The Cosmological Argument

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274AD) Italian priest, philosopher

Aquinas’ description of ‘God the Creator’

He alone made the universe

All life comes from Him

All life relies on Him for existence (all life is contingent)

He relies on no other being for existence (God is not contingent)

The Argument from the Uncaused Cause Aquinas argued:Everything has a cause Things don’t just appearEvery cause has a causeThey must have come about by something else – chain reactionThis cannot go back foreverThis chain reaction must have started somewhereTherefore there must be an uncaused cause that isn’t caused by something elseThe thing that started the chain reaction wasn’t created by something elseThe uncaused cause is what people understand by God

The Argument from the Unmoved MoverAquinas argued:Everything that moves is moved by something else Nothing moves by itselfThat mover has been moved by something elseSomething has had to move it – think of a chain reactionThis cannot go back forever or movement wouldn’t have started at allMovement has to start somewhereTherefore there must be an unmoved mover, which isn’t itself movedSomething had to start it that hadn’t itself been movedThis unmoved mover is what people understand as God

The Argument from Possibility and NecessityAquinas argued:Individual things come into existence and eventually cease to existEg humans are born and eventually die, a star is born and will eventually dieTherefore at one time none of them existed

But, something only comes into existence as a result of something that already existsThings do not come from nothingTherefore, there must be a being who has to exist – a NECESSARY being – God

Can ‘reason’ alone prove God exists?(Reason: logical thinking)

NOThere is no logical scientific evidence to support the existence of GodThe idea of an infinite God is beyond the understanding of our finite mindsIt is important to have ‘faith’ to believe in GodYESThere is evidence to prove God exists eg cause & effect, the order & purpose of the universeIt is a logical possibility; everything we know and experience needs a cause and only God could have been that causeIt is important that people can be convinced logically that God exists, eg Cosmological Argument, otherwise faith alone wouldn’t be enough whenever someone has doubts

What evidence from the natural world could Aquinas have used to support the Cosmological (First Cause) Argument?

Empirical evidence (evidence that can be observed and measures) that the universe exists.

The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God

If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained

Glossary

Contingent – relies on something else

Necessary – essential, unique, special

The Leibniz Version

Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) German philosopher

Why does anything exist at all?

Why do things that do exist have the form or shape that they do?

God according to Aquinas:

Uncaused cause

Unmoved mover

A necessary being

Everything is contingent except God

Does the cosmological argument work?

The Big Bang

Many people believe The Big Bang theory is the best explanation for the existence of the universe. They believe everything even time itself was created at this point, taking away the need for a creator i.e. God.

Evidence used to support the Big Bang Theory

The rate at which galaxies can be observed moving away from each other shows the universe is still expanding following the initial event around 14 billion years ago.

This has been shown using analysis of images and data from the Hubble telescope.

Scientists believe cosmological redshift and the Doppler Effect are due to the expansion of the universe.

Bertrand Russell (1872- 1970)English philosopher

Criticism one: What caused God

Russell said that the cosmological argument contradicts itself; if everything needs a cause then so does God.

The question ‘What caused God’ is known as the schoolboy objection

Criticism two: How can we ever know the universe needs a cause?

Russell also suggested that the universe may not have had a cause at all; maybe it has always existed.

The only thing we know for sure is the universe exists.

David Hume (1711 - 1776) Scottish philosopher

Hume also believed that although everything appears to need a cause we could never know if God created the universe as no-one was there to witness it

Scientific rejection of the cosmological argument

Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962) Danish physicist

Bohr, a physicist, tried to show that things can come into existence without any apparent cause.

How old is earth? A Creationist’s view

Was the world created in 6 days?

Looking as far back in time as possible.

How the elements are made

Images from Hubble Telescope

SO

Has the cosmological argument been defeated?

Those who agree with the cosmological argument believe there is a difference between physical things (the universe) and spiritual things (God). Many people are more likely to believe a spiritual thing has always existed over a physical thing.

Some people believe the fact that there was a starting point, the Big Bang, helps the case of the cosmological argument and that God may have created it.

Frederick Charles Copleston, 1907 - 1994 Jesuit priest and historian of philosophy.

Copleston said that those who accept that things ‘just are’ are avoiding the issue.

Dr. Peter Vardy (born 1945) British philosopher,

Vardy says at least by asking the question ‘Why does the universe exist’ some difficult questions are raised.

Some people think the Schoolboy Objection, what caused God, is not a good one. They believe God is necessary and not contingent so the question does not even need to be asked.

William of Ockham (1288 – c. 1348) English friar and scholastic philosopher

Ockham put forward a principle known as Ockham’s Razor, where we should try and answer questions as simply as possible. Hume and Russell try to answer the question by asking new questions; ones not easily answered.

Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, Senior Project Scientist on the Hubble Space Telescope and a Christian sees science ‘as a God-given gift for studying God’s Handiwork.’

Science & Belief

Ken HamCreationist; believes god literally created the world in 6 days. Rejects theory of evolution.

Richard DawkinsHe says God is not different from the tooth fairy.

Do you agree that the existence of God is the best explanation for the existence of the universe? Give reasons for your answer.

YESIt seems logical to believe that the universe has a first cause rather than none at allThe universe seems ordered and designed that it is difficult to deny some kind of creative powerBelief in the existence of God makes life meaningful for many rather than the thought of an uncaused, chance processNOScientific principles can explain the existence of the universe without the need for GodBelief in the existence of God is a speculative theory with no real evidence to back it upBelief in the existence of God by way of blind faith may stop many people from looking further for a better and more complete explanation for the existence of the universe

Is the Big Bang Theory an effective explanation for the existence of the universe?

YESIt provides an alternative to the Cosmological Argument using scientific evidence

NOSome people believe God could have caused the Big BangThe Schoolboy Objection could be used here ie ‘What caused the Big Bang?’

Why might religious people support the Cosmological (or First Cause) Argument?

They feel they need an explanation for the existence of anything inc. the universe, life etc.

The Cosmological Argument seems to be based on reason & logic

If there is a First Cause, ie God, then this gives a reason, purpose and/or meaning to life.