Published on 11/17/2021

The Argument That Started It All!

The below argument has nothing to do with investing and at the same time it has everything to do with investing. The argument below was the main catalyst to my conversion to Christianity and it is what led me to starting Christ Centered Capital (C3). Putting it simply, this argument has produced profound and amazing changes in my life. I hope that it can do the same for you!

Just a little bit of context, I was an agnostic border line atheist for most of my life and when I started dating a cradle Catholic, I attempted to change her mind on faith and religion. I have an obsessive personality and I started reading every book on religion, philosophy, and theology I could find and yes that included the Bible. Long story short, I ended up proving myself wrong instead of proving my future bride wrong. I was still hesitant on committing to Jesus Christ even though I knew all the textbook answers but this argument along with some genuine and vulnerable prayer eliminated all hesitancy I had.

The argument that changed my life…

From a point of extreme skepticism, we can still know that existence exists. Even if you are part of the matrix or some computer simulation or you yourself are a computer program it can still be known that existence exists.

If existence exists then the essence of existence exists, because when something exists the essence of that something must exist. You can not have light without the essence of light existing. You can not have blue if the essence of blue does not exist.

The essence of something is that something purely actualized. Something that is purely actualized is that something in its fullness.

The essence of existence is pure actuality. Pure actuality means that there is no potentiality. Potentiality means something that could be added. The pure actuality of existence would have all knowledge and all power, because if it lacked any power or knowledge then it would not be pure actuality and the essence of existence would not exist. Yet, we know that the essence of existence exists because existence exists even from a point of extreme skepticism.

Therefore, pure actuality exists, and it is all-knowing and all-powerful. Something that is all-knowing and all-powerful has no choice but to be all good. Something all-knowing and all-powerful would not choose to do anything if it were not good. Human beings only do things that are bad for themselves or others because they lack knowledge or power, specifically power of the will. The alcoholic only continues to drink because he either does not know the bad he is doing, he does not know how to stop, or he does not have the power of will to stop. The pure actuality that is the essence of existence does not have these problems.

Therefore, anything that exists must have been allowed to exist because it was for the good. Because if the all-knowing and all-powerful essence of existence allowed a thing to exist it must have done so because the thing was for the good. The all-knowing and all-powerful essence of existence would not and could not allow something to exist if it was not for the good, because the essence of existence would have the knowledge to know a thing was not for the good and the power to not allow it to be in existence.

Philosophy calls this all-knowing, all-powerful essence of existence that is not capable of allowing things if not for the good, ESSE. Theists call this Esse God. An omniscient, omnipotent God that only allows things to exist if they are for the Good is a perfect description of the God of the Bible.

This argument coupled with genuine and vulnerable prayer such as “God what is your will?” will absolutely lead you to the carpenter from Nazareth that lived about 2,000 years ago. I am sure of it!!