© Oleksandr Zhabenko, Ukraine, Zhytomyr, 2014 (the Ukrainian original, the English translation is made on the 9th of July, 2023)
17 December 2014.
Since people are investigating the question of the possibility of proving the existence of God and thus trying to spread faith, I have also investigated this question and reached the following conclusions, which I offer for your consideration.
So, the first thing I have to point out is that it is impossible to
prove the existence of God strictly, and such a proof would be false and
contrary to the very faith of the Church in the Self-existence of the
Lord and God. A strict proof of existence requires an indication of what
is the basis, or cause, or condition, or some other prerequisite for the
existence of something. This is from the point of view of the science of
logic. With regard to God the Self-existent, Who is Supreme,
All-sufficient, All-satisfied, there is no other cause
or condition, precondition, etc. why He exists except of Himself.
Pointing to Himself is not enough for a strict logical proof, because it
leads to a vicious circle
in the proof: God exists because He
exists
, which is rejected as a proof by the science of logic.
Second, it is impossible to prove that God does not exist.
There are many reasons for this, which I will not dwell on now (after the fifth, it will become clear why).
Thirdly, both impossibilities do not refute the science of logic, because there are Gödel's theorems on the incompleteness of formal systems. In particular, it is known that in a formal system (the science of logic) there may be statements that can be neither proved nor disproved by means of this system (logic). That is, it is mentally impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God. At the same time, these statements may be true.
Since an arbitrary proof must include mental operations, and the latter are carried out according to the laws of logic, it is impossible to make not only logical but also arbitrary strict proofs of the existence or non-existence of God, i.e. it is fundamentally impossible if we think logically.
The fourth and final fact leaves room for faith. We accept the
existence of God not by proof, but by faith. By faith we know that the
ages were created by the Word of God,
says the Apostle (Hebrews XI, 3).
Fifth, the question of response and obedience
and its understanding
and explanation. You say: Doesn't God manifest Himself in creation, so
that through the knowledge of creation one can come to the knowledge of
the Creator?
Let's take a closer look at the creation of the world.
And the Lord said,
Let there be… And there was…
Let there be… And there was…
Let the… be gathered… And it was so…
Let
the earth bring forth grass… And it was so…
Let there be… And
it was so…
Let the water bring forth…
Let the earth bring
forth living man…. And it was so
(Genesis I). God says that the
earth (the material world) responds
, obeys
and acts
. For a
scientist, there is always the possibility of considering this response,
this movement towards the Creator, this obedience, as something earthly,
material, and trying to describe it without paying attention to the fact
that the movement is directed towards God, trying to consider it as a
manifestation of purely material natural processes.
Therefore, for the scientist, there is always the possibility of
considering the response of creation as something independent, of
considering it in isolation from the Calling Lord. And since the Word of
God is unchanging, the response takes on the form of a pattern or even a
law. Therefore, by responding and being obedient to the Word of God
,
the creation cannot itself become a path to the Creator, but its
response is necessary for the Creator to descend to the creation and
give it what He wants.
This is best seen in the mystery of the Annunciation, when the
Blessed Virgin responded obediently to the Word of God. She did not
become the Mother of Christ on her own, but the Lord descended and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit
of the Virgin Mary, and was made man
as the Creed says.
Moreover, creation responds to human operations.
It is impossible to prove the non-existence of God again by taking
into account the response
of creation. For there is always the ability
and possibility to attribute what causes doubt and denial to creation,
to its response, to disobedience
or obedience
, and not to the
Creator. And so it is, because only the changeable and created, the
changeable and non-self-existent, can be denied, not God, who is
uncreated, unchanging, indestructible, etc. If something remains unclear
in this case, we can look to Christ. The way in which the two natures
are united in Him in One Person, One Christ Jesus, remains unknown to
us. The fact of the union is known by faith, but the method is beyond
our understanding. The Chalcedonian dogma denies heretical ways of
union, but does not reveal the incomprehensible Mystery, which the
many-eyed Cherubim and the fiery Seraphim look upon in awe.
