St. Thomas Aquinas in his Catechetical Instructions begins with the Apostles’ Creed, breaking it down into “articles.” The first article, part one, is “I Believe in One God.”

He writes, “Among all the truths which the faithful must believe, this is the first -- that there is one God.”

Recall that our creeds go on to speak about God. St. Thomas want to address the importance of the existence of one God. He has provided five “proofs” from logic of the existence of God. In his Instructions, he focuses on what would be called the “argument from design.”

Aquinas writes, “He who would believe that all things come into being by chance does not believe that there is a God. No one is so foolish as to deny that all nature, which operates with a certain definite time and order, is subject to the rule and foresight and an orderly arrangement of someone. We see how the sun, the moon, and the stars, and all natural things follow a determined course, which would be impossible if they were merely products of chance.”

We know atheists have seen such arguments. There are scientists who study this orderly arrangement that don’t believe in God, even though if there were no orderly (intelligible) arrangement, it would be chaotic and therefore unintelligible. Of course, we God-fearing/loving Christians don’t help matters when we act in a non-God-fearing/loving manner, as if no God.

St. Thomas continues addressing the error of “deism,” and the problem of “evil.”

“There are those, however, who believe that God rules and sustains all things of nature, and nevertheless do not believe God is the overseer of the acts of man; hence they believe that human acts do not come under God’s providence. They reason thus because they see in this world how the good are afflicted and how the evil enjoy good things so that Divine Providence seems to disregard human affairs.”

Deism is the “clockmaker.” God created and then set it about letting nature take its course. No miracles. No interaction. Thomas Jefferson was a famous deist.

The Jefferson Bible, also known as The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, is an abridgment of the New Testament. It was compiled by Jefferson, who rearranged the text of the Gospels into an account of the life and ministry of Jesus that eschews mention of any supernatural or miraculous elements. Jefferson used a razor to cut passages from six copies of the New Testament and rearranged and pasted together the selected verses to leave just the life and teachings of Jesus behind.

The problem of evil is much more complex because it not only deals with “wicked” people being blessed with riches, “good” people seem afflicted with suffering and pain.

St. Thomas writes, “For God in His just and wise Providence knows what is good and necessary for men; and hence He afflicts some who are good and allows certain wicked men to prosper.  But he is foolish indeed who believes this is due to chance, because he does not know the causes and method of God’s dealing with men.

“But, oh, that God would speak, and open his lips to you, and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold and understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves (Job 11:5-6).”

St. Thomas then addresses the problem of belief in many gods. This was one of the first things God tried to teach humanity. The book of Exodus has it front and center. The 10 plagues targeted 10 Egyptian gods. But it wasn’t just that God wanted to free the Israelites, He wanted to teach both the Israelites and Egyptians that there is one God (cf. Ex 7:17).

God, of course, knew that it would take more than these “signs” to get Egypt (yes) out of Israel.  When He gave the Ten Commandments, He says in Exodus 20:3-5, “You shall have no gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image … you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” What happens? The Golden Calf in Exodus 32.

We still have this sin today. Google polytheistic religions and you come up with Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism and Animism. Lest you want to throw a lot of people in the fire, consider the number of times you have missed Mass or some other holy day of obligation, or even some critical family obligation without just cause.

We may not sacrifice bulls and goats or have Asherah poles in our yard, but we sacrifice time, talent, and treasure and consequently our souls to idols of our own making. What is your idol(s)?