The Existence of a Creator: An Intellectual Argument
 
By Sharif Abu Laith

http://www.theinimitablequran.com/TheExistenceOfACreatorAnIntellectualArgument.html

We shall focus on two main areas:

- Firstly the correct process of thought by which we can assess the proofs in 
order to establish a sound conclusion.

- And secondly some of the various arguments and rebuttals that are used to 
establish the belief in the creator.

Concept of Proof

The Collins Dictionary defines 'Proof' as, 'any evidence that establishes or 
helps to 
establish the truth, validity, quality, etc of something'. To better understand 
the concept 
of 'proof' let us consider an example; imagine not knowing today's date, so you 
decide to 
check the newspaper for it. As a result the newspaper forms the proof to 
substantiate 
your belief in today's date. The conclusion of the date and its correctness is 
based upon 
the correctness of the proof. Now, what if the newspaper we used in order to 
know the 
date was in fact yesterday¢s. That means we incorrectly assumed the date, 
however, 
such an individual not knowing this error would feel assured in a truth that 
only he 
perceives due to the misunderstanding of the evidence. Thus, what is considered 
as 
'proof' is of paramount concern, because although we may feel assured in the 
conclusion we obtained from what we perceive to be correct and valid proofs, we 
could in 
fact be completely wrong.

With regards to belief, there are three general ways, or three proofs that 
individuals use 
to adopt a particular set of beliefs. A person may adopt a belief through 
imitating the rest 
of society or following their forefathers. Similarly some base their belief 
upon the 
emotional satisfaction or contentment the particular belief gives them. Finally 
one may 
adopt a belief through the use of the intellect. With regards to the 
incorrectness of 
imitation as a method to establish ones' belief, it is self-evident. As for 
emotions being 
the basis of adopting a belief, then this too can easily dismissed as an 
invalid proof, and 
I will not pursue to invalidate them. This then leaves us with the use of the 
intellect as the 
way to ascertain the proofs of the existence of the Creator. We thus need to 
ascertain 
how the intellect is used to obtain the correct conclusion. There are three 
general 
understandings as to the manner by which the mind/intellect could be used 
correctly in 
order to obtain objective knowledge. They are rational thought, empirical 
thought and 
the use of logic. Once we have obtained the correct manner in which to think we 
can 
then assess the proofs upon which any argument is to be built.

The use of Logic

The classical Greeks used a manner or style of thinking called 'logic', its 
most useful and 
strongest form was called deductive logic. By deductive logic they described 
how a 
conclusion would be built upon its premises, thus the correctness of the 
conclusion 
depended upon the correctness of the premises. Deductive logic therefore was 
built 
upon four components: the two premises, the link between the two premises and 
the 
conclusion which resulted from this link.

One of the most important features of the logic was the structure of the 
sentences i.e. 
semantics and terminology. So discussion branched out to discuss the theory of 
ideas 
and the theory of universals. In essence philosophers were trying to construct 
arguments built upon the correct use of semantics. So for example if I were to 
find out 
whether humans are warm blooded or not by using the logical approach then I may 
use 
the following premises; all mammals are warm blooded, all humans are mammals, 
therefore humans are warm blooded. Here the link between humans to mammals is 
based upon the definition we give to mammals. If our definition differs of 
mammals then 
our conclusion would change. Hence amongst the logicians¢, discussion on 
language, 
terminology and construct of sentences became an important feature. In this 
example, 
the understanding of the whether humans are mammals, is a discussion of the 
universal 
features that all mammals share, and thus do humans share this common feature. 
This 
discussion of universals and ideas are the two theories that distinguished 
Aristotle from 
Plato when understanding the commonalities that things share. So what we find, 
and it 
certainly is the case, that the use of logic can become complicated due to 
semantics. 
And we find that many philosophers fall into the trap of semantics, thus 
missing the wood 
from the trees so to say.

Further to the problem of semantics, logic also suffers from hidden defects 
that may not 
be known from the link between the two premises. This is due to the fact that 
the 
conclusion is not directly sensed but is built upon two base thoughts that may 
or may not 
have been sensed. So for example we could state oxygen is gas at room 
temperature 
and that hydrogen is also gas at room temperature thus we can conclude that 
oxygen 
combined with hydrogen would produce a gas at room temperature. But this is not 
the 
case for hydrogen combined with oxygen produces a liquid at room temperature. 
Such 
hidden defects can not be noticed when building thought upon thought and thus 
logic 
can not be used as the basis of building conclusions.

