Evidence for God: Cosmological Argument

Posted in Apologetics by Michael Rogne on Aug 28, 2015

Today, I want to take a look at the cosmological argument. Essentially, cosmos refers to the universe that we live in and observe daily.

Using deductive reasoning, we assert:

Everything that has a beginning (begins to exist) has a cause. The universe has a beginning. Conclusion: the universe has a cause.

Now, the first two points are our premises. If both premises are true, then the conclusion that the universe has a cause is true.

Everything That Has a Beginning Has a Cause

In other words, every event requires a cause. You might know this as the Law of Causality, or "Cause & Effect".

It might prove helpful to look at a few examples.

Helen flipped the light switch and the lights came on.

Effect: Lights came on.

Cause: Helen flipped the light switch.



Lights came on. Helen flipped the light switch. Susan accidentally dropped a glass and it broke.

Effect: Glass broke.

Cause: Susan dropped it.



Glass broke. Susan dropped it. On the way to work, Bob was speeding and received a citation.

Effect: Received citation.

Cause: Got caught, I mean... was speeding :).

We see cause & effect in action all the time, don't we?

The Universe Has a Beginning

There is a vast amount of evidence that points to the fact that the universe has a beginning. No, seriously. There's a LOT out there and you should definitely do plenty of research. This assertion isn't really disputed, so we'll just go over a couple pieces of evidence here.

Point #1: The first law of thermodynamics tells us that the amount of energy is constant (unchanging). There is no more being added to it. We have a finite supply of energy. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that the amount of usable energy is dwindling away. To help illustrate, imagine a flashlight with a battery. The battery only has so much usable energy. If you leave the flashlight on overnight, you might wake up and see the light growing dim because the battery is running low. This is the state of the universe. If the universe was eternal, all usable energy would be gone already. The battery would be dead.

Point #2: The universe is still expanding. If we were able to watch a video recording of the history of the universe, we could literally see the universe exploding into existence from a single point of origin. This is what is commonly referred to as the big bang.

Point #3: Einstein's Theory of General Relativity demands an absolute beginning for time, space, and matter. These three things are interdependent. You can't have one without the others.

Conclusion: The Universe Has a Cause

The premises are true based on evidence and so the conclusion that the universe had a cause is true.

Here is where the major disconnect is between theists and atheists. We agree on the principle of cause & effect and that the universe has a beginning. Scientists say that the universe came into existence at a specific point and explain it via Big Bang Theory. I happen to agree that the Big Bang Theory is plausible due to the evidence supporting it.

But atheists make the claim that the big bang happened without any intelligent force behind it. Atheists say that the big bang was caused by literally nothing, but theists say that the big bang requires a "Big Banger". Somebody or "some thing" had to kick off the big show!

And whatever kicked off the big show known as the "big bang" had to be:

self-existent

timeless

nonspatial

immaterial

supremely intelligent

unimaginably powerful

As for the "force" or "thing" behind the cause of the universe, the only reasonable conclusion that we can come to for the 'cause' of the universe is a theistic God. Note that this argument alone does not conclude that the Biblical God created the universe, but only that a theistic God created the universe. This conclusion isn't based on blind faith, but on scientific evidence and reason.

This is only one article in a series of many to come. Please check back often. Thanks for reading!

REFERENCES

Geisler, Norman L., and Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004. Print.