Section 14 — The Cosmological Argument: Something from Nothing

The Christian Statement

The cosmological argument is the oldest and most intuitive argument for God's existence. In its simplest form:

1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause
2. The universe began to exist
3. Therefore the universe has a cause

The second premise — the universe began to exist — was not always accepted by atheist philosophers. Many preferred to believe the universe was eternal, avoiding the need for a cause. The Big Bang, confirmed by the expansion of the universe and the cosmic microwave background radiation, established that the universe had a beginning. It began approximately 13.8 billion years ago, from a state of infinite density, at a point before which there was no time, no space, and no matter.

The question is: what caused it? The cause must be:

• Outside space and time — because space and time began at the Big Bang
• Uncaused — because if it had a cause, that cause would need a cause, and you either reach an infinite regress or an uncaused first cause
• Immensely powerful — because it produced the entire physical universe from nothing
• Personal — because an impersonal force governed by physical laws cannot create the physical laws

This description matches the classical theistic description of God with remarkable precision. The cosmological argument doesn't prove every claim of Christian theology. It establishes that the universe has a cause that is timeless, uncaused, immensely powerful, and personal. That is a significant starting point.

✖ Atheist: The universe could be self-caused. Or it could be one of many universes in a multiverse. We don't know what caused it.

✔ How to respond: "Self-caused" is incoherent — a thing cannot cause itself, because it would need to exist before it exists in order to cause itself. The multiverse hypothesis is interesting but creates the same problem one level up: what caused the multiverse? Every proposed mechanism for generating multiple universes is itself a physical system that requires explanation. You either reach an infinite regress — every cause requires another cause, forever — or you reach a first cause that is itself uncaused. The question is what kind of first cause is adequate. An impersonal physical system governed by laws is not adequate, because the laws themselves require explanation. A personal, timeless, uncaused creator is.