Empirical Thought

Discussion arose as to whether thought originated before matter or whether the 
matter 
was the source of thought. So the rationalists, and we should distinguish here 
between 
the ¡rationalists¢ and what is meant by ¡rational thought¢, they stated that 
humans were 
born with innate thoughts. One such exponent was Emannuel Kant the German 
philosopher. In response to this, the empiricists stated that such conclusion 
wasn't based 
upon any evidences and was merely an assumption. Further, in their zeal to 
remove the 
creator from the equation the empiricists (such as the communists) stated that 
thought 
resulted from matter itself. Thus, they stated that the first step in the 
process of 
acquiring knowledge is the primary contact with the external environment - this 
is the 
stage of sensory perception. The second stage is the accumulation and the 
organisation 
of the information which is gathered from the sensory perception. This 
description of 
empirical thought was succinctly put by Mao Tse tung. In essence the thinking 
process 
according to them is produced by the sensation of the environment around them. 
Thus 
thought was a mere reflection of the matter onto the brain. This they said was 
the basis 
of thinking; so that no thought could exist except if reality exists for it.

However, they misunderstood the reality of thinking as we clearly know. So a 
simple 
example of a doctor undertaking tests proves that such tests doesn¢t establish 
the 
disease of his patient unless he has previous information as to what the tests 
are meant 
to yield. To further clarify this, a doctor must know the average blood sugar 
level in the 
body for a normal healthy patient, and then when subsequent tests are made and 
it is 
found that the patients blood sugar level is higher than the average for a 
normal patient, 
one can say he has hyperglycemia i.e. diabetes. So a simple analogy throws 
doubt on 
the empirical method of thinking as the sole basis of thought.

Further, while conducting experiments at school where we are told, in order to 
put into 
practice the empirical approach - we first formulate a hypothesis then a method 
to test 
the above hypothesis then record the results obtained from tests finally 
concluding 
whether the tests substantiates the hypothesis or not. The very fact that we 
had a 
hypothesis clearly demonstrates that there was previous information upon which 
the 
experimentation was built. Therefore, simply stating that thought arises from 
purely 
sensing the environment or the reality is completely false when practically 
employing the 
empirical method. In fact due to the presence of previous information i.e. the 
hypothesis 
we understand that the empirical method is a branch of rational thought not its 
source.

To further clarify this point in order to establish a conclusion based upon 
experimentation we need to use the rational method of thinking. That is to say 
we link the 
experimental data to the previous knowledge we have to extrapolate a conclusion 
based 
on the least amount of doubt. So as an example, we have a patient who shows 
weight 
loss and urinates frequently the doctor hypothesises that the patient may have 
diabetes, 
as weight loss and urinating a lot are signs of that disease. So the doctor 
then tests his 
blood sugar level after which he establishes whether his original hypothesis is 
substantiated by his tests. So here he has linked the results from the tests to 
previous 
information of the normal blood sugar levels assessing whether this proves his 
initial 
hypothesis or not.

Finally with regards to empirical thought, due to the fact that the empiricists 
state that 
thought is directly built upon reality, meaning that each thought is a 
reflection of a 
specific reality. Then thoughts that do not have a representation in reality 
are not true 
thoughts. Then the empiricists firmly state that belief in God is an incorrect 
thought 
because such thought is not a reflection on reality as there is no sensation of 
the 
creator. However, they have failed to appreciate and understand the thinking 
process 
because if they are correct in stating that thinking is a direct reflection on 
reality, i.e. no 
reality no thought. Then one would ask where did such a thought come from with 
regards to the belief in a God? This sufficiently disproves their concept of 
the thought 
process.

In addition, causal relationships cannot be directly sensed, does that mean 
causal 
relations do not exist? If that is the case then the whole process of empirical 
thought 
wouldn¢t exist as this depends on the necessary causal relationship. Thus, the 
claim that 
empirical thought is the source of thought stating that thought results in 
reflection of 
matter onto the brain, has glaring contradictions.

Rational thought

Finally on this section of the thinking process we come to rational thought and 
how this is 
the source of thinking. We state that thought came before matter because by 
merely 
sensing matter we do not establish any thought. The inability of sensing the 
syriac 
language without previous information of the syriac language shows that 
sensation alone 
will not allow us to understand the language. Instead we must have the previous 
information together with the reality which is sensed (sensory perception) and 
the 
distinguishing mind - to make the link between the reality and the previous 
information to 
produce thought.

