The Cosmological Argument is a commonly narrated proof of the existence of God, this article will explain what it is and why it is so popular.
The word “Cosmological” comes from the word cosmology, which refers to the study of the universe. The nature of the universe is one of reason, we know things do not happen without cause. So when something changes, something must have caused that change. This idea of accountability for change is commonly referred to “Cause and effect”.
Cause and Effect : Its how our universe works
So when a set of dominoes is lined up, and the first domino is struck, the resulting effect is that the next domino is tipped over. That domino then hits the next one and so on. Each domino does not fall without being hit by the domino behind it, there has to be a reason for things to change. This principle is known as causality, it defines the relationship between cause and effect. In the example of the dominoes, the cause is the preceding domino tipping over, and the effect is that it knocks and tips the next domino over.
This may seem all very obvious and pointless, but consider this. If someone was to walk into a room, and the dominoes had already started knocking each other down, we would know that there is some cause for that. By tracing the dominoes back, we would be able to work out which domino was the first one to start the chain of events. The next question most people would then ask is “What about the first domino?”. That first domino must have been tipped by something or someone else, either way the chain of cause and effect must go back before the first domino.
If we apply this concept to that of the universe, we will see that as time has passed, it is like that domino effect, different chains of events are all put into motion. However, we know that this chain of events, if traced back must have a “first domino”, a beginning. Then the critical question arises, what struck that domino to start the universe? The answer is God. That is an outline of the Cosmological Argument, it has been refined by many over the centuries, but essentially remained unchanged.
Formal Cosmological Argument
If we were to write the principles from the above example in a more formal way, we would arrive with the following :
- Everything that comes into existence has a cause.
- The universe came into existence.
- Therefore the universe has a cause.
- We call this cause, God.
When something comes into existence, a change has occurred, or to sticky with the terminology used before, an effect has occurred. As we know, whenever there is an effect, there must be a cause. So there must be something that started all the subsequent chains of effects that we see in this universe now.
If you are interested in the evidence of the existence of God, then I suggest you consider the book I have written on the topic which goes into much more detail and covers many other arguments both for and against.
Shield of the Believer
The Electronic copy can be found here, and the hard copy purchased from Amazon UK here Amazon US here or from here.