1. THE
COSMOLOGICAL
ARGUMENT

2. AQUINAS – CONTINGENT AND NECESSARY PRINCIPLE OF SUFFFICIENT REASON
ESSENTIAL IDEAS
A POSTERIORI
Proven by reason
KEY IDEAS
Universe needs an explanation
Nothing can be its own cause
CONTINGENT
A being that relies on something else to exist – it cannot be its own cause
NECESSARY
Something that does not rely on anything else to exist
AQUINAS – MOTION
There needs to be a first mover that is unmoved by anything else – God
AQUINAS – CAUSE
There needs to be a first cause that is uncaused by anything else - God
AQUINAS – CONTINGENT AND NECESSARY
Contingent beings cannot cause their own existence, therefore there must be a necessary being that caused contingent beings to exist
PRINCIPLE OF SUFFFICIENT REASON
A complete explanation, for theists, God creating the universe as an expression of perfect love is a complete explanation
BIG BANG
Many theists believe God and science can work together; they claim that God was responsible for the Big Bang
INFINITE REGRESS
Something that just goes back forever with no starting point.
For theists this is an unsatisfactory explanation because it does not offer a complete explanation
PLATO
Need for a first cause but this was not God as such, more of a source of activity in the world
ARISTOTLE
Prime Mover - An intelligence that activates the world by its presence
WILLIAM LANE CRAIG
There had to be ‘something’ that caused the universe as nothing can only cause nothing.
KALAM ARGUMENT
Everything that exists has a cause. The universe exists and therefore must have a cause; the cause is God.
STRENGTHS
Logical that something cannot come from nothing
Provides a complete explanation (God as an expression of perfect love)
Works with Big Bang
WEAKNESSES
Fallacy of composition
Particles in space go in and out of existence by themselves
Kalam argument – big leap
Hume – why make God the exception to ‘everything needs a cause’, why can’t the universe by the exception?

3. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
A POSTERIORI
Proven by reason
KEY IDEAS
Universe needs an explanation
Nothing can be its own cause
CONTINGENT
A being that relies on something else to exist – it cannot be its own cause
NECESSARY
Something that does not rely on anything else to exist
What is the difference between a priori and a posteriori?
What 3 elements do all cosmological arguments have?
How is the cosmological argument similar to the design argument?
How is the cosmological argument different to the design argument?

4. AQUINAS – CONTINGENT AND NECESSARY
ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
AQUINAS – MOTION
There needs to be a first mover that is unmoved by anything else – God
AQUINAS – CAUSE
There needs to be a first cause that is uncaused by anything else - God
AQUINAS – CONTINGENT AND NECESSARY
Contingent beings cannot cause their own existence, therefore there must be a necessary being that caused contingent beings to exist
What did Aquinas say about motion?
What did Aquinas say about cause?
Why can’ contingent beings cause themselves?

5. PRINCIPLE OF SUFFFICIENT REASON
ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
PRINCIPLE OF SUFFFICIENT REASON
A complete explanation, for theists, God creating the universe as an expression of perfect love is a complete explanation
BIG BANG
Many theists believe God and science can work together; they claim that God was responsible for the Big Bang
INFINITE REGRESS
Something that just goes back forever with no starting point.
For theists this is an unsatisfactory explanation because it does not offer a complete explanation
Who is the main scholar associated with the Principle of Sufficient Reason?
What is an infinite regress?
What did Swinburne say about an explanation for the universe?

6. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
PLATO
Need for a first cause but this was not God as such, more of a source of activity in the world
ARISTOTLE
Prime Mover - An intelligence that activates the world by its presence
What did Plato and Aristotle agree on?
How does Plato avoid the problem of evil and suffering?
What did Aristotle say about the prime mover?
What is contradictory about the idea of a prime mover?

7. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
WILLIAM LANE CRAIG
There had to be ‘something’ that caused the universe as nothing can only cause nothing.
KALAM ARGUMENT
Everything that exists has a cause. The universe exists and therefore must have a cause; the cause is God.
What did William Lane Craig say about the beginning of the universe?
What is the major weakness with William Lane Craig’s argument?
What is the major weakness with the Kalam Argument?

8. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – QUICK QUESTIONS
WEAKNESSES
Fallacy of composition
Particles in space go in and out of existence by themselves
Kalam argument – big leap
Hume – why make God the exception to ‘everything needs a cause’, why can’t the universe by the exception?
What is the Fallacy of Composition?
Explain Hume’s point about exceptions.
Why is the discovery of particles in space that go in and out of existence by themselves so damaging for the argument?