¿Existe Dios?

Debate: Matt Slick

vs
Eddie Tabash

www.carm.org
Copyright Matt Slick
Dos Tipos de Infinitos

Infinito Real
e
Infinito Potencial
 Infinito Real
• Un Infinito Real es una totalidad atemporal que no
aumenta ni disminuye con el numero de miembros que
contiene.
• Ejemplo: El numero de puntos de una linea es un infinito real; no
existe un numero exacto, numero finito.
• Problemas con los infinitos reales:
• Consideremos una larga linea de de dominos en el universo. Si
sacamos la mitad de esa linea, aun tendremos un numero infinito.
Pero, la mitad del infinito original contiene el mismo numero de
dominos que el infinito original. Esto significaría que la mitad de la
totalidad es igual a la totalidad. Esto no puede ser.
• Un reloj infinitamente viejo. El horario hace un recorido del reloj 2
veces al dia. El minutero 24 veces por dia. Pero, una cantidad
infinita de tiempo resulta en que tanto el munitero como el horario
han tenido un numero de rotaciones iguales aunque el minutero
tiene 12 veces mas rotaciones que el horario. Esto no puede ser.
• Por lo tanto los infinitos reales no existen.
 Infinito Potencial
• Cada adicion resulta en un set finito mas largo. Un
infinito potencial se compone de una cantidad finita
que incrementa su numero en el tiempo al agregar
miembros.
– Ejemplo: Al dividir una linea a la mitad, y luego a la mitad,
y a la mitad nuevamente resulta en una cantidad finita de
divisiones. Es posible continuar haciendo esto, aunque en
cada division, un numero finito de divisiones aun exista.

1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2

No es posible atravesar un infinito real, 1
• Imaginemos una linea de dominos infinita y
atemporal.
• Al atravesar por la linea de dominos, para llegar a
cualquier domino en particular es necesario
atravesar un numero infinito de ellos para llegar a
cualquier domino.
Pero un numero infinito de dominos no
pueden ser atravesados, de otra forma
no sería infinito. Es asi, que no podemos
tener un infinito real de dominos.
 No podemos cruzar un Infinito Real, 2
• De igual manera, si cada domino representa un segundo
y cada domino cayese uno tras otro, representando
sucesivos momentos en el tiempo, la linea de dominos
no podría ser infinita desde el pasado porque…
• No podría haber existido un primer domino
cayendo. Si no hay primero, no puede haber
segundo, ni tercero, ni los siguientes.
• Por lo tanto, un infinito real
(un numero infinito y atemporal)
de sucesivos eventos en el
pasado es imposible.
 Summary Regarding Actual
Infinite
• An actual infinite of successive events in the past is
logically impossible because …
• It would require traversing an infinite number
of events which cannot be done.
• There would be no first event. If there is
no first event, there cannot be a second, or a third,
and no following series of events.
Therefore, there must be a
beginning of events.
Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence
• The universe exists
• There are only two options
available to account for the
Universe: It had a beginning or
it did not have a beginning.
• If the universe had no beginning,
then it is either Eternally Static or
Eternally non-Static (Oscillating)
• If the universe had a beginning, then something brought the universe
into existence.
• There are only two options available to account for the cause of the
existence of the universe
• First Option: Impersonal Cause of the universe
• Second Option: Personal Cause of the universe.
 Only two options available to
account for the Universe
• The Universe had a beginning
or it had no beginning.
• “Beginning” and “no beginning” is
an antonymic pair.
• Antonyms are opposites. “Beginning” and “no
beginning” means there is no third option. Therefore,
it is not a false dichotomy since no other options are
possible.
If the universe had no beginning,
then it is either Eternally Static or
Eternally non-Static (Oscillating)

Eternally Static

TIME

Eternally Oscillating
 Eternally Static Universe: The
universe has always existed.
• This does not agree with Cosmic Microwave
Background Radiation (CMBR) which shows the
universe had a beginning.
• The universe always existing would be impossible
since it would mean the universe had an infinite
number of successive events (atoms moving, stars
forming, etc.), before we got to now. But this is
impossible as we have seen above.
• Conclusion: The universe is not infinitely old. It had a
beginning.
 Eternally non Static,
or Oscillating Universe
• The universe forms, collapses, forms, collapses, forever
• This does not agree with the 2nd law of thermodynamics. The
universe, as a whole, is a closed system. There is no known
mechanism for a 100% efficient exchange of energy in
formation and reformation.
• An eternally oscillating universe would require an infinite
number of oscillations but this is impossible since it would
mean the universe had an infinite number of successive
events.
• Conclusion: The universe had a beginning and could not have
been eternally oscillating.
If the universe had a beginning,
then something brought the
universe into existence.

? made
 There are only two options to
account for the cause of the
existence of the universe:

FIRST OPTION:
IMPERSONAL CAUSE
SECOND OPTION:

PERSONAL CAUSE
 First Option: Impersonal Cause of the
Universe

• Only two possible options

• First Option: The universe brought itself
into existence
• Second Option: The universe was caused