Further we understand that the mind has the ability to produce thought based 
upon one 
reality and extrapolate a principle. So when we sense a ball on the ground with 
no force 
applied to it we see it stationary and when force is applied to the ball we see 
it move. We 
would understand that after observing the ball moving after applying force to 
it then this 
would be true each time we apply force to the ball and not just for that 
particular time. In 
fact this is true for all types of balls.

Further our mind is able to extract the general principle of cause and effect 
based upon 
all things which are finite and limited after simply observing the ball moving 
after force 
was applied. So there doesn¢t just exist a simple relationship between the 
observed 
reality and its representation as a thought, which is the case with empirical 
thinking, but 
in fact the mind is able to establish principles and use those principles to 
establish other 
thoughts. Again, as an example a person may have a thought of a mountain and a 
thought of gold, his mind has then the capacity to link the two thoughts and 
produce a 
thought of a mountain of gold even though he hasn¢t sensed this. Therefore 
rational 
thought is built upon the reality together with the previous information 
further the mind 
has the ability to extrapolate general principles and produce thoughts that may 
not be 
directly sensed. This is the clearest understanding of thought and this is how 
humans 
produce thought and live their life according to established thought.

Therefore the use of the rational method is the only definite way to assess the 
proofs in 
order to produce a conclusion. It is therefore the method of thinking we employ 
when 
discussing the subject matter of the proof of God.

Argument by design

This argument has been presented by various muslim and non muslim thinkers. So 
Imam 
Ahmed bin Hanbal gave the example of the egg and Thomas Aqinas gave the example 
of finding a watch in the middle of a desert. The argument is simple: 
complicated things 
require a designer. So taking the watch as an example we see it is complex, we 
also 
know the watch has a watch maker, thus an analogy can be made between the watch 
and the universe as the universe around us is also complex in its nature. Thus 
if the 
watch is complex requiring a designer then what about the complexities of the 
universe? 
So some would naturally conclude that such complexity that exists in the 
universe would 
require a designer and that designer would thus be the Creator. Although it is 
a simple 
argument it is at face value quite compelling, however many thinkers have 
criticised this 
argument. They have stated that how can an analogy be made between the watch 
and 
the universe. For instance we have previous information that the watch was made 
by a 
watchmaker. But such previous information doesn¢t exist for the universe. The 
critics of 
this argument would also question as to whether the universe and all that it 
contains is 
truly complex, and state that it is just simply randomly arranged.

Those who try to defend the argument have stated that the universe is truly 
complex and 
that if one of the laws of nature was different by a very small amount then 
this would 
preclude the chances of life. Similarly if the expansion rate of the universe 
was greater 
or smaller then the universe would not exist. In essence they are stating that 
the 
probability of the universe coming into existence as it is allowing life to 
exist is so small 
that this would have to compel an observer to believe in a master designer. 
However, 
this argument isn't sound, for example if I were to take a ball and randomly 
throw it up in 
the air and for it to fall unto a particular piece of ground. Then we would 
ask, that for it to 
have fallen on that piece of ground and not another piece of ground then the 
probability 
would be extremely low. But just because the probability was extremely low 
doesn¢t mean 
that the ball was directed at that region, especially when the ball was thrown 
in a random 
way. Similarly the universe having its particular laws of nature and rate of 
expansion 
doesn¢t necessarily mean it was designed in such a manner. For the universe to 
have 
different laws of nature or different rate of expansion then the probability 
would be 
equally as low. So such arguments as a rebuttal against those critics of the 
argument by 
design would be incorrect.

