6. The Kalam Argument

Kalam (the line belongs above the second "a", I don't know how to do that!) is an Arabic word that denotes a philosophical theology maintaining that the universe is not infinitely old and therefore must have been created by God. 

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore the universe has a cause for its coming into being.  (Handbook of Catholic Apologetics, pg. 63)

Did the universe begin to exist or has it always? There are strong arguments for the beginning of the universe from science, such as the Big Bang Theory, but there are philosophical arguments as well. If there was no beginning of the universe than it is infinite. 

But Frank Sheed explains that to be infinite does not simply mean it stretches into the vastness of space without end. 

To say that a being is infinite does not mean only that it spreads in all directions without any limit, that whether you are considering its being or its power you never reach a point where you must say "this far and no farther".  It means the absence of all limitations, not only external but internal as well.  Theology and Sanity, pg. 62

Therefore there can be no limits, no divisions, no parts. My body has parts, therefore limitations. My arm cannot do what my liver does. To loose or break one part would limit my abilities or even end my life. The universe has parts- galaxies, solar systems, planets. Therefore the universe is finite. Something finite has a beginning by definition.

Therefore the natural conclusion is that universe has a cause for coming into being- something infinite. This cause is a Creator. 

But how do we know it is a Creator- a he and not an it?  If the cause of the universe existed eternally and is not personal than it caused the universe not by choice but by being.  But then how could the universe have a beginning if all the conditions needed for the universe had existed from all eternity?  But the kalam argument shows the universe does have a beginning.  "If the universe is the result of a free personal choice...we have some way of seeing how an eternal cause could give rise to a temporally limited effect"  (Handbook of Catholic Apologetics, pg. 65). 

The kalam argument proves something central to the Christian belief in God: that the universe is not eternal and without beginning, that there is a Maker of heaven and earth.  And in doing so, it disproves the picture of the universe most atheists wish to maintain: self-sustaining matter, endlessly changing in endless time.  (pg. 65)