What is the Kalam Cosmological Argument? Video

Enjoy this video on the kalam cosmological argument, brought to you by the drcraigvideos YouTube channel.

Terminology Tuesday: The Five Ways

The Five Ways: The five rational arguments that Thomas Aquinas saw as pointing to the existence of God. The five arguments are (1) the argument from motion (all things in motion need a mover, but there must be something unmoved that begins other things in motion; God is this Unmoved Mover); (2) the cosmological argument (all effects must have causes, but there cannot be an infinite series of causes into the past; thus God is the first or Uncaused Cause); (3) the argument from contingency (all things exist in dependence on something else, that is, contingent; therefore there must be something that is absolutely independent, that is, necessary; this necessary being is God); (4) the argument from perfection (there appears to be an increasing degree of perfection among things; therefore there must be a being who is the height of perfection; this Being is God); and (5) the teleological argument (the observable design in the world suggests that there must be an intelligent designer - God).1

1. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 52.

Terminology Tuesday: Contingency

Contingency: A characteristic of finite things that exist but do not exist necessarily. Those who support the cosmological argument believe that the contingency of the natural order shows that it must have its ground of existence outside itself and that the ultimate ground for the existence of contingent things must be a being whose existence is not contingent but necessary -- a being identifiable as God. 1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 113.

Sunday Quote: C. Stephen Evans on the God Question

"The question about God is not merely a question about another entity but a question about the character of the universe as a whole. The rejection of the cosmological argument implicitly carries with it a commitment to a rival metaphysical view, such as pantheism or naturalism. Ultimately, the question is not, 'Can God's existence be proved?' but 'Which metaphysical view is most plausible?'"

- C. Stephen Evans

1 C. Stephen Evans, Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982), p. 59.

What was last year's post? See here.

Fine-Tuning of the Universe MP3 Audios by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards

Here are a couple of great talks from Veritas.org, featuring Privileged Planet authors (book / DVD) Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards

The Fine-Tuning of the Universe (Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards)
MP3 Part 1 Talk | MP3 Part 2 Q&A

Our Privileged Planet (Guillermo Gonzalez)
MP3 Part 1 Talk | MP3 Part 2 Q&A (audio quality poor)

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Argument from the Contingency of the Universe

This will be a series of weekly posts dealing with some basic theistic arguments. The purpose here is to introduce the reader to the idea behind each argument. Strengths and weaknesses will be presented after each summary. As these are only summaries (entire books can be written for and against each) these are not debate starters (with further books written in the comments), but springboards for further study in the theistic arguments. See Reason for the Hope Within for more.

An Argument from the Contingency of the Universe

The universe didn't have to be here, and even if it has always been here it didn't have to be the way it is. This means the universe is a contingent thing. But all contingent things depend upon a cause which is itself contingent, but it is not possible that everything is contingent. Thus there must be a necessary (indeed, self-necessary) being which is the ultimate cause of the universe. God is the self-necessary ultimate cause of the universe.

Greatest Strength: Pure contingency is logically untenable, so it is difficult to believe that the universe is both contingent and uncaused.

Greatest Weakness: The contingency of the universe as a whole is difficult to establish convincingly unless one is already convinced that it has a cause.1

1 William C. Davis, Reason for the Hope Within (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1999), p. 25.

Is the Universe Designed? William Lane Craig MP3 Audio

William Lane Craig presents a talk at Asbury Theological Seminary entitled: Is the Universe Designed?

Full MP3 Audio here. (40min)

Enjoy.

Why Does Anything at All Exist? MP3 by William Lane Craig

Philosopher William Lane Craig discusses Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason and the question: Why Does Anything at All Exist? This includes a very good Q&A session.

Full MP3 Audio here.
Video can be found at here from Reasonable Faith.

Enjoy.

Beyond the Big Bang - William Lane Craig MP3 Audio

Dr. William Lane Craig discusses Big Bang cosmology and its implications. This lecture is here.



The transcript and outline can be found here. This lecture is just a small sample of the great resources available at the European Leadership Forum.

Enjoy.

The Cosmological Argument: An Interview with David Beck MP3 Audio

In this interview, Dr. David Beck discusses arguments for God's existence — can we make sense of the universe without a God or does it only make sense with a God? Dr. Beck is Professor of Philosophy at Liberty University.

Download MP3 here.

More good stuff from www.4truth.net.

Enjoy.

PDF Download: Ultimate Questions Booklet

This is an interesting Apologetics PDF that engages the reader by asking the ultimate questions in life. This booklet makes use of the cosmological argument, the fine-tuning/teleological argument, and explores the person of Jesus Christ. It may be a useful tool to give to a thinking friend.

Taken from the Ultimate Questions website, which is not completely functional at this time.