The so-called properties of God
are also an example of this. Every
object has its own properties and characteristics that define, limit,
and distinguish it from others. The properties of God
are not
properties in this sense. They do not limit or define God, but rather
they are doors
, windows
, if you will, a way through which one can
become like Him and unite with Him by co-operating with God. When we
say, for example, that the Lord is Almighty, it does not mean that there
is a certain quality of omnipotence
that the One and Only Lord
possesses, but that it pleases God to give us (first of all, our minds)
the ability to know God in His power, to meet Him in this and to become
powerful in God. The Lord does this so that we grow spiritually, so that
we pray not only with the spirit but also with the mind,
according to
the Apostle. I can do all things through him who strengthens me, Jesus
Christ,
says the Apostle Paul (Philippians IV, 13). Hence the possible
objections of unbelievers (or even demons) are not objections to God's
property
, but are only sin, that is, a wrong, distorted movement along
the path of God's Might or even a refusal to move in that direction. By
rightly glorifying God as Almighty, we become powerful in Him, just as
He is. And so it is with God's other attributes
. Who knows the
strength of your anger, that he may measure your fury with fear,
says
Psalm 89 (90). We do not know the magnitude
of God's power, and we
cannot measure
it in any way. God is Almighty because He is not
limited. He is not limited by our understanding of power. And so it is
with God's other attributes
.
So, in conclusion, we can confidently say that science does not fundamentally prove either the existence or non-existence of God, leaving room for faith.
So, with regard to the Creator, we need faith, not proof.
And what about creation?
The same goes for creation. Science does not prove the existence of
something, it accepts it on faith, and once accepted, it moves on. What
is called the growth of scientific knowledge
is in fact nothing more
than the strengthening of science in faith
. The faith may be false,
but the fact remains.
Proof of existence in science is actually a way to convince us, a way to make us believe in existence. And we, like children, believe.
The power of science lies in the strength of faith of its creators and users.
https://vk.com/olexandr343?w=wall13204496_1724%2Fall
As an example, let's look at a judicial investigation. There are procedural procedures for investigating and proving the guilt of a criminal, and people believe that, once proven, the guilt is valid and worthy of punishment. As a result of this belief, people accept the court's verdict as appropriate. But later on, facts may come to light that show that the decision was wrong, and then people's faith changes, and the decision must be reconsidered and changed. And again, it will gain strength through faith. The results may vary, but the fact of faith is constant.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Source: from 17 December 2014.
of 16 February 2015:
- Neither can He [God] be revealed by proofs, because they are based
on previous principles and higher concepts, but nothing can exist before
the uncreated Being.
(Clement of Alexandria). This is an unknown quote
by one of the teachers of the Church, who is not well studied. It was
pointed out by Abbot Jeremiah (Shekel). For that, I am grateful to him.
In my work, there is a similar (almost identical) thought, or rather the
first thought. However, it is more elaborated. I did not research the
sources sufficiently, repeating the opinion of Clement of Alexandria in
one of the paragraphs. I was reassured by the fact that my reasoning was
not found anywhere, and I should have known it if it had been cited
somewhere. For me, simplicity is more valuable. And most importantly, my
goal was to explain briefly and as clearly and easily as possible how to
treat discussions about proof
(or vice versa).
