Cosmological argument

Occurs, in part, already in Aristotle , who delineated the concept of being random and necessary, conditional and unconditional, and stated the need to recognize among a number of relative reasons - the first beginning of any action in the world ^[1] .

Avicenna mathematically formulated the cosmological argument for the existence of God as the one and indivisible cause of everything. A very similar rationale is given by Thomas Aquinas as the second proof of the existence of God, although his wording is not as strict as that of Avicenna ^[2] . Subsequently, this proof was simplified and formalized by William Hatcher ^[3] .

The cosmological argument looks something like this ^[4] :

1. Every thing in the universe has its cause outside of itself (children have their cause in their parents, parts are made in a factory, etc.);
2. The Universe, as consisting of things that have their cause outside themselves, must itself have its cause outside itself;
3. Since the universe is a matter with energy and existing in time and space , therefore, the cause of the universe must be outside these four categories.

Consequently, there is an intangible cause of the Universe, not limited by space and time, not possessing energy .

Conclusion: God is. From the third point it follows that he is an immaterial spirit , outside of space (that is, the omnipresent ), timeless ( eternal ), and independent of energy ( almighty ) .

Kalamic argument

In the light of the Big Bang theory, the cosmological argument is as follows ^[5] :

1. Everything that has ever appeared has a reason
2. The universe has appeared
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause

This kind of cosmological argument in connection with its origin from Islamic theology is called the “ Kalamic argument” ( English kalām cosmological argument ) ^{[6] [7]} .

Leibniz's cosmological argument

Leibniz’s cosmological argument has a slightly different form. He claims that every single thing in the world is "accidental"; in other words, it means that it is logically possible that it does not exist; and this is true not only for every single thing, but also for the whole Universe . Even when we assume that the Universe existed forever, then there is nothing inside the Universe that would show why it exists. But according to Leibniz's philosophy, everything must have a sufficient foundation , therefore the Universe as a whole must have a sufficient foundation, which is outside of it. This sufficient reason is God ^[8] .

Swinburne's inductive cosmological argument

Richard Swinburne rejects the old deductive versions of the cosmological argument, believing that it is clear to deduce the existence of God from whatever it is. However, he offers an inductive argument based on probability: ^[9]

“There is a real possibility that if God exists, He will create something like a finite and complex universe. It is very unlikely that the universe could exist for no reason, but it’s much more likely that God can exist for no reason. The existence of the universe ... can be explained if we assume that it was created by God "

“Theism does not make some phenomena very likely, but nothing else makes their occurrence entirely likely, and they need to be explained. Perhaps a priori theism is very unlikely, but it is much more likely than any competing assumption. Consequently, our phenomena are substantial evidence in favor of the truth of theism. ”