Why did I write Proof of God?

I wrote Proof of God because I wanted to explore the philosophical logical proofs of God given by Saint Thomas Aquinas and others that I had been studying as part of my reading. I wanted to share my discoveries with an audience; an audience that if not like-minded, they would at least  follow the concepts as part of a story. I decided on a story about an atheist missing person's detective charged with finding a missing philosophy professor who has come up with the perfect proof of God that is missing too.  I thought the irony of an unwitting non-believer looking for the proof of God would provide a good story line -- find the missing professor, find the proof of God. For an atheist, this would provide for some major conflict within, and major challenges to, his well founded belief system as an atheist. And that conflict, along with the charge to find the missing professor, where strange characters, troublesome clues, and altercations with nefarious people all add to the mystery and suspense. To add to his conflict, O'Shea's atheism is contrasted to the Christian beliefs of his mother throughout the story.

How is philosophy used to further a case? Within the story, the understanding what a proof of God is and how they are constructed is laced within the dialog and story. It turns out that philosophy is as important to solving the mystery as is finding the missing. This is the first case atheist Detective Shamus O'Shea ever used his philosophy education. He has a masters degree in philosophy and he has been studying it privately for over 25 years as well.  He knows this stuff and has the knowledge to move this odd case along as it turns out.

Through Proof of God: An Ontological Adventure, I was able to incorporate ideas of philosophical interest in a very readable and understandable way thereby having the reader ingest the philosophical concepts, questions and issues in digestible portions, adding a degree of spice to an otherwise often bland intellectual diet. "If I could ingest just one small portion of nutritious knowledge into my diet every day, I would give up my empty-calorie diet of fast food knowledge and lose weight in the process."

So from this philosophical vantage point, seen within the confines of a detective story and crime novel, O"Shea uncovers the concepts and questions surrounding God, ontological questions about being and existence, and questions of how and why we believe: How do we prove God's existence? What kinds of things exist in the world? What can we know of the things that exist? Can and do atheists have faith? How much of what we believe is based on our will to believe what we do? How do our beliefs shape how and what we experience? How have philosophers answered these questions through the ages? How does religious faith differ from other kinds of faith? (Yes, there are other kinds of faith besides religious or are there?) How is the atheists views compared and contrasted to religious views? These are just some of the questions to be answered and explored in Proof of God: An Ontological Adventure and in this blog.

This blog will discuss and expand on these questions and others providing meaningful discussion of these important metaphysical and ontological topics and concepts. In doing so we will give meaning to the philosophy of God, being as such, and existence in general, and perhaps, challenge or change our own beliefs in the spiritual, the supernatural and the metaphysical world -- an expanded world encountered through new discoveries. Are you ready to have your fundamental beliefs and your unwavering faith shaken?

The Proof of God book link is http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/ProofOfGod.html