If God does exist or does not exist are beliefs that can be people argue differently based on diverse reasons. People use different ways and thoughts to prove if God exists. Aquinas used five ways to prove the existence of God. This paper argues in favor of the existence of God. The argument raises reasons to prove that despite Him being unseen, God exists. The argument is based on Aquinas’s first way of proving that God exists, "argument from motion."
The Argument for Motion
Motion is the aspect of having a change. Besides, it is the transit or transformation from the potentiality to the actuality. Things, people, and animals move from one location to another without influence from something that human beings can see. Moreover, it is possible to see that on the earth, things keep on changing their state and positions. All changing things are influenced by other things (Kenny, 2014). If something influences one thing to change, then it is also made to change by something extra. However, the lineage of change cannot just be infinitely continuing. Therefore, there have to be something that leads to changes without that thing changing at all. All human beings understand that God does not change. Therefore, God exists, and He is the one who makes all things to change (Te Velde, 2017). Nevertheless, since the potential does not exist, it is not possible to cause its existence, but can only be made to be there by another thing which already exists. Hence, similarly, with Aquinas' conclusion, that thing making other things to move and those things have to be existing.
According to Aristotle’s observation, it is clear that everything on earth that moves is made to move by another thing. He also thought that the chain of movers has to start with a prime or first mover, that could not be moved by anything else or influences by any agent. Nonetheless, according to the reasoning of Aristotle, the first mover is God. Similarly, Aquinas believes that the prime mover, God, is the Christianity God (Kenny, 2014). It is clear that based on their researches, Aquinas and Aristotle were able to prove that things do not move by their own, but they are influenced by something, which does not move, or the first mover; whom they identify to be God.
Human beings have the senses to use and detect things happening around. The formation of human beings was done by God. Moreover, the senses and the ability to notice things are granted to human beings by God. Through the senses, human beings can prove that some things are moving or in motion (Te Velde, 2017). Through the sight that was given to human beings by their creator, it is possible for people to see when things have changed or are in motion. Therefore, if the creator of man who is identified as God exists, then the mover exists. Besides, if the mover exists who makes people realize that things are in motion, then God exists.
Things on earth change or move the moment the potential motion turns to be the actual motion. If the ability to change something is constant and then transformed to be real and effective, it cannot change itself. The possibility of the potential motion to become actual motion is normally enhanced through something that is not impacted by anything else (Kenny, 2014). The only thing that cannot be influenced or changed by things on earth is first motion. Therefore, if the first motion exists, then God who is in control of every creation exists.
According to Aquinas, the potential motion can only be converted to an actual motion by another actual motion. In her reasoning, she tried to demonstrate that for the actual to be there; potential has to be there too. Scientifically, actual motion cannot be said to be something added in a body, which at first was a bare mass. Actual motion is a gradual change or growth of a motion that was already there. Indeed, an actual motion has to pre-suppose potential motion, which also happens to look like actual motion, though cannot be observed. Therefore, actual motion goes hand in hand with potential motion. Motion is all about dependency and not generally the temporal succession. Therefore, potentiality and actuality depends on each other, but do not make each other to be (Kenny, 2014). For example, for the oak tree to exist there has to be an acorn.
On the other hand, for an acorn to exist there has to be an oak tree. Therefore, the one who made any of them exist for the other one to be developed is the actual creator, who is the first mover or God. Therefore, God exists.
It is not possible for one thing to be in potentiality and actuality at the same time. If something is considered to be potential and actual, then, it is potential in one respect and actual in another. For example, a chicken develops from an egg. Although an egg can be identified to be the potential chicken, at that time, it has to be an egg (Te Velde, 2017). Indeed, nothing can cause its movement. An egg cannot make itself a chicken, and the chicken cannot transform itself to be an egg. Only the first mover can influence either the egg to become a chicken or the chicken to develop an egg. Indeed, everything in motion is influenced by something else.
In conclusion, based on the motion argument, God was the first mover, and since the first mover exists, then God exists. Given that things keep on moving, the series of the motion has its beginning point. It is important to identify the first mover given that everything in motion is moved by something else and that one is understood to be God. God is not subject to any element or cannot be moved by anything. The series of motion cannot be infinite according to Aquinas but must have the highest element similarly with a hierarchy. Therefore, if the first mover exists, then God exists also.
References
Kenny, A. (2014). Five Ways: St Thomas Aquinas Vo. London: Routledge.
Te Velde, R. (2017). Aquinas on God: the 'divine science' of the Summa Theologiae. London: Routledge.
