-If there is nothing outside the material universe, then there is nothing that can cause the universe to change
-But it does change
-Therefore there must be something in addition to the material universe
-But the universe is the sum total of all matter, space, and time.
-These three depend on each other
-Therefore, this being outside the universe is outside of matter, space, and time
-It is not a changing thing, it is the unchanging Source of change (Source=God)
-But we do get it; we exist
-Therefore there must exist a God, an Uncaused Being who does not have to receive existence like us - and like every other link in the chain of receivers
-Whatever comes into being or goes out of being does not have to be; its "nonbeing is a real possibility
- Suppose that nothing has to be; nonbeing is a real possibility for everything
-Then right now nothing would exist
-For if the universe began to exist, then all being must trace its origin to some past moment before which there existed nothing at all
-But from nothing nothing comes
-So the universe could not have begun
-But suppose the universe never began. Then, for the infinitely long duration of cosmic history, all being had the built-in possibility not to be.
-But if in an infinite time that possibility was never realized, then it could not have been a real possibility at all.
- So there must exist something which cannot not exist
-Either this necessity belongs to the thing in itself or it is derived from another. If derived from another there must ultimately exist a being who's necessity is not derived, an absolutely necessary being.
-This absolutely necessary being is God
-But if these degrees of perfection pertain to being an being is caused in finite creatures
-Then there must exist a "best" a source of perfections
-This absolutely perfect being is God
-Either this intelligible order is a product of chance or of intelligent design
-Not chance (Make non-believ4er produce a credible alternative to design - chance isn't)
-Therefore the universe is the product of intelligent design
-Design comes only from a mind, a designer
-Therefore, the universe is the product of an Intelligent Designer.
-Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being
-The universe began to exist.
-Therefore, the universe has a cause for its coming into being.
-If something exists, there must exist what it takes for that thing to exist
-The universe, the collection of beings in space and time, exists
-Therefore, there must exist what it takes for the universe to exist
-What it takes for the universe to exists cannot exist within the universe or be bounded by time and space
-Therefore, what it takes for the universe to exist must transcend time and space
-Starting Point: This world is given to us as an ordered system of many active component elements, working within physical laws
-Argument: In this system, no component part or active element can be self-sufficient or selfexplanatory
- Three conclusions:
-The parts make sense only within the whole, so the world requires a unifying efficient cause to put it into existence as a unified whole
-Any such cause must be an intelligent cause
-Such an intelligent cause must be independent of the system itself - transcendent, not dependant on the system for its own existence
-A miracle is an event whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary intervention of God
-There are numerous well-attested miracles.
-Therefore, there are numerous events who's only adequate explanation is the extraordinary intervention of God
- Therefore God exists
-We experience the universe as intelligible
-Either this intelligible universe and the finite minds that grasp it are the products of intelligence, or both intelligibility and intelligence are products of blind chance
-Not blind chance
-Therefore, this intelligible universe etc. are the products of intelligence
-Our limited minds can discover eternal truths about being
-Truth properly resides in a mind
-But the human mind is not eternal
-Therefore there must exist an eternal mind in which these truths reside
-We have ideas of many things
-These ideas must arise either from ourselves or from things outside us
-One of these ideas is the idea of God, an infinite, all-perfect being
-This idea could not have been caused by ourselves, because we know ourselves to be limited and imperfect and no effect can be greater than its cause
- Therefore, the idea must have been caused by something outside us which has nothing less than the qualities contained in the idea of God
-But only God himself has those qualities
-Therefore God himself must be the cause of the idea we have of him.
-Therefore God exists.
- It is greater for a thing to exist in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone
-"God" means "that than which a greater cannot be thought"
-Suppose that God exists in the mind but not in reality
-Then a greater than God could be thought (Namely a being that has all the qualities our thought of God has plus real existence)
-But this is impossible, for god is "That than which a greater cannot be thought"
-Therefore, God exists in the mind and in reality
MODEL VERSION
-The expression "that being than which a greater cannot thought" expresses a consistent concept
-The being cannot be thought of as Necessarily non-existent Or as contingently existing But only as necessarily existing
- So the being can only be thought of as the kind of being that cannot not exist, but that must exist
- But what must be so is so
- Therefore, the being (God) exists
- Real moral obligation is a fact. We are obligated to do good and avoid evil
-Either the atheistic view of reality is correct or the "religious" one
- But the atheistic one is incompatible with there being moral obligation
- Therefore, the "religious" view of reality is correct
- From something less than me (nature) - How can I be absolutely obligated by something less than me?
- From me (individual) - How can I obligate myself absolutely?
- From others equal to me (society) - What right do my equals have to impose their values on me? Is society God?
- From something above me (God) - The only source of absolute moral obligation left is something superior to me.
-Thus God or something like God is the only adequate source and ground for the absolute moral obligation we all feel to obey our conscience.
-Addendum on Religion and Morality - four relations between religion and morality
-Religion and morality are independent - But a God indifferent to morality would not be wholly good, nor would independent morality have absolute reality behind it.
-God is the inventor of morality - Divine Command Theory - But this reduces morality to power
-God commands it because it is good - This makes God conform to a law higher than himself. A law higher than God and humanity alike.
-The only rationally acceptable answer to this relationship is a Biblical one. Morality is based on God's eternal nature. Because God is what he is, and we are his image bearers, morality binds our consciences
-Every natural , innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire
- But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy
- Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures that can satisfy this desire
-This something is what people call "God"
-There is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach
-Therefore there must be a God
(Either you see this one or you don't)
-Many people of different eras and of widely different cultures claim to have had an experience of the "divine"
-It is inconceivable that so many people could have been so utterly wrong about the nature and content of their own experience
- Therefore, there exists a "divine" reality which many people of different eras and of widely different cultures have experienced.
-(It is unlikely that this proves that God exists because for some, God is not the object of their experience. But it is helpful overall.)
-Belief in God - that being to whom reverence and worship are properly due - is common to almost all people of every era.
-Either the vast majority of people have been wrong about this most profound element of their lives or they have not
-It is most plausible to believe that they have not
-Therefore, it is most plausible to believe that God exists
-Pascal's Wager assumes that logical reasoning by itself cannot decide for or against the existence of God.
- The question in Pascal's Wager is "Where are you going to place you bet?"
- If you place it with God, you have nothing to lose even if God doesn't exist
- If you place against God and you are wrong, you lose everything