What we call today the kalam cosmological argument, was first made by aristotle and then by islamic scholars in the 9th century. William lane craig advances an argument for the existence of god in the kalam cosmological argument london. The k a l a m c o sm o l o g i c a l a r g u m e n t is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of god. The kalam cosmological argument, with roots in early christian and islamic thinking, has been revived in recent years, most notably by william lane craig. Craig, mackie, and the kalam cosmological argument in professor mackie and the kalam cosmological argument religious studies, xx 1984, 36775, professor william lane craig undertakes to demonstrate that j. Because of its historic roots in medieval islamic theology, i christened the argument the kalam cosmological argument kalam is the arabic word for medieval theology. The sources used in this presentation are documented according to current modern. A defense of the kalam cosmological argument and the btheory of time curtis j. Essay the kalam cosmological argument by theodore schick.
Today this argument, largely forgotten since the time of kant, is once again back at center stage. We present a formal analysis of the cosmological argument in its two main forms. Stop using the kalam cosmological argument youtube. Is the kalam cosmological argument a sound proof for god. The kalam cosmological argument is, essentially, the argument from first cause dressed up in new clothes. William lane craig has refined it to make it the cornerstone of his argument for the existence of the god of christianity. The flaw in that argument is the idea that everything that begins to exist had a cause. Since time and space are a part of the universe itself, calling the big bang an event would place it in a. The kalam cosmological argument is one of the variants of the argument which has been especially useful in. The original kalam cosmological argument was developed by islamic scholars in medieval times based on the aristotelian prime mover idea.
A bayesian formulation of the kalam cosmological argument. This argument has a long and venerable history among such islamic philosophers as alfarabi, al ghazli, and avicenna. The first part aims to establish that there is a cause of the universe. All ebooks, links to which are on the site, located on the public sites not affiliated with us to which our website does not have any relation. An outspoken defender of the argument is william lane craig, who first defended it in his book the kalam cosmological.
If this model is correct, then we have amazing scientific confirmation of the second premise of the kalam cosmological argument. Topics kalam collection opensource language english. A couple weeks ago, we kicked off a new series of posts where well introduce one of todays most popular arguments for or against god, and then invite openended discussion. Of the many ongoing debates to answer this question, william craig examines one of the most controversial proofs for the existence of god. William lane craig, the kalam cosmological argument, the macmillan press ltd, 1979, p.
The sources used in this presentation are documented according to current modern language association standards. In this essay, we have seen that the quran provides an intuitive and powerful argument for gods existence. The kalam cosmological argument sometimes capitalized as kalam cosmological argument. So is the model correct, or, more importantly, is it correct in predicting a beginning of the universe.
There are two aspects of the kalam argument that especially make it different from st. The kalam cosmological argument by theodore schick, he states that there is scientific proof for explaining the creation of the universe, but this proof also provides evidence of what others believe shows the existence of god, who to them, is the one who created the big bang that then created the universe. It was popularized by william lane craig in his book, the kalam cosmological argument 1979. Of all the apologia that i encountered, my own personal opinion is that the two arguments which make the best case are the argument from first cause and the argument from design. What follows is a short presentation of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of god. Metcalfe abstract william lane craig is the most recognizable contemporary defender of the kalam cosmological argument. Kalam cosmological argument a variation of cosmological argument by arguing that the universe has a beginning in time history first causecosmological argument set forth by plato and aristotle in 4 th and 3 rd centuries bc. Introduction one of the most popular arguments theists use to demonstrate gods existence is the cosmological argument. Koons discusses the grim reaper paradox in relation to the kalam cosmological argument. Unfortunately, i believe that they also both partake of the same. The most simple criticism of the kalam cosmological argument by jonathan ms pearce may 7, 2014 64 comments listening to the reasonable doubts criticism of the dreadful sounding film gods not dead, justin schieber referred to a point made by wes morriston.
Interpreting gods action in the world, edited by j. Cosmological arguments can be conveniently grouped into three basic types. In professor mackie and the kalam cosmological argument religious studies, xx 1984, 36775, professor william lane craig undertakes to. Yishai cohen raises three related objections to the kalam cosmological argument. The universe is not eternal, so it must have had a cause. The kalam cosmological argument is one of the most popular cosmological arguments around today. The goal is not to offer a thorough defense or refutation of the argument in the original post, but to unpack it together, as a community, in the comment boxes. The argument is fairly straightforward and enjoys intuitive support. The kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of god. The cosmological argument or first cause argument is a philosophical argument for the existence of god which explains that everything has a cause, that there must have been a first cause, and that this first cause was itself uncaused. Cosmological argument which relies on a moment of creation. The kalam cosmological argument flashcards quizlet. Kalam cosmological argument james still the clocks were functioning, thus someone must have set them in motion, even if their winding had been designed to last a long time. However it might be formulated, it depends on the conclusion that.
Craig provides a broad assessment of the argument in lieu of recent developments in philosophy, mathematics, science and theology. The kalam cosmological argument is essentially timebound. Simply put if con can present evidence or argument that successfully dismantles the kalam, con wins. Consult the cited works of craig for a more thorough statement and defense of the argument. Cliffe knechtle is belief in the christian god rational. The argument, in its simplest form, is that i whatever begins to. That is an unproven assumption that is disproved by the physics phenomenon known as spontaneous pair production an example of things happening without cause, but rather happening because they could happen. We are perfectly within our epistemic rights to accept the law of excluded middle lem, namely the claim that for all p we have p or notp, because of the selfevidence of lem, without needing any further argument for it. The notion that infinity is impossible is at the foundation of the cosmological argument, since it means that there must have been a moment of creation which has to be accounted for, a prime mover or prime cause must therefore have caused the universe. Mackies analysis of the kalam cosmological argument in the miracle of theism oxford university press, oxford, 1982 is super. In the absence of good answers to these questions, we must dismiss the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of a god.
The leibnizian cosmological argument appearedtoblogly. Sound is defined as a logically valid argument that withstands all scrutiny. The most simple criticism of the kalam cosmological argument. I the other philosophical argument o ered in defense of premise 2 is that there cannot be an actual. The standard big bang model thus predicts an absolute beginning of the universe. The kalam cosmological argument is a product of the tradition of islamic science known as ilm alkalam, which was established in order to defend the islamic faith against academic criticism. Pdf craig, mackie, and the kalam cosmological argument. These questions have been intelligently addressed in a paper entitled the kalam cosmological argument and the problem of divine creative agency and purpose. Kalam cosmological argument running head what is the. The fact that the universe exists means that somebody must have created it in the first place, and this somebody is.
The qurans argument for gods existence hamza andreas. A defense of the kalam cosmological argument and the b. Smiths most recent criticism of the kalam cosmological argument is also a denial of the. Most people are aware that there is no single cosmological argument, but rather that the term refers to a type of argument. The kalam argument popular writings reasonable faith. The kalam cosmological argument essay 1100 words cram. It would follow that the universe must therefore be contingent in its existence. On the kalam cosmological argument an earlier draft of the paper in facets of faith and science. Kalam cosmological argument bibliography philpapers. Therefore there is a cause of the universe that is not essentially a part of the universe. The kalam cosmological argument study guide by berkeyk includes 11 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. What is the difference between the kalam cosmological. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. How to debunk the kalam cosmological argument debating.
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