Start with the Vocabulary

Finding Truth through words alone

Late in the 11th century there was a monk named Anselm who was faced with the challenge of proofing that God exist within one sentence. His statement is this,"God is that which nothing greater can be concieved."

Is that it? How does this prove anything? Well if you really think about what it means, it proves everyting. If this statement is true than God must be the greatest possible being. In order to be the greatest possible being than He must posses all the greatest qualities. He must be most powerful,loving,righteous,just,kind, and the most beautiful being we could ever imagine. Any and all desirable qualities must be found in the greatest possible being-and to the fullest measure.

How does this prove God exists? Anselm thought this was obviously true because for the most powerful, loving...being who was only a product of our imagination he would not be the greatest being at all but would come in second to a most powerful, most loving...being who did exist. Thus in order to qualify as the greatest possible being any canidate not only must possess the best possible attributes but must also exist.

Whether or not you believe in God we all must concede that the idea of God represents "that than which nothing greater can be concieved."

Oopps! but what does that mean? If you admit this than you must believe that God is more than an idea but must also exist. All rational people can say that if you deny that God exists than you are not then talking about God because if we are talking about God than He must exist as we have proved earlier. He is the greatest possible being. The moment we use the term "God" we are speaking of the greatest possible being, which as such must nccessarily exist. To say that, "God does not exist" is a contradiction. This would be declaring that God, the greatest possible being that must exist, does not exist. Anselm declared that this is what it must mean in Psalm 14:1 when it states that "The man who says in his heart that God does not exist is a fool." They must be a fool because you can't deny God's existance without condradicting yourself.

The important thing here is knowing how to speak about God. The vocabulary alone when describing God is powerfull. To use words like just,righteous, holy, grace and mercy lightly is a huge mistake. There defiition alone prove the entire bible.

This blog has been re-phrased from the book "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Michael E. Wittmer