Kalam cosmological argument

What is the Kalam argument?

• An Arabic term meaning ‘argue’/’discuss’

• Argues that everything that exists has a cause of its existence and this includes the universe.

Who developed a modern version of the argument?

• William Lane Craig

What is the history of the Kalam argument?

• 850CE - al Kindi and al Ghazali are Islamic thinkers who were influenced by Aristotle and developed the argument to explain God’s creation of the universe.

• 20th century - William Lane Craig - American Christian

• The Kalam argument is cosmological because it seeks to prove that God was the first cause of universe.

What is a summary of the Kalam argument in terms of premises?

• Premise 1 - Whatever comes into being must have a cause.

• Premise 2 - The universe came into being.

• Premise 3 - The universe must have a cause.

• Premise 4 - If the universe has a cause of existence it must be God.

• Conclusion - God exists.

What does the Kalam argument say about the universe being infinite?

• The kalam argument aims to respond to this scientific challenge - that the universe does not need a start point because it is potentially infinite.

• William Lain Craig says this does not work.

• There must be a real point at which the universe began rather than infinite regress - although infinity is a mathematical concept, it cannot exist in reality.

What do supporters of the Kalam argument say about infinity?

• Supporters of the Kalam argument say that there cannot be an infinite number of days before today - because then we would have never reached today.

What is the analogy to support that the universe cannot be infinite?

• The infinite library analogy

• Imagine an infinite set of books in a library.

• Infinite red books and infinite black books.

• If you remove all of the red books you still have an infinite number left.

• This is absurd and proves the concept of infinity doesn’t work in reality.

• Part of something cannot be equal to the whole.

What does the development of the Kalam argument say?

• William Lane Craig aims to prove that God is the personal creator of the universe.

• The universe was either a natural occurrence or a choice was made to bring the universe into existence.

• Supporters argue that since the laws of nature did not exist before the universe began - the universe cannot be the result of natural causes.

• Therefore, the cause of the universe must be a personal being.

What did William Lane Craig conclude?

• The history of the universe was formed by one event following on after another event - this is successive addition.

• A collection formed by successive addition cannot be actually infinite.

• Therefore, the universe must have had a beginning in time.

• The argument aims to prove God as the personal creator of the universe. As the laws of nature cannot have existed before the beginning of the universe, the universe cannot be the result of Natural causes.

What is a key quote about the universe being created by God?

• ‘If the universe began to exist, and if the universe is caused, then the cause of the universe must be a personal being who freely chooses to create the world.’