Haworth's 10 Ways #1: The Cosmological Argument (Part 2)

God not only caused the universe to come into being, he also causes the world to continue to be: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1.17). The second form of the cosmological argument is the “vertical argument”, which aims to demonstrate the continuing need for a creator. The most famous proponent of this argument was Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274). It aims to answer the question: “why is there something right now, rather than nothing?” It basically rolls out as follows:

Something is keeping us in existence right now so we don’t just disappear. Something not only caused the world to come into being but something causes it to continue to be. The world needs both an originating cause and a conserving cause. This can be demonstrated by the following argument:

b.) A Conserving Cause

1. Every part of the universe is dependant.
2. If every part is dependant, then the whole universe must be dependant.
3. Therefore, the whole universe is dependant for existence right now on some Independent Being.

It can be argued that the second premise is faulty. After all, who is to say the whole universe is dependant? The whole universe may have a characteristic quite different to that possessed by its parts. However, intuitively at least, we must say that there is a necessary connection between the parts and the whole. If every piece of a floor is a tile, then the floor is tile. If every part of the universe is dependant, the universe is a dependant entity. Being dependant is the nature of the universe.

One dependant being cannot sustain another dependant being. I cannot will you to continue to exist; you exist, or cease to exist, independently of my will. I cannot, by the sheer dint of my personal efforts, eradicate the fact of death in the world, or put a stop to the birth rate that persists day-by-day. Similarly, I am dependant on factors outside my control. There is an infinite array of factors and mechanisms I am not even aware of that are presently sustaining my very life. There is a fundamental dependency that defines life in this universe. We are dependant on factors and forces that we are powerless to stop or influence. The same goes for every life-form on the face of the earth. There are factors that inevitably support life and factors which immediately cause death, irrespective of our perceived ability to be independent of circumstances around us. We are dependant beings. If we, and indeed every part of the universe is dependant (whether dependant on life-supporting factors (for example, oxygen) or basic physical laws (for example, gravity or very precise molecular and atomic make-up), it follows that the whole universe (being the sum of its parts) is dependant on some Independent Being for its existence right now.

Ultimately, the whole universe cannot be greater than its parts; if the contingent (dependant) parts which make up the universe as a whole were to vanish then the whole universe would vanish. Evidently then, the whole universe is basically dependant. This coheres with the Biblical witness found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In God all things hold together and have their being; “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1.17). The universe is dependant on its existence, moment by moment, on the God who created it from nothing in the beginning.