The Origin of the Idea of God (Jason D. Crowder)

“Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God,” notes A. W. Tozer, “and the weightiest word in any language is its word for God.” The idea of God is the foremost and grandest concept that has preoccupied the thoughts of men for centuries. Every nation and all people possess some notion of God. The reason why humanity places such emphasis on the word God is because man is out of necessity a religious being as created by God.

Where does the concept of God originate?

Within philosophical discourse, the topic of God is popular—particularly in the area of philosophy of religion, which examines the central themes and concepts found within religious traditions. One of the primary areas of study in this field is the existence and nature of God. Arguing for God’s existence, the ontological argument states that even if there is only a concept of something, it exists. This argument is often criticized as a bare assertion fallacy because the conclusion relies on the premise, and the premise relies on the conclusion. The ontological argument, however, brings to the forefront a vital question: Where does the concept of God originate?

Is the idea of God a byproduct of mundane social or psychological processes? Is God a reality? Is the idea of God an emotional crutch? Did God create man, or did man create God? Or is the belief in God properly basic? In other words, is the notion of God innate knowledge within human beings?

The question whether and to what extent God can be known has been vigorously debated in both philosophy and theology. There are many theories regarding the existence of God throughout history. While this does not prove God’s existence, it does indicate that there is an intrinsic proclivity within the human mind for thinking about God. In philosophy, some arrive at an agnostic position, while others reach atheistic conclusions. At times the objection is nothing more than the assertion that man cannot comprehend God, which is true. As Louis Berkhof says, man cannot fully realize God with “all-comprehensive knowledge.”

It is incorrect, however, to believe that the incomprehensibility of God means that man cannot have any knowledge of God. In theology, on the other hand, the possibility of man knowing God has seldom been doubted or denied. Theologians are more concerned with the extent to which God can be known and how one can come to a true knowledge of God. Basing their beliefs on passages such as Psalm 19:1-6 and Romans 1:18-23, theologians argue that every human has some knowledge of God. Despite the limitations of this knowledge, it is genuine. The question is whether finite beings are willing to acquiesce to this knowledge.

How does man comes to a true knowledge of God?

The concern is how man comes to a true knowledge of God. Here epistemology intertwines with both philosophy of religion and theology. Philosophers desire to ascertain what knowledge is and how to attain it. This impetus is due to the assumption that investigating the origins of knowledge would reveal something about its nature. Essentially theologians desire to know how individuals gain knowledge but from a biblical perspective rather than a philosophical one.

Christian theology distinguishes between acquired knowledge of God and innate knowledge of God. In the case of acquired knowledge, it argues that all human knowledge of God is possible only because of God’s self-revelation (1 Cor. 2:10-11). If God had not chosen to reveal himself, individuals would know nothing about him. In this sense, all human knowledge of God can be considered acquired knowledge. It also affirms that reflection upon the self-revelation of God is needed in order to gain a fuller understanding of who God is. Christian theology, says Herman Bavinck, also acknowledges that “belief in a personal God is both natural and normal; it arises in human consciousness spontaneously and universally.” It is in this sense that knowledge of God can be considered inborn. Despite the fact that theologians often allude to and discuss this universally known knowledge of God apart from special revelation as intrinsic, Christian theology stops short of calling it innate.

Two dangers: rationalism and mysticism

Guarding against two dangers, Christian theology avoids designating this knowledge as intrinsic. The first is rationalism, which is the reliance of reason rather than experience, authority, or revelation as the primary basis of knowledge. As Bavinck explains,

If human beings at birth came fully endowed with clear and distinct knowledge of God, being, or all ideas, they would be completely autonomous and self-sufficient, needing neither God, the world, nor revelation. The logical conclusion of this kind of thinking is idealism, which considers reality itself to be a creation of immanent human thought process.

The second danger is mysticism, which is the belief that direct knowledge of God is attainable through subjective experience such as prayer.

These potential dangers do not necessarily warrant Christian theology’s hesitancy to call it innate knowledge, especially when there is biblical support for man’s knowledge of God being twofold. A deeper understanding of the idea of God is acquired knowledge, which is derived from general and special revelation of God. The simplistic notion of God, however, is inborn knowledge.

The source of knowledge is God

The Christian understanding of intrinsic knowledge is distinct from that of the philosophical thought. The two views differ on their presuppositions regarding the source of knowledge. Philosophical thought presumes that knowledge is ultimately found within the human being—whether inborn or through experience or reason. Christian theology affirms that the source of knowledge is God. Again, Berkhof is helpful:

The statement that man has an innate knowledge of God does not merely mean that he has an inborn capacity to know God. It indicates something more than that. At the same time it does not imply that man at birth brings a certain knowledge of God with him into the world. The innate knowledge of God is inborn in the sense that, under normal conditions, it develops spontaneously in man as soon as he comes in contact with God’s revelation. It is a knowledge which man, as he is constituted, develops of necessity and not as the result of any choice on his part. Naturally, such knowledge is of a rather general nature.

While the Bible contains no formal argument for the existence of God, it presumes that the reader has inherent knowledge of God’s existence. The Bible opens with “in the beginning God . . . let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:1, 26), which indicates that God gave humans instinctive knowledge of himself. Job 32:8 further supports this notion when it claims that the “breath of Almighty” gives humanity understanding since it refers back to Genesis 1:26. Additional support is found in Ecclesiastes 3:11-22 where King Solomon proclaims that God set eternity in the heart of man (cf. Rev. 1:8, 11). The apostle Paul gives the fullest account concerning the knowledge of God being innate in Romans 1:18-32, even if it is suppressed. In this passage, Paul repeatedly states that humanity possesses knowledge of God (cf. Acts 14:16-17 and 17:24-28). Paul continues giving support for this belief in the next chapter (Rom. 2:14-15).

Church history’s testimony

Church history affirms the biblical teaching that humanity has intrinsic knowledge of God. Tertullian expresses that certain knowledge of God is a primordial endowment of man’s soul. John of Damascus says “the knowledge of God’s existence has been implanted by Him in all by nature.” Anselm of Canterbury argues that God’s nonexistence is unthinkable. Aquinas concurs that man has some natural knowledge of God. And John Calvin supports the view that the idea of God is implanted in the minds of men. William G. T. Shedd and others after him, such as Louis Berkhof, maintain that humans have intrinsic knowledge of God.

Created in God’s image

Scripture clearly teaches that the knowledge of God is part of the compositional nature of man—it is inherent. And church history affirms this biblical truth. While it has not and likely cannot be proved, it is possible that the reason the idea of God is innate knowledge is due to the fact that human beings are created in the image of God.

Jason D. Crowder is an Adjunct Instructor of Religion at Butler Community College in Kansas and a Faculty Mentor at Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He holds a Doctor of Theological Studies from Columbia Evangelical Seminary in philosophical theology and apologetics, an MDiv in theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a BA in religion from the University of Mobile. He is a doctoral candidate in philosophy with the University of the Free State. And he is the author of Philosophy, Who Needs It? A Layman’s Introduction to Philosophy (Wipf & Stock 2016).