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James Kellenberger discusses three contrasting popular philosophies for proving God’s existence in the second chapter of his collegiate publication, Introduction to Philosophy of Religion. Presenting and objectively criticizing/critiquing the Ontological, Cosmological, and Teleological Arguments in a chronological fashion with relation to their respective eras of conception, I found the ideology and philosophical rationalizations throughout Proslogion and the Ontological Perspective to be that with which I most closely identify as far as the existence of a Supreme Being is concerned. The Ontological Argument is the credited work of Benedictine monk, Saint Anselm of eleventh century Canterbury, England in his most historically and philosophically significant work, Proslogion.
Utilizing the notion of an a priori proof to formulate the basis and justification for his convictions, Anselm seeks to prove “That God truly exists (Kellenberger 35)” without reliance upon any of the five human senses. This train of thought cleverly warrants the evocation of faith, or belief without physical proof or empirical knowledge. Appropriately so, Anselm opens the chapter of Proslogion discussing Divine existence with a meditative prayer in which, he modestly supplicates such highly pertinent concepts including wisdom and faith in order to better understand the existence and character of God. With such faith and understanding, Anselm boldly asserts his beliefs about God’s nature, existence, and attributes before even finishing his central argument in an attempt to comprehend what he genuinely believes to be true about his higher power.
While my own personal convictions are comparatively nowhere near as bold as that of Saint Anselm, his approach epitomizes what I believe to be an authentic and selfless demonstration of faith. Ideally, I believe that unconditional faith of this caliber, whether exercised publicly or intimately, should comprise the spiritual basis of...