The Basics of the Kalam Cosmological Argument

The Kalam cosmological argument is based on the concept of the prime-mover, introduced by Aristotle, and entered early Christian or Neoplatonist philosophy in Late Antiquity, being developed by John Philoponus.

The most prominent form of the argument, as defended by William Lane Craig, states the Kalam cosmological argument as the following brief syllogism:

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause.

2. The universe began to exist.

3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Given the conclusion, Craig appends a further premise and conclusion based upon a conceptual analysis of the properties of the cause of the universe:

1. The universe has a cause.

2. If the universe has a cause, then an uncaused, personal Creator of the universe exists who sans (without) the universe is beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless and enormously powerful.

3. Therefore, an uncaused, personal Creator of the universe exists, who sans the universe is beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless and infinitely powerful.

Referring to the implications of Classical Theism that follow from this argument, Craig writes:

"... transcending the entire universe there exists a cause which brought the universe into being ex nihilo ... our whole universe was caused to exist by something beyond it and greater than it. For it is no secret that one of the most important conceptions of what theists mean by 'God' is Creator of heaven and earth."

Ashley van der Walt

Whatever begins to exist has a cause, which is essentially the cause and effect pursuit of science, to interpret the effect, and figure out the cause of the effect. Because the universe is not infinite, we know that by reversing this process, we will eventually reach the uncaused first cause, who brought the universe into existence.

Premise one: "Whatever begins to exist has a cause.”

Craig defends the first premise as follows:

1. Rational intuition: He states that the first premise is self-evidently true, being based upon the Causal Principle that "something cannot come into being from nothing", or "Ex nihilo nihil fit", originating from Parmenidean philosophy. He affirms that this is a crucial first principle of science.

2. Reductio ad absurdum: If false, it would be inexplicable why anything and everything does not randomly come into existence without a cause.

3. Inductive reasoning from both common experience and scientific evidence, which constantly verifies and never falsifies the truth of the first premise.

Conclusion: "The universe has a cause."

Given that the Kalam cosmological argument is a deductive argument, if both premises are true, the truth of the conclusion follows necessarily.