philosophy of religion: Proofs for the Existence of God, day 2

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The Cosmological Argument

Cosmological arguments begin with certain empirical or metaphysical facts about the universe and infer that something beyond the universe must account for its existence. Nothing comes into being without a cause. Everything that exists has a cause, and each cause is itself the effect of a prior cause. Tracing this chain of causes backward leads to a first cause—identified as God. God is understood as the fundamental being whose existence is uncaused.

There are several types of cosmological arguments. One prominent form is the First Cause Argument, associated with Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274). Aquinas argued that all observed cause-and-effect relationships and motion ultimately lead back to an uncaused cause or an unmoved mover, which is God. In summary:

1. Everything in the world has a cause and undergoes motion.
2. Nothing can cause itself; nothing arises from nothing.
3. The chain of causes cannot regress infinitely.
   
4. Therefore, there must be a first cause or unmoved mover.
5. The most reasonable candidate for this first cause is God.
6. Therefore, God exists.

Another influential version is the Kalam Cosmological Argument. While the First Cause Argument concerns causality or motion in general, the Kalam argument specifically addresses the beginning of the universe’s existence. In summary:

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe, including space and time, cannot regress infinitely into the past.
3. The universe began to exist.
4. Therefore, the universe has a cause.
5. The most plausible candidate for the cause of space and time is something like God.
6. Therefore, God exists.