However, with regards to the critics they have failed to appreciate the manner 
by which 
the individual considers and thinks about the complexity of the universe and 
all that it 
contains. For instance, when we look at a table we establish that it is made of 
wood. But 
simply having the wood doesn¢t necessarily follow we have a table. Thus, there 
must be 
something other than the wood to have fashioned it into a table. The 
philosophers 
therefore state that the ¡material cause¢ of the table (i.e. what it is made 
out of) is the 
wood, but it has another cause i.e. its ¡efficient cause¢. That is to say that 
there is 
something other than the wood required to fashion it into a table. That other 
would be 
different to the wood or material cause itself. So if we look at the life, man 
and the 
universe we find that the material cause is the same for all of these things, 
yet they differ 
from one another. In addition, by having the material cause that makes up man 
and life 
then this doesn¢t necessarily follow that we have a man or life. So if we have 
the 
elements that make up man, it does not follow that we have a human. Therefore, 
there 
must be something other than these elements that make up a human, i.e. an 
efficient 
cause. Again what distinguishes man life and the universe isn't the material 
cause 
therefore there must be something other than the material cause that 
distinguishes man 
from the universe and the different life forms. This means there exists an 
efficient cause 
separate from the universe man and life. That is the creator.

Some may argue that if the premise is laid down that complicated things require 
a 
designer then wouldn¢t the creator be complex and thus also require a designer. 
Here 
they are using deductive logic to try and show an inherent contradiction within 
the 
argument by design. Remember how deductive logic has four components to it. 
Here 
they use the two premises: 1. Complex things require a designer, 2. The 
universe is 
complex, the conclusion built upon the link is that the universe is therefore 
designed by a 
Creator. They would argue that the creator is complex therefore it would fit 
within the 
logical style as mentioned above. However, if their argument is accepted then 
one would 
ask who designed the designer of the designer. In fact we will fall into 
infinite regression.

Infinite regression means continual subtraction by one. Meaning that if the 
creator 
designed the universe and that another designer designed the creator and this 
keeps 
continuing. This is impossible because there must be a first cause i.e. 
something that 
doesn¢t depend upon something prior to it for its existence. In order to 
understand why 
infinite regression is impossible the simple analogy of dominoes can be 
considered. For 
the last domino to fall over, it would need to be hit by the domino before it 
and each 
domino must be hit by a prior domino. Now if there was no starting domino that 
initiates 
the process of each domino falling over then none of the dominoes would fall 
over. So if 
everything that is complex requires a prior designer, then we would face a 
situation 
where nothing would exist but would wait for that first cause to initiate the 
process and 
because there is no first cause then nothing would exist. Yet we see things in 
existence. 
Therefore infinite regression is impossible.

Further, they are incorrect in making the assumption that because the creator 
is complex 
that this creator would also require a designer. We have established that the 
designer 
and creator of the universe must exist based upon the sensation of reality, 
hence the 
thought is rational. Whereas, stating that there must exist a designer for the 
creator is 
not built upon sensing the reality but is mere logic. That is to say building 
thought upon 
thought. And as mentioned before building thought upon thought can carry with 
it hidden 
defects in its conclusion thus, we would reject any such argument stating 
clearly that an 
infinite regression is impossible and any such thought is irrational (not based 
upon 
reality). So the argument by design although having its critics has the ability 
to establish 
firm belief in the need for the creator.

Kalam Cosmological argument

This is the argument originally developed by the muslim thinkers. It clearly 
states that 
everything we perceive in the universe is limited and finite and that 
everything that is 
limited and finite is dependent. The universe is the sum of limited finite 
things therefore 
the universe is limited and because it is limited it is thus dependent upon 
something else. 
As mentioned previously: because infinite regression cannot exist, then 
everything 
ultimately depends upon the independent creator who is unlimited and infinite. 
This is 
the basic argument however, it has slight variations.

The first variance is that limited objects in the universe depend upon 
something else in 
order for it to exist. So for example, a computer depends upon electricity and 
electricity 
depends upon a power station which has a magnet rotating in a metal coil. The 
rotation 
of the magnet requires the turbines to spin the magnet, the turbines spin 
because of the 
steam produced by the water boiling. The heat is produced by the coal burning 
and the 
coal required decay of wood under pressure, the wood required sunlight to 
produce 
photosynthesis in converting carbon dioxide into wood, and so on. Thus we see 
that 
everything which is limited depends upon something else limited. So the 
question may 
arise: does this series of inter-dependant things go on for infinity or does it 
stop 
somewhere? Because we have established that infinite regression is an 
impossibility 
then it must stop with a first cause i.e. something independent. Now for this 
thing to be 
independent then it must be other than what is dependent i.e. limited and 
finite. 
Therefore it is unlimited and infinite as well as independent.

