So I've been asked to present on the question, is belief in God rational?

And it's really one of my favorite philosophical considerations to consider God from a philosophical perspective.

And it's really a good topic for anyone to contemplate, but I think especially something good to grapple with as an

undergrad. I know for myself it was very important for me to deal with this question and questions

like it during college. And this evening I'll be taking Thomas Aquinas as my guide in considering

these questions. He's not an isolated figure on this issue,

but a particularly clear voice representing the Christian intellectual tradition on this topic.

So really, regardless of the background you come from,

whether you're a theist, an atheist, or agnostic,

I think you can benefit from considering Aquinas' account.

We're dealing here with the human minds' search for God.

And it's important to just acknowledge the claims that are being made on, let's say, either side.

We can all easily dismiss someone's claims if we've only ever heard a caricature of them.

And so part of the purpose of a forum like this

is to bring the discourse we have about God,

about these issues, to a rational level.

So it's very fitting to have as a title.

Is belief in God rational?

So to begin, I'm going to reformulate the question here,

just to make things a little clearer.

I suspect when someone asks the question, is it rational to believe in God?

They're probably using the word believe, not in a technical theological sense, but they're

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