The Proslogion of Saint Anselm outlines the movement of religious experience.

Abi

The Philosophy of religion is composed of three parts, namely re-legere, religare and re-eligare.
o First is re-legere which deals with the challenge of re-reading our lives
and experiencing things anew. Just when we thought that it was
ordinary, it is actually something extraordinary. Re-legere, is also about
reading our everyday experiences and being more conscious of our
lives.
o Re-ligare is about binding oneself and to bind oneself is an act of love.
You commit yourself and give yourself. Religion is like a home, you
always go back to it.
o Re-eligere when translated means to gamble. Indulging yourself in
religion is like gambling. In our native tongue, we say
pananampalataya to connote our faith. Taya, to risk. You need to risk
first and certainty will follow.
o St. Anselms proslogion is an attempt to understand that which gives.
We are accustomed to question and answer method but religion is
about responding to a call. There is a call and then we respond.

II. The phenomenology or religious experience pertains to the given that

which is a phenomena. Again, what gives remains inaccessible to us and we
only see what it decides to show itself. What shows itself is considered as an
event and that it is revealed to us. the proslogion is an attempt to understand
that which is gives and that which gives is God.

II. St. Anselms proslogion entails a FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING.

We need to believe in order to understand and not the other way around. For
instance, in life we usually know the pros and cons before making a decision.
We try to think of what is the right thing to do. In religion, it is the other way
around. We first need to make a decision before we can know whether it is the
right thing. Thats the religious experience entails taking a risk. We need to
risk first then we will know.

Application
I. Almost our whole lives, growing up in religious families we have been exposed to
religion early on. This does not mean that we understand it completely. We live in
a world where we always feel the need to see proofs before we believe. For
instance, we do not easily believe someone who tells us that a deadline for a paper
was moved to a later date, we double-check and ask our professor before we
acknowledge what our classmate told us. another example is when our friends tell
us that this certain guy likes us. we do not quickly jump into believing them no

matter how much we want to. We look for signs, proofs and others before we
believe. This is not the case with religion, God will always be inaccessible to us.
we do not get to touch him and see him but we believe that he exists. Our faith in
Him makes it possible for us to receive communion and to pray. We pray because
we believe that a higher power listens to us. we believe in God and we do not need
any proof to His existence.
Insight
When bad things happen, we tend to doubt Gods love and sometimes even his
existence. Still religion is like our home, we go back and again respond to his call. We
still go back to Him and pray for better days. We never forget to pray. Without faith,
we will be unable to pray to God and believe that there is someone out there who
loves us no matter what. We remember the Footprints in the Sand, when we feel as if
we are alone in our problems, when in reality, God has been carrying us throughout
our battles. The proslogion re-affirmed our faith in God and gave us a better
understanding of why God exists, not only in our understanding but in reality.
Explain the argument on Gods existence posited as Id quod maius cogitari
nequit. - Abi
I.
Id quod maius cogitari nequit is considered as the peak, the APEX, it is
that which more cannot be thought. It is which nothing greater can be
conceived. It is the greatest thing that the mind can ever think of.
II.
The most perfect thing we can conceive must not only exist in our
understanding but most also exist in reality. We are considered as a fool if
we dont believe for it only exists in our understanding but does not exist
in reality.
III.
It does not define God. IQMCN is our definition of God.
IV.
There is only ONE IQMCN. There is a being that is greatest that cannot be
conceived.
V.
We are only creatures, therefore there is a creator. And the creator is God.
The greatest thins we can understand is our creator. We cannot go higher
than our source. As creatures, we are always limited and will always be
less than our creator. Therefore there has to be someone greater who has
created us. Then there must be a God.
VI.
Everything was created out of nothing. This proves that there is a creator
and the creator is God.
Application
Miracles. In some way, we all want to witness a miracle. In the Bible, there are a lot of
stories about the different miracles Jesus performed but miracles are not limited in the
passages of the Bible. Everyday is a miracle. Just recently, the tragedy that happened
in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan exemplified a miracle. In spite of the deaths, lives were
still saved. The people felt that God saved them and it is a miracle that they have
survived. A woman shared her story that she was able to save her children by herself
and she was even pregnant. Though they lost their home, she knows that it is a
miracle that they are alive. And God saved her and her family. On a personal level, we
witness everyday miracles but fail to recognize them. We have to be able to re-read
our lives to know when something ordinary is actually extraordinary. Waking up

every morning is a miracle but we fail to recognize it as a miracle even though we are
made aware of deaths everyday.
Insight
When you truly believe in God, you do not need anything to prove his existence.
We are always already limited. We cannot do everything on our own. There must
be a God who helps us in our journey in life.