Christianity & the Cosmological Argument (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B)

The cosmological argument for the existence of God

What is the Cosmological Argument?

• The cosmological argument is an important argument for the existence of God

• It focuses on the idea that everything in the universe has a cause, and because the universe itself exists, there must be a first cause, and this first cause is believed to be God

• There is some logic behind why Christians believe that this is a strong argument to support the existence of a God

  • Christians believe that everything that exists in the universe has been caused by something else

    • For example, if a tree grows, it’s because of seeds, sunlight, water, etc. If you trace everything back, it seems like each thing is caused by something else

  • If everything has a cause, then the universe must have a cause too

    • There must have been something that started everything, something that wasn’t caused by anything else

  • Christians believe that this ‘first cause’ is God

    • God is thought to be the uncaused cause, meaning He has no beginning and doesn’t depend on anything else for existence

    • He must have started everything in the universe

• The philosopher Thomas Aquinas is famous for presenting the cosmological argument

  • He argued that because everything in the world is caused by something else, there must be a ‘first cause’ that set everything into motion, and that first cause is God

• In summary, the cosmological argument suggests that everything we see around us must have come from something and because the universe exists, it must have had a starting point, and Christians believe that point is God, the First Cause

Christianity and the  Cosmological Argument

• The cosmological argument is a strong argument for Christians because it provides a logical explanation for why the universe exists and points to God as the source of everything

• The cosmological argument asks why anything exists at all, since everything in the universe seems to have a cause (e.g., events don’t just happen by chance). 

  • Christians believe the universe itself must have a cause

  • This cause is understood to be God, who is eternal and doesn’t need a cause

• Christians already believe that God created the universe, and the cosmological argument supports this belief by suggesting that God is the first cause, and the starting point of everything that exists

  • This makes the argument very consistent with their faith

• The idea that everything has a cause makes sense to many people

  • Christians believe that the universe couldn’t have come from nothing, so the best explanation is that a powerful being (God) caused it to come into existence

• The argument says that the first cause must be something that itself does not need a cause

  • Christians believe this describes God perfectly because He is eternal, and uncaused, which aligns with how God is described in the Bible

Divergent understandings of what the cosmological argument shows

Criticism of the Cosmological Argument

• Although the cosmological argument is a strong argument, there has been much criticism from atheists and humanists who do not agree with the conclusion that God must exist

• One criticism is that if everything needs a cause, then why doesn’t God need a cause? 

  • If everything must have a cause, then why is God exempt from this rule?

  • Some people argue that just saying ‘God did it’ doesn’t answer the question properly

• Some critics argue that the universe could have always existed, or it could have come from something else in a way we don't yet understand

  • In this case, there might not need to be a ‘first cause’

• Critics also argue that saying God is the ‘uncaused cause’ could be seen as a form of ‘special pleading,’ where you make an exception for God without providing good reasons

  • It’s like saying everything needs a cause except for God, without explaining why God is different

• Some scientists believe that the universe began with the Big Bang, and this theory explains how the universe started

  • Critics say that the cosmological argument is outdated because modern science provides natural explanations for the origin of the universe, without needing to invoke God

• Some critics argue that the idea of a ‘first cause’ is still tricky

  • If everything needs a cause, then it’s difficult to understand why the universe would stop the chain of causes at God

  • Couldn’t there be an infinite number of causes before God?

Christian responses to the non-religious views about the cosmological argument

Criticism responses to non-religious views on the cosmological argument

• Despite the criticism of the argument, Christians still believe that it is a logical argument that points to the existence of God

• Christians believe that God is eternal and necessary

  • This means He doesn’t have a beginning or an end, and He doesn’t need a cause

  • Everything else in the universe is contingent (dependent on something else), but God is necessary and exists on His own

  • This makes God different from everything else

• Christians argue that the universe does need a cause

  • The idea that the universe could just exist forever doesn't answer the question of why it exists in the first place

  • They believe that the universe had a beginning, and something must have caused it to come into existence, and this cause is God

  • Some Christians also believe modern science, like the Big Bang Theory, shows that the universe had a start, supporting the idea of a first cause

  • They see the Big Bang as evidence of a creation event, something that started the universe, and that event can be seen as the moment God created everything

  • Some Christians see no conflict between science and the argument for God as the First Cause

• Christians believe that God is unique

  • The argument is not that God does not need a cause because He is special, but because He is eternal and outside of time

  • He is different from everything in the universe, which is why He does not need a cause

  • The universe, being part of time and space, needs a cause, but God, being beyond time, does not

• Christians argue that an infinite chain of causes doesn’t make sense

  • If everything needed a cause, and there is no first cause, then nothing would ever begin

  • The first cause (God) is necessary to stop the infinite regress

  • Christians believe that a first cause, like God, is required to explain why anything exists at all