Now some may criticise this argument by saying that we have assumed that a 
linear 
relationship exists between limited finite things. Thus A depends upon B and B 
depends 
upon C and so on in a linear relationship. And for things that depend upon each 
other in 
a linear relationship then it is true that there must be something independent. 
However, 
some may argue: what if there exists a cyclical dependency as is the cause with 
the 
water cycle. So the seas depend upon the rain, the rain depends upon the clouds 
and 
the clouds depend upon evaporation of water from the seas. Thus each up holds 
the 
other. This is how they say the universe preserves its existence. Therefore the 
universe 
goes through a cycle from the big bang to a big crunch and so on for infinity. 
Yet we 
would clearly ask what initiated the cycle in the first place? For instance if 
the seas 
require the rain before seas are produced and if the rain requires clouds for 
the rain to 
exist and the clouds initially require the seas to exist then we know that each 
thing 
cannot sustain the other without their originally existing a first cause. 
Otherwise the seas, 
clouds and rain wouldn¢t exist. Similarly each finite thing within the universe 
cannot 
depend upon another finite thing within an elaborate cycle as is the case in 
the water 
cycle. That is to say that a first cause i.e. something independent is required 
to exist. So 
if the big bang depended upon the big crunch and that big crunch was dependant 
upon 
a previous big bang then if there was no start to the cycle then neither the 
big bang nor 
the big crunch would exist.

Therefore things which are limited are themselves dependent upon other things 
and 
definitely they require something independent and unlimited to bring them into 
being in 
the first place.

After this has been established still some atheists tried to bring other 
arguments. So 
Bertrand Russel stated that if we accept the premise that every thing has a 
cause then 
the creator is also a thing, therefore who caused the creator?. Again using the 
logical 
style of argumentation they state that there is an inherent contradiction 
within this 
argument. If we were to say that God is uncaused then the atheist would say 
that we 
have contradicted our original premise which was everything has a cause. As a 
result 
they would claim that the universe is uncaused just as some would say that God 
is 
uncaused. However, even if we use the logical style of argumentation, we do not 
state 
that every thing has a cause. Rather from understanding the reality we conclude 
that 
everything that is limited and finite is dependant, or has a cause and that 
because 
infinite regression is impossible there must exist a first cause i.e. something 
independent. That thing which is independent must therefore be something other 
than 
finite and limited. Thus, we would state that it necessarily follows that this 
independent 
thing, which is the sole creator must be infinite and unlimited. So there is no 
inherent 
contradiction and it is unfortunate that such a simple point was missed by a 
philosopher 
whom they called the Socrates of our time.

With regards to this argument that finite limited things depend upon other 
finite limited 
things, certain philosophers state that we presume the relationship of cause 
and effect. 
In essence they deny that cause and effect is an established fact that is true 
for all 
things that are limited. They base their objection to the certainty of cause 
and effect 
upon two areas: firstly they state that cause and effect can not be proven from 
the use 
of empirical thought. And secondly they state that 'empirical' propositions can 
not yield 
certain knowledge. By 'empirical' propositions they mean knowledge which is 
established 
upon experience. For the philosophers they divide knowledge into two kinds one 
which is 
known prior to experience and one which is established upon experience. So for 
example 
mathematics, they would say, is knowledge known prior to experience and this 
type of 
knowledge is true and establishes certainty. Whereas knowledge built upon 
experience 
does not establish absolute certainty. The strength of knowledge built upon 
experience 
is only as strong as the reality we have observed; it could be that there is 
something we 
have not observed or experienced which would change our conclusions. Thus they 
say 
such knowledge is speculative. Because cause and effect is built upon 
experience they 
state that it does not necessarily follow that everything follows this 
relationship, just what 
we have seen so far has followed this relationship.

