Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The Catholic doctrine on the essence and Knowability of God is set forth by the First Vatican Council:
“The Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church believes and acknowledges that there is one true and living God, creator and lord of heaven and earth, almighty, eternal, immeasurable, incomprehensible, infinite in will, understanding and every perfection. Since he is one, singular, completely simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, he must be declared to be in reality and in essence, distinct from the world, supremely happy in himself and from himself, and inexpressibly loftier than anything besides himself which either exists or can be imagined. This one true God, by his goodness and almighty power, not with the intention of increasing his happiness, nor indeed of obtaining happiness, but in order to manifest his perfection by the good things which he bestows on what he creates, by an absolutely free plan, together from the beginning of time brought into being from nothing the twofold created order, that is the spiritual and the bodily, the angelic and the earthly, and thereafter the human which is, in a way, common to both since it is composed of spirit and body. Everything that God has brought into being he protects and governs by his providence, which reaches from one end of the earth to the other and orders all things well.[i] All things are open and laid bare to his eyes,[ii] even those which will be brought about by the free activity of creatures.”[iii]
Reason teaches there must be a God. God’s existence may not necessarily be proven by scientific reasoning; however, the universe clearly points to a One, True, and Living God, from whom all existence comes, and without whom life and all its development would be impossible. St. John of Damascus writes: “Even the very continuity of the creation and its preservation and government, teach us that there exists a Deity, Who supports and maintains and preserves and ever provides for this universe.”[iv].
Deep in one’s heart, man inherently recognizes that there must be some purpose and meaning to his existence. “Nature itself acknowledges its Creator by its own judgment, not by the law but by reason, for the creature recognizes its Maker in itself.”[v] St. Thomas declares: “For the knowledge of God is naturally implanted in all.”[vi]
“For many people the very idea of God has ceased to have meaning. It is like the survival of a half-forgotten mythology. Before it can have any meaning for them, they have to experience His reality in their lives. They will not be convinced by words or arguments, for God is not merely an idea or concept in philosophy. He is the very ground of existence.”[vii]
Without belief in God life is purposeless and meaningless. “There is therefore something like the law of God which exists in the hearts of men.”[viii] God has no need of us: but we have need of God. He needs nothing from us to be blessed; conversely, He offers Himself to us, totally and without reservation. Unless we receive from Him we cannot be truly alive or redeemed.
Why, then, do so many reject belief? John Henry Cardinal Newman answers:
“If you ask me why some men still persist in denying the existence of God, despite the clear testimony of reason and the general consent of all peoples from the beginning of the world, the answer is not far to seek. Just as the human will can freely and deliberately sin against the light and do the most abominable things, so the human mind can defiantly and illogically deny the most self-evident truths. The Psalmist is right in declaring him the atheist a ‘fool’” (Ps 53:1).[ix]
In maintaining the existence of God, we must remind the atheists of our day that a belief in God is the earliest and most constant fact in human history.
There is no science or other branch of knowledge that lends any support to the denial of a personal God. Atheism is generated in the minds of those who have never seriously and patiently examined the evidence of God’s existence or that they have been perverted by moral misbehavior.
The shallowness that spawns atheism was well discerned by Francis Bacon (1561-1626): “It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.”[x]
The Barna Group combined atheists and agnostics into one group, which they call sceptics.
Sceptics either do not believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists, but are open to the possibility (agnostics). Sceptics represent one-quarter of all unchurched adults (25%); 29.5 million. Nearly one-third of sceptics have never attended a Christian church service in their lives (31%).
One in four unchurched adults are sceptics—either atheists or agnostics.
Negative (weak) atheism: Also known as implicit atheism, this is the general concept of believing that there is no god or gods. Negative atheists are often called “agnostic atheists” because their belief is based on the absence of a belief in a god, rather than a conviction that there is no god.
Positive (strong) atheism: Also known as explicit and gnostic atheism, this belief includes an active denial of god or gods, normally based on logic or evidence. Positive atheists tend to be more assertive about their atheism and are more likely to strongly oppose religion in the public sphere.
Although atheists may feel guilt when committing a misdeed, they do not consider these actions sinful because they do not believe that there is anyone or any superior Being to whom they would have to answer. In short, they become their own God.
April 1st is their national holiday.
Atheism and Agnosticism in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC §2123 “Many . . . of our contemporaries either do not at all perceive, or explicitly reject, this intimate and vital bond of man to God. Atheism must therefore be regarded as one of the most serious problems of our time.” (Gaudium et spes 19 §1; The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, one of the four Apostolic Constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council).
CCC §2124 The name “atheism” covers many very different phenomena. One common form is the practical materialism which restricts its needs and aspirations to space and time. Atheistic humanism falsely considers man to be “an end to himself, and the sole maker, with supreme control, of his own history”(Gs 20 § 1). In short, they become their own God.
Another form of contemporary atheism looks for the liberation of man through economic and social liberation. “It holds that religion, of its very nature, thwarts such emancipation by raising man’s hopes in a future life, thus both deceiving him and discouraging him from working for a better form of life on earth” (Gs 20 § 2).
CCC §2125 Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion.
“Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion” (Gs 20 § 3).
CCC § 1816— The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.” (Lumen gentium 42) Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 10:32-33).
[i] Wis 8:1.
[ii] Heb 4:13.
[iii] Tanner, Norman J., S.J., Ed., Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Volume II, (Washington, D.C.: Sheed &Ward and Georgetown University Press, 1990), pp. 805-806.
[iv] Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, I, 3.
[v] Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul’s Epistles.
[vi] Summa Theologica, I, 2, I.
[vii] Griffiths, Dom Bede, OSB Cam, in his autobiography, The Golden String, Medio Media, 2003, p. 4.
[viii] Origin, Paradise 8:39.
[ix] Taken from Rev. Bertrand L. Conway, the Question Box: Replies to Questions Received On Missions to Non-Catholics. New Edition, (New York: Paulist Press), 1929, p. 3.
[x] Essays, Atheism.