The Cosmological Argument 1

Question	Answer
The Cosmological Argument	The universe is contingent and therefore requires a cause other than itself for it to exist. Most people see this external agent to be God, and for there to be reason to the universe.
Pre-Christian applications	Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato both could not understand how the universe could exist without an initial mover.
Plato Image: 9f168ae4-fa05-4e6e-9387-cde5c6b3fe46 (image/jpg)	Plato said that the power to produce something must come before the power to receive it. Therefore there must be and uncaused causer. He believed the initial mover to be a soul, of higher order than a human soul. But, not a creator, rather a source of activity.
Aristotle Image: bb98a7be-e43b-48d8-ae1e-d6d5ed54b6be (image/jpg)	Aristotle said that the prime mover did not fit into an ordinary chain of motion. Therefore it was intelligent, and activates the world by its presence. It is non spatial and eternal, good and perfect.
The Kalam Argument	Islamic version of the cosmological argument. Developed by al-Kindi and al-Ghazali. 1. Whatever comes into being has a cause 2. The universe came into being 3. The universe has a cause 4. If the universe has a cause of being it must be God. Therefore God exists.

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	Created by emily.mcauliffe over 9 years ago