With regards to the argument that cause and effect can not be established by 
the use of 
empirical thought, it was proposed by David Hume. He stated that it was mere 
coincidence that causal relations seem to exist and that nothing compels one to 
believe 
it to be an actual certainty. So as an example he stated that in order for one 
to produce 
fire a person would need to strike a match. But how can someone sense the 
future 
event. Remember empirical thinking is a reflection of reality yet future events 
are not 
reality thus they cannot be sensed and therefore no certain thought can be 
established. 
However, as we have previously mentioned it is incorrect to assume that thought 
is 
simply a reflection of matter onto the brain. The thinking process does not 
work like that. 
So as an example to illustrate this point, imagine sensing a liquid. After 
sensing the liquid 
we find that it is odourless and colourless and remains liquid at remain 
temperature. 
Hence for that liquid under room conditions it exudes those characteristics. 
This would 
be the absolute thought about such a liquid, meaning we have sensed its whole 
reality 
under room conditions. If we subject this liquid to different conditions for 
example adding 
heat to the liquid and we find that under these conditions it boils at 100 
degrees celcius. 
Then we have conclusively determined that such a liquid exhibits such 
behaviour. In fact 
we identify objects by the attributes it exhibits at different conditions. We 
also distinguish 
attributes according to the different attributes they exhibit under the same 
conditions. So 
if I add heat to two odourless colourless liquids and I find that one boils at 
100 degrees 
celcius and the other boils at 70 degrees celcius then I distinguish the two 
different 
liquids accordingly. So David Hume wrongly assumed that future events are 
speculative, 
that¢s because we identify realities according to the specific attributes that 
are observed 
under different conditions. If for instance we boil a liquid and it did not 
boil at 100 
degrees celcius then we would not call it water we would term it differently. 
For it to be 
called water then such a liquid must always exhibit the same attribute under 
the same 
conditions. If objects did not exhibit continuous attributes then it would be 
impossible to 
distinguish between the reality we live. But the fact is that we do distinguish 
between a 
chair and a table or water and alcohol.

As to the other argument David Hume had against causal relations he stated that 
such 
relationships could not be sensed. So water boiling could be sensed, the heat 
produced 
by the fire underneath the water could also be sensed, but the relationship 
between the 
fire boiling the water could not be sensed as a result thought about causal 
relations 
couldn¢t be established. However, we have already shown the limitations of 
empirical 
thought. In fact, if based upon the use of empirical thinking we deny cause and 
effect 
(causal relations) then we deny empirical thinking itself. This is because 
empirical 
thought requires the implicit acceptance of cause and effect. So 
experimentation and 
testing is done upon matter and the results are observed. Based upon the 
results 
conclusions are made. So the results are but effects resulting from causes. As 
a result to 
deny cause and effect based upon the fact that it doesn¢t fit within the 
empirical thinking 
is a circular argument which ultimately requires one to also deny empirical 
thought itself.

As to the final argument against the certainty of cause and effect they state 
that such 
belief of cause and effect is established upon experience and experience 
doesn¢t yield 
certainty. However, if again we understand the thought process we would 
understand 
that cause and effect can be applied to any given reality that is limited. So 
let consider 
the example of water. Let us say that we were unaware that the particular 
reality before 
us was water. The first thing we sense about this reality is the fact that it 
is limited. We 
also establish that this limited thing (i.e. water) is liquid at room 
conditions. When we 
change the conditions and add heat it boils at 100 degrees celcius and when we 
reduce 
the heat we find that it freezes at 0 degrees celcius. We thus determine this 
reality by its 
attributes of being liquid at room temperature, boiling at 100 degrees and 
freezing at 0 
degrees. As a result we give a term to this reality and call it water. As 
mentioned 
previously if the attributes change then we describe the reality by a different 
name. 
Thus, by sensing the reality of water we have determined two things. Firstly, 
that water 
exhibits specific characteristics e.g. boiling 100 degrees celcius, and 
secondly that 
limited and finite things require a cause (which in the case of water was 
specific 
conditions) in order to produce an effect (i.e, the observation of the 
attributes). 
Therefore, in order to distinguish limited things we need to know its 
attributes, and 
attributes are determined according to its cause and effect. Thus, for 
something not to 
be determined according to cause and effect then it would have to be other than 
limited. 
Similarly for something to be other than water it must have different 
attributes to water. 
To be other than limited would require it to be unlimited, yet everything we 
sense is 
limited, thus it is determined by cause and effect and for it to be unlimited 
it must be the 
Creator and as a result we can state that the creator is not determined by 
cause and 
effect.

What has been demonstrated is that cause and effect is a definite reality when 
associated with things that are limited and finite. Hence, the argument that 
has been 
used above to prove that the creator exists based upon the fact that limited 
things within 
the universe depend upon other limited things which ultimately require 
something 
independent and unlimited is a true argument.

