WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- An Introduction
Ever consider this one? Where in the world did the universe come from? Pretty profound isn’t it? Well is there a rational and satisfying answer to the question?

WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- Accounting for the Universe
Just how do we account for the universe in which we live? A lot of people do not realize that there are a very limited number of explanations for the existence of the universe. The first explanation is commonly referred to as a form of solipsism or the concept that the universe in which we live is merely an illusion. Now to argue that the world is an illusion violates common sense and experience (even a full blown solipsist looks both ways before he crosses the street).

WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- Self-Creating?
A second possibility is that the world created itself. This is irrational in the extreme. For something to create itself, it would have to exist before it was created, and that’s absurd. Something cannot both exist and not exist at the same time and in the same way (the law of noncontradiction).

WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- Creation Ex-Nihilo?
A third possibility is that the universe sprang from nothing and by nothing. This, however, is also irrational. Out of nothing comes nothing and an effect can’t be greater than its cause — and in this case the cause would be nothing. One of the basic laws of physics, the law of conservation says, “from nothing, comes nothing.” Energy can neither be created or destroyed.

WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- Eternal Universe?
The fourth possibility is that the universe is eternal. This view directly contradicts the facts of science which teach that the universe had a specific beginning and that the world is now gradually running down (like a watch).

WHAT IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT- In the Beginning…
Well, there’s one more possibility and this is that the universe was brought into existence by an incredibly powerful Being. And, because this Being created personality, He Himself, is a personal Being. Now here’s what I would say: the most rational thing we can say in an age of scientific enlightenment is exactly what the Bible teaches: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Ultimately the biblical explanation for the universe is the only rational alternative, there are no others.On the explanation of the universe and the question “What is the Cosmological Argument”, that’s the CRI Perspective. I’m Hank Hanegraaff.