of 09 March 2015:
- St. Ven. John Damascene notes: We do not say that (in Christ) the
operations are separate and that the natures act separately from each
other; but (we affirm) that each (of them) is united with the other,
with the participation of the other, and accomplishes what is peculiar
to it. For what is peculiar to man, Jesus Christ did not do as man
usually does, because He was not a mere man; nor did He do what is
peculiar to God as God alone, because He was not just God, but God and
man together. For just as we recognise both unity and natural difference
in the nature of the essence, so we recognise natural wills and operations
[Maximus the Confessor, Dialogue with Pyrrhus. Leo the Great, St. Letter
26 to Flavian]. - Therefore, it is necessary to know that in relation to
our Lord Jesus Christ we sometimes speak of two natures, and sometimes
of one person, but both are reduced (in fact) to one concept. For two
natures are one Christ, and one Christ is two natures. Therefore, it is
the same whether we say: Christ acts according to each of His natures,
or whether we say: each nature in Christ acts with the participation of
the other. Therefore, the Divine nature participates in the operations of
the flesh because, by the will of the Divine will, the flesh was allowed
to suffer and do what was inherent in it, and also because the operation of
the flesh was undoubtedly salvific - which is not a characteristic of
human operation, but of Divine operation. The flesh participates in the
operations of the Deity of the Word because the Divine operations were
performed through the body, as if by means of an instrument, and also
because One was the One who acted, both in the way that is
characteristic of God and at the same time in the way that is
characteristic of man. - It is also to be known that the holy mind of
Christ performs His natural operations, thinking and understanding that He
is the mind of God and that all creation worships Him, and at the same
time remembering His sojourn and suffering on earth. In the operation of
the Deity of the Word, in His arrangement and governance of all things,
the mind of Christ participates, thinking and understanding and
eliminating, not as the ordinary mind of man, but as He who, being
hypostatically united to God, received the name of the mind of God.
-
(Quoted in: www.parafia.org.ua/biblioteka/svyatoottsivski-tvory/
ioan-damaskin-tochnyj-vyklad-pravoslavnoji-viry) - In the same place,
St. John Damaskin continues: Therefore, divine operation means that since
God became a man, that is, incarnate, His human operation was Divine, that
is, deified, and not without participation in His Divine operation.
Likewise, His Divine operation was not without participation in His human
operation, but each of the two operations was contemplated together with the
other. This image (of speech) is called περ φραςις, when one embraces
two concepts in one word. In fact, as in a red-hot sword, the heat
accompanied by cutting and the cutting accompanied by heat are called
one (operation), but we say that one operation is cutting and the other is
heat, and the former belongs to one nature and the latter to another,
viz: heat to fire, and cutting to iron; likewise, when we call the
divine operation of Christ one, we mean two operations of His two natures: one
operation is divine, belonging to His divinity, and the other human,
belonging to His humanity.
(Quoted in: www.parafia.org.ua/biblioteka/
svyatoottsivski-tvory/ioan-damaskin-tochnyj-vyklad-pravoslavnoji-viry/)
See the English translation at:
Saint_John_Damascus_An_Exact_Exposition_of_the_Orthodox_Faith
- We can see that in Christ the two natures are united in such a way
that neither of them acts separately from the other, each of the two
participates in the operation of the other. - Christ is the model for
creation and its Purpose, as He Himself says: I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End
(Revelation
XXI, 6, XXII, 13). And so, wanting to become human, the Lord created us so
that we would come to know existence by faith. That is why the Lord laid
down this fundamental impossibility in creation, about which my work is
written. - If the Lord wanted to create differently, He would have
created, but when He wanted to become a human being, He provided only
one way of knowing Him - through faith. And the above well illustrates
that the Lord our God is Holy. - The Lord also says that an evil and
adulterous generation seeks signs
(Matthew XII, 39; XVI, 4). - This means
that a pure heart is not inclined to deny God, but to seek Him. And
those who rejected Him in their hearts beforehand did indeed act
wickedly, as this book also shows. For in order to deny God, one must
first commit adultery against Him by committing adultery
. That is why
the Lord calls the Pharisees in this way, in order to bring everyone to
the knowledge of the truth. - The Apostle says of Christ: For by Him
all things were created, visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers [Paul lists the
ranks of the angels] - all things were created by Him and for Him. He is
before all things, and all things stand (exist, being established) in
Him
(Colossians I, 16-17). - To the One Wise God in the Holy Trinity,
glorified Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be glory, honour and worship
forever and ever. Amen.
of 04 May 2015:
- One person, when asked how she felt about misconceptions, replied:
I'm more interested in people than in views.
of 24 April 2016:
- Let us also recall the parable of the Lord Jesus Christ about the steward of unrighteousness (Luke XVI, 1-17). - See also my commentary on two interesting articles http://www.bogoslov.ru/text/2863586.html#comment2881426