Q&A: Knowledge of the Creator
Knowledge of the Creator
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi.
How, according to Maimonides, can one prove intellectually the existence of God? After all, Rabbi Kapach translates the first commandment as "to know" that there is a God, and not "to believe." But if God's existence can be explained intellectually, there would be no deniers—except for plain lazy people who do not investigate, and plain fools who misunderstand the conclusion of their inquiry into the existence of God. How, then, can it be proven intellectually that God exists?
With the blessing, "And you shall have peace, and your house shall have peace,"
Eyal Ben David
Answer
I do not know what Maimonides had in mind. Proofs for the existence of the Creator are discussed at length in my book The First Being. There I also explained that there is no difference between believing and knowing, and that every proof is based on fundamental assumptions and therefore is never decisive.