The Kalam Cosmological Argument goes something like this:
1. Everything that has a beginning must have a cause.
2. The universe has a beginning.
3. The universe must have a cause.
4. That cause is God.
This is actually one of the oldest and still one of the best arguments for the existence of God. Unfortunately it still fails.
First off, not everything that has a beginning must have a cause, look at quantum mechanics. There are things that just happen. Unfortunately I was too busy taking classes like Greek and Systematic Theology to have had the time to get in the physics and math classes to be able to explain this one. (Updated at 1:02 pm 10/20/10 – See comment the comments below.)
Second, with the multiverse hypothesis, while our universe had a beginning, it’s not certain if the multiverse has a beginning. If it doesn’t then it wouldn’t need a cause according to this argument.
Finally, all this does is move the question from “what caused the universe,” to “what caused God.” If God doesn’t require a cause, then neither would the multiverse. As such, while it does allow for the existence of God, it doesn’t demand the existence of God.
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Dustin,
I don't know what you are referring to in quantum mechanics that "just happens" (it's a little vague what that means.) But, according to quantum mechanics it would be impossible for nothing to exist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_energy Allow me to summarize the relevant physics. If there where no electromagnetic energy in the universe then the energy time uncertainty principle would be violated. Therefore, there is always electromagnetic energy even in a completely enclosed vacuum at absolute zero. In fact, you can't get rid of this energy no matter how hard you try.
This bit of physics disproves statement number one in the Kalam Cosmological Argument as you summarized it above.
BP
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BP,
Thanks for the correction. I think what I mean was quantum fluctuations, but I should stick to things that I have actually studied adequately to understand so I have stricken that line from the post.
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BP,
Thanks for the correction. I think what I mean was quantum fluctuations, but I should stick to things that I have actually studied adequately to understand so I have stricken that line from the post.
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Dustin,
I don't know what you are referring to in quantum mechanics that "just happens" (it's a little vague what that means.) But, according to quantum mechanics it would be impossible for nothing to exist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_energy Allow me to summarize the relevant physics. If there where no electromagnetic energy in the universe then the energy time uncertainty principle would be violated. Therefore, there is always electromagnetic energy even in a completely enclosed vacuum at absolute zero. In fact, you can't get rid of this energy no matter how hard you try.
This bit of physics disproves statement number one in the Kalam Cosmological Argument as you summarized it above.
BP