Cosmological Argument - Part 1

I'm going to preface this with an interesting quote that I found through my reading and my thoughts on it. I will then rant *slash* vent about my Philosophy of Religion class this morning.

"A philosophical knowledge of God, for Thomas (St. Thomas Aquinas), is a 'preamble to faith'; it provides a rational foundation both for the unbeliever in his approach to Christianity and, as for St. Anselm, for the individual who already believes what he does not yet understand," (God and Reason, Ed. L. Miller; page 47).

I found this interesting due to the fact that it kind of explains why theological philosophy is necessary to life as we know it. Many Christians have a "knowledge of God", but I find that, overall, it is a somewhat juvenile, unformed, knowledge. A "philosophical knowledge" of God allows us to ask questions and to explore God even more fully so that we can grow in and learn to know Him better, or at least try.

The very concept of God is mind-blowing. This was proven during class today as we began exploring the thought of proving God's existence. This is very difficult to do, especially if you have several "devil's advocates" in the class, constantly insisting that God does not exist. Admittedly, I am one of them, but I understand how the real world works when it comes to trying to convince people that God exists, especially intellectuals. I once dated an atheist, which led to some interesting, and occasionally heated discussions around philosophy and religion, and I have first hand experience with the objections that are posed. I find that theoretical objections are not realistic to actual objections. I truly hope that we explore realistic objections in further detail so that we will be able to create rationally convincing arguments around the subject of God's existence.

This post shall continue, however, I have been discussing and mulling over the cosmological argument for the past 5 hours, and I need a break before I start my second philosophy class of the day, which will entail Analytic and Continental Philosophies; so, I feel as though a 2 hour break is slightly warranted.