DAILY REFLECTION FOR LENT: SATURDAY MARCH 29TH
St. Anselm was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Just as today there is often an
uneasy relationship between faith and science, at that time the same tension was described as a
fight between faith and reason. Anselm became famous for being the originator of what is
described as the ontological argument for the existence of God. By defining God as “that than
which nothing greater can be thought” he used logic to determine that God must exist. Here’s
how it goes:
1) The fool (insert name of whomever you prefer) understands the phrase “something than which
nothing greater can be thought”.
2) Hence, “something than which nothing greater can be thought” exists at least in the fool’s mind.
3) It is greater to exist in reality than to exist in the mind alone.
4) If “that than which nothing greater can be thought” existed only in the fool’s mind, it would be
possible to think of something greater, which would be the same thing existing in reality.
5) This would be a contradiction, since it is impossible to think of something greater than “that than
which nothing greater can be thought”.
6) Hence “something than which nothing greater can be thought” must exist, both in the fool’s
mind and in reality.
7) Therefore … God exists.
Some say this argument has holes in it (although I’m not sure if they’re black holes or simply
dark matter). What is so beautiful is the process. Anselm called it “fides quarens intellectum”,
faith seeking understanding. It is this innate drive in humans, perhaps more powerful than any of
the physiological drives, that makes us human; to not only understand ourselves and our
universe, but to do so trusting that we are being called to do this by someone “greater than
ourselves”. It is as though we can both trust and enjoy the exploration of knowledge and reality,
as if that has been part of God’s design all along.