The Kalam Cosmological Argument
Photo by NASA on Unsplash
If the universe had a beginning, it must have a cause. The Kalam Cosmological Argument uses both philosophy and astrophysics to demonstrate that the universe is not eternal.
The Logical Formulation
The Kalam Cosmological Argument traces its roots back to medieval Islamic philosophy, but was popularized in the modern era by Christian philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig. It is deceptively simple, resting on two logical premises.
"1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause."
Premise 1 is intuitively obvious. Things do not simply pop into existence out of nothing, uncaused. To deny Premise 1 is to abandon all scientific and rational inquiry.
The Universe Began to Exist
For centuries, atheists assumed the universe was eternal—that it had simply always existed. If the universe was eternal, it wouldn't need a creator. However, the 20th century completely overturned this assumption.
The discovery of the expanding universe (Hubble) and the cosmic microwave background radiation pointed to a singular beginning: The Big Bang.
Furthermore, the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin (BGV) theorem in astrophysics proves that any universe which has, on average, been expanding throughout its history cannot be infinite in the past. It must have a space-time boundary.
The Nature of the Cause
If the universe (which consists of all space, time, and matter) had a beginning, the cause of the universe must exist outside of space, time, and matter.
Therefore, the cause must be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, enormously powerful, and—because it chose to create something out of nothing—personal. This perfectly describes the God of classical theism.
Think you can defend this position?
Can you navigate the physics and philosophy of origins? Enter the Arena to defend the Kalam.
Enter the Arena Now