Title: The Cosmological Argument
1The Cosmological Argument
2Science can offer us explanations of things that
are within the universe, but does the universe as
a whole have an explanation?
3Cosmological Argument
- Is an argument which says that God has to exist
because the world exists. - The world couldnt exist without God because he
created it
This argument is based on Cause and Effect.
4Have you ever wondered..
5What caused the universe to exist?
6Thats easy The big bang!!
7And what caused That cause?
What caused the big bang??
We need to take the scientific approach to this
Science tells us that everything has a cause. Let
that be your starting point.
And what caused that cause?
8Science teaches us that everything has a
cause. Make that your starting point.
9My name is St. Thomas Aquinas But right now I
am going to follow the scientists advice.
10Aquinas Cosmological Arguments
- Thomas Aquinas was probably the most important
philosopher of the medieval period. - Aquinas was trying to connect/join the Christian
faith with the philosophy of Aristotle (an
ancient Greek philosopher/scientist/mathematician)
whose works had just been re-discovered and
were being taught in the religious universities
of Europe.
11Something must have caused the universe
Everything has a cause
Yes, the big bang
Something must have caused the big bang
Something must have caused that cause
Something must have caused that cause
12something must have caused that cause
Something must have caused that cause
something must have caused that cause
something must have caused that cause
something must have caused that cause
13something must have caused that cause
something must have.
14This is getting boring.
Its just silly
If we keep askingWhat caused that cause, Then
well never stop asking it! (Infinite
regress) And that just doesnt make sense
Yes I agree (Remember me? St Thomas Aquinas)
but I have a solution!!
15The only sensible explanation Is that there must
have been
a first cause uncaused by anything else !!!
Let me explain it in black and white
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17At the beginning - a first cause, uncaused by
anything else.
That first cause was the creator God.
18The Cosmological Argument
- Everything has a cause.
- The Universe exists so it must have a cause.
- You cannot have infinite number of causes.
- Therefore there must be an uncaused cause, which
causes everything to happen without itself being
caused by anything else. - Such an uncaused cause is what people understand
by God.
19The Uncaused cause in simple talk means
- Everything has a cause even a cause has a
cause. - BUT
- Something had to make the first cause happen.
That something is what we know as God.
20The strength of the argument Is that it is based
on the scientific principle that everything has a
cause.
The second strength of the argument is that it
starts off by saying, the universe exists.
That cant be denied, we are part of it.
21The argument has two weaknesses
Firstly, you may have proved a first cause but
that doesnt mean it still exists or that it was
God. It may have died or disappeared.
22The second weakness is this.
You start off by saying everything has a cause,
It doesnt make sense, and its not logical to
then say something has no cause.
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