The Cosmological Argument
Essay Preview: The Cosmological Argument
Report this essay
The Cosmological Argument attempts to prove that God exists by showing that there cannot be an infinite number of regressions of causes to things that exist. It states that there must be a final uncaused-cause of all things. This uncaused-cause is asserted to be God. The cosmological argument is basically an argument about causation.In other everything has a cause.Although science goes along way back into the history of the universe, the current most popular theory of the origin of the universe is the big band theory. all this leaves the question, what caused the big bang? Science cannot yet explain this making it open to religious speculation. This is the basis of the cosmological argument. The cosmological argument proves the existence of god from the idea that there is a first cause of the universe. With every cause, there is another which caused that.
The cosmological argument began with Plato and ever since been defended and attacked by many great philosophers. Things exist.It is possible for those things not to exist but forWhatever has the possibility of non-existence, yet exists, has been caused to exist. Something cannot bring itself into existence because it would have had to exist to do that. There cannot be an infinite number of causes to bring something into existence, because an infinite regression of causes has no original cause, which means there is no cause of existence. Since the universe exists, it must have a cause, therefore there must be an uncaused cause of all things. And that cause is the puriest form of truth .There must be an aboslute, certain truth. If there is a abosolute certain truth, where would the orginal idea of truth come from? Most likely I feel from a True God.
To some, truth is something that is absolute and unchanging. To others, truth is volatile and inconstant. In the 16th and 17th century, the foundations of civilization itself had been shaken. Many of the ideas which were thought to be absolutely true had been plunged into the depths of uncertainty. The cosmological, geographical, and religious revolutions called into question the nature of truth itself. It is no wonder, then, that some of the great writers at the time included within their works a treatise on the ways in which truth is constructed. But how does God and Satan exist you might ask? Milton explains this in “Paradise Lost ” Because of the major ideological revolutions that shaped their world, Milton used characters and theatrical devices to create their own ideas on the construction of truth.
As a result of Miltons failed political aspirations, he believes that individuals do not construct truth, or decide for themselves what the truth is; instead, individuals receive the truth directly or indirectly from God. Conversely, deception comes from Satan. In Paradise Lost, Milton sets up this idea by forcing good to result only from obedience to Gods will and evil to result whenever God is disobeyed. Dr. Evans argument that Miltons ultimate point in all this is to express a moral position that is very extreme, that no quality or action can be innately good or evil, is firmly rooted in this model. What determines the morality of anything we do is in whose service we do it. Since Raphael was sent from God, his warning is true and divine. Since Satan disobeyed God, his ideas are all false lies. Part of Miltons ideology may have come from his own life experiences. After the restoration of the monarchy, his political aspirations were crushed. As a result, he had probably lost some faith in the ability of individuals to correctly determine the truth for themselves. It would be comforting to him, then, if truth and goodness could only come from God. Miltons experiences greatly influence his conception of truth, urging him to develop truth as something that comes from only one divine source and is absolutely constant.
Milton believes, on the other hand, that since humans are imperfect, mistakes will ultimately be made when deriving the truth. So rather than having individuals decide on the vast arrays of ideas in the world, it is more comforting for Milton to have the truth decided by a divine authority. Milton uses the characters of God and Raphael to construct his idea of divine truth. Raphael is a messenger sent directly from God, and because his warnings are disobeyed by Adam, Adam lets Eve separate from him, which leads to and eventually the fall of man. It is important that Raphael is a messenger figure, since he contrasts Satan, who is telling his allies his own message. It is not necessarily the message or idea itself which determines its validity, but who says the message determines its truthfulness, according to Milton. Although Satans message seems to be one that has elements of nobility, taking on the fight against seemingly impossible odds, turning