one through whom all things are made or by whom all things are created.

Ontologists try to justify the existence of God through deductive reasoning, but this has received criticism from other theists, like the Papal office in Rome. Ontologists, like Malebranche, who were influenced by kantism, try to claim that every individual has a natural knowledge and inborn understanding of God’s nature, but this knowledge may not be clear at first. They claim that people get this intuitive knowledge of him through His daily relations with his creatures but not through meeting him in face to face encounter.

Another theory, which has tried to assert knowledge and explain the existence of God, is the modernism theory. This theory tries to explain intuitive knowledge by giving an intellectual approach to reasoning and arguing that people know God through gained experience from the relationship with the Supreme Being, as explicitly shown by the life of a soul. They claim that when those of good morals pass away, their souls meet God, while those of bad morals are condemned to hell.

Most theists, in an attempt to explain knowledge and existence of God, try to advance the proposition through natural consciousness of the existence of God. They try to justify their position by giving inferential reasons. They also suggest that, while this may not be possible to prove inferentially, people can believe in the existence of God due to other reasons, other than those advanced by logics and intellect.

Theists’ proofs, however, have received criticism in the past. The intellectuals claimed that to prove these facts to be true, the moral disposition of a man must be determined (Trueblood, 1939). This has not yet been refuted by any theists. The spiritual inclination of every man is independent, and this determines whether a single person believes in the existence of God, but this independence cannot be used to assure man of the existence and nature of God. They also criticize the theists, claiming that making conclusions of the truth of His existence without sufficient proof is illogical, as the proofs should not be inclined only to convince the intellects but should be a purpose of convincing every man/woman, and should be able to change every living creature's mind to know God.

Most people, if you ask them what knowledge of God they have, they would answer that the knowledge they possess they have received from the sacred scriptures. They would claim to know Him through faith, and that God reveals His nature to them in their everyday activities.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, there are no arguments to prove the existence of God; it is generally argued that only a fool could doubt His existence (Psalms 13:1, 52:1), The Old Testament focuses on criticizing idolatry and polytheism.

The theists argue that a man/woman in his/her right should recognize the existence of God, and that God is a Creator and a Ruler of the whole universe. Man should recognize the existence of God through the wonderful creations, for example, through stars, planets, beautiful animals and plants, which reflect the nature of God.

Theists try to justify the existence of God deductively by giving the reasons, developed by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century. The first argument they give is that of motion. They claim that everything in the universe is moving, and this implies a first unmoved mover, who is God (Plantinga, & Tooley, 2008). Another reason they give is that God is the first cause that exists and is not caused; the existence of beings implies the subsistence of a necessary being, who is God (Plantinga, & Tooley, 2008).

Another reason advanced for His existence is that the perfect body and soul of a man can only be created by a perfect being who is God. Only an infinitely perfect being can be able to make the perfect stature of a man. The last reason they give for their belief in the existence of God is a wonderful design, according to which the world and the universe are created. They argue that it needs a wonderful designer to create a wonderful universe.

Deductive approach in proving the existence of God, and gaining sufficient knowledge about the His nature has received criticism from intellectuals and religious leaders, who prefer inductive reasoning. The only fact that has been established is that there is no theory that can offer sufficient knowledge to the understanding of God or prove His existence.