THE KALAM COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: CRITIQUING A RECENT DEFENCE

Think ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (57) ◽  
pp. 153-165
Author(s):  
Phillip Halper
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
William Lane Craig ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
Kalām Cosmological Argument ◽  
Big Bang Model ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

ABSTRACTIn the late 1970s the big bang model of cosmology was widely accepted and interpreted as implying the universe had a beginning. At the end of that decade William Lane Craig revived an argument for God known as the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA) based on this scientific consensus. Furthermore, he linked the big bang to the supposed biblical concept of creation ex nihilo found in Genesis. I shall critique Craig's position as expressed in a more recent update and argue that contemporary cosmology no longer understands the big bang as the ultimate beginning, seriously undermining the KCA. I will further contend that book of Genesis should not be understood as describing creation ex nihilo anyway.

scholarly journals Cosmological argument for a/theism: Craig's and Smith's interpretation of big bang cosmology

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Drago Djuric
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
William Lane Craig ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
Kalām Cosmological Argument ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

In this paper we shall consider over 30-Years larg disscusion between theistic philosopher of religion William Lane Craig and athestic philosopher Quentin Smith about kalam cosmological argument and big bang cosmological hypothesis. Main issue of their's disscusion is the problem of the cause of the beginnig of the universe. Craig tries to give us arguments for the thesis that the big bang cosmology is compatible with the his kalam kosmological argument, and, consenquently, that God is cause of the big bang. Smith but tries to give us the arguments for the thesis that the kalam cosmological argument is not sound, and that cause of the big bang is not God. At the beginnig of the discussion Smith has defended thesis that big bang has no cause. Lather but he defends the thesis that the universe is self-caused. During this larg and intensive discussion are developed interesting arguments, some of which we shall present here.

A swift and simple refutation of the Kalam cosmological argument?

1999 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM LANE CRAIG
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
Convincing Argument ◽  
Realist Position ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Simple Demonstration ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
John Taylor ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

John Taylor complains that the Kalam cosmological argument gives the appearance of being a swift and simple demonstration of the existence of a Creator of the universe, whereas in fact a convincing argument involving the premiss that the universe began to exist is very difficult to achieve. But Taylor's proffered defeaters of the premisses of the philosophical arguments for the beginning of the universe are themselves typically undercut due to Taylor's inadvertence to alternatives open to the defender of the Kalam arguments. With respect to empirical confirmation of the universe's beginning Taylor is forced into an anti-realist position on the Big Bang theory, but without sufficient warrant for singling out the theory as non-realistic. Therefore, despite the virtue of simplicity of form, the Kalam cosmological argument has not been defeated by Taylor's all too swift refutation.

The Kalam Cosmological Argument

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Lane Craig
Keyword(s):  
Space Time ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Classical Space ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
Kalām Cosmological Argument ◽  
The Universe

A survey of recent philosophical literature on the kalam cosmological argument reveals that arguments for the finitude of the past and, hence, the beginning of the universe remain robust. Plantinga’s brief criticisms of Kant’s argument in his First Antinomy concerning time are shown not to be problematic for the kalam argument. This chapter addresses, one by one, the two premises of the kalam, focusing on their philosophical aspects. The notion of infinity, both actual and potential, is discussed in relation to the coming into being of the universe. In addition, the scientific aspects of the two premises are also, briefly, addressed. Among these are the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem, which proves that classical space-time cannot be extended to past infinity but must reach a boundary at some time in the finite past. This, among other factors, lends credence to the kalam argument’s second premise.

scholarly journals Relativistic Cosmology with an Introduction to Inflation

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zahid Mughal ◽  
Iftikhar Ahmad ◽  
Juan Luis García Guirao
Keyword(s):  
Standard Model ◽  
Early Universe ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Relativistic Cosmology ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Big Bang Model ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

In this review article, the study of the development of relativistic cosmology and the introduction of inflation in it as an exponentially expanding early phase of the universe is carried out. We study the properties of the standard cosmological model developed in the framework of relativistic cosmology and the geometric structure of spacetime connected coherently with it. The geometric properties of space and spacetime ingrained into the standard model of cosmology are investigated in addition. The big bang model of the beginning of the universe is based on the standard model which succumbed to failure in explaining the flatness and the large-scale homogeneity of the universe as demonstrated by observational evidence. These cosmological problems were resolved by introducing a brief acceleratedly expanding phase in the very early universe known as inflation. The cosmic inflation by setting the initial conditions of the standard big bang model resolves these problems of the theory. We discuss how the inflationary paradigm solves these problems by proposing the fast expansion period in the early universe. Further inflation and dark energy in fR modified gravity are also reviewed.

Creation and conservation, religious doctrine of

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hasker
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Religious Doctrine ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

The doctrine of the creation of the universe by God is common to the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; reflection on creation has been most extensively developed within the Christian tradition. Creation is by a single supreme God, not a group of deities, and is an ‘absolute’ creation (creation ex nihilo, ‘out of nothing’) rather than being either a ‘making’ out of previously existing material or an ‘emanation’ (outflow) from God’s own nature. Creation, furthermore, is a free act on God’s part; he has no ‘need’ to create but has done so out of love and generosity. He not only created the universe ‘in the beginning’, but he sustains (‘conserves’) it by his power at each moment of its existence; without God’s support it would instantly collapse into nothingness. It is controversial whether the belief in divine creation receives support from contemporary cosmology, as seen in the ‘Big Bang’ theory.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document