"Aquinas Summa 1" by philobiblon

I’m going to keep this short because the title is likely to start a small riot, so I’ll cut straight to the point.

In reflecting on a sort of introductory essay we had to write for English 200 this semester, I found myself thinking about a specific few sentences in which I discussed the value of spending time meditating on our natural world.  In one of my drafts this paragraph culminated in an abdication of my culpability in the discussion of God’s existence.  Simply put, “it’s not for me to say.”  I then realized this is deeper than the subject of God’s existence – God doesn’t even matter.

Right.  I said it.  And I mean it.

Think about it this way – does the non-existence of a God diminish, in any way, the importance of living a wholesome life?  Of helping your neighbors and your community?  Teaching your children how to live a virtuous life?  I don’t think so.

And that’s where I get into trouble – it isn’t my place to espouse my beliefs on the existence of a divine entity, a Creator, a supreme judge whom we all may one day face.  I believe what I believe and you believe what you believe, but certainly we can all agree that the core values we hold and that we teach our children have a lot in common.  If we leave the existential questions for the theologians and the philosophers of our day, and instead worry ourselves about those things within our means, maybe we can again start finding common ground with cultures we don’t understand instead of finding fear and mistrust.

But who am I to say?