The argument above is a particular variance of the kalam cosmological argument. 
Another variance of this argument is to establish that the universe is limited. 
Because we 
have proven the general principle that limited things are dependent then if the 
universe 
is limited then it too is dependant. In order to prove the universe is limited 
then we state 
that the universe is the sum of limited things. And the sum of limited things 
is irrefutably 
limited. Some thinkers have tried to argue that the sum of limited things can 
add up to 
infinity. They give as an example numbers, which they say, goes on forever. 
However, 
does that mean we can count to infinity? The answer is definitely no. It is 
impossible to 
start from something which is finite and count to infinity, that¢s because 
every number 
you reach is a finite number thus we cannot cross the infinite barrier. Some 
have argued 
that although starting from a finite number that it is true one cannot then 
reach infinity 
but what if in origin infinity always existed? Meaning that there already 
existed an infinite 
sum of finite things. David Hilbert the famous mathematician discussed this and 
concluded that absurdities arise when infinite sum of finite things is assumed. 
In order to 
understand this, imagine if you will an infinite sum of marbles. If we were to 
halve the 
marbles then both halves would be equal to infinity. In fact any fraction of 
the infinite sum 
of marbles would equal infinity. This then produces an apparent contradiction 
that the 
part is equal to the whole. Further if we were to take three marbles out of the 
infinite sum 
of marbles then the remaining marbles would still equal to infinity. But the 3 
marbles that 
have been taken out would be a fraction of the overall marbles. Yet this 
contradicts the 
principle we established earlier which is that every fraction of the infinite 
sum of marbles 
would equal to infinity. Yet the three marbles do not equal infinity. Thus 
something 
cannot be infinite and finite at the same time, because of this and many other 
contradictions it is absolutely clear that the sum of finite things must be 
finite. And 
because the universe is made up of finite bodies within space, and because we 
can 
measure parts of the universe which are finite distances then the whole 
universe is finite. 
Similarly another analogy can be used, imagine standing on an island and all 
around the 
island is the ocean. Although, one may not see the end of the ocean we can 
establish 
that the ocean is finite and doesn¢t go on forever. That is done by simply 
taking a glass 
of water out from the ocean, hence decreasing the ocean. Infinity cannot be 
increased 
nor decreased yet the sum of finite things is something that can be increased 
and 
decreased.

Therefore, the universe which is the sum of limited things must be limited and 
all limited 
things are subject to cause and effect and thus depend upon something other 
than itself 
i.e. a Creator.

Similarly time which is the interval between series of events taking place in a 
chronological order must have a beginning. This is due to two reasons, firstly, 
the sum of 
events must be finite and not infinite, because of the principle proven above 
which states 
the sum of finite things is irrefutably finite. In addition, if time had no 
beginning then we 
would not reach this moment in time. This is because, this moment in time is 
dependent 
upon a series of past events. If there was no beginning event in time then we 
would not 
reach the present. By proving, that time has a beginning we have proven that 
anything 
that resides in time including the universe must have a beginning also. 
Therefore, only 
something that is independent of time could have originated time and the 
universe itself, 
that is to say the Creator.

As a concluding remark, in order to appreciate the various proofs of the 
creator one 
must be fully acquainted with the correct method of thinking. Through the 
correct method 
of thinking we are able to assess the proofs to establish our arguments. 
Further, the 
refutation of the counter arguments can be clearly understood by understanding 
the 
method or style of thinking they employ. By understanding logic and empirical 
thinking 
we can understand its strengths and weaknesses and when it can be applied and 
when 
it fails to establish any proofs. Thus we avoid falling into error and by using 
the rational 
method of thinking we can establish the correct conclusion about man, life and 
the 
universe.

That is to say that man life and the universe are all limited and all things 
that are limited 
are dependant, further all of the things that are limited cannot arrange a 
system for 
themselves but depend upon some other to determine its system for organising 
society. 
Clearly then there must exist an all powerful independent Creator, who decided 
to 
create. That is the Lord and Creator of everything.


       
____________________________________________________________________________________
Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. 
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



Bagi yang ingin menyumbang untuk pendirian TV Komunitas Madani Depok bisa 
transfer ke:
Bank Syariah Mandiri KCP Margonda Depok.  No. Rek. 0670010778 a.n BURSA AMAL 
MADANI
Mohon konfirmasi nama, besar sumbangan, tanggal ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Contact Person: pak Hafiz 021 92805591 / 08128508057, Al Qudwah, Jl Beringin 
No. 1, Jl. Margonda Raya Depok
http://islamicbroadcasting.wordpress.com 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syiar-islam/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syiar-islam/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
    mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [EMAIL PROTECTED]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 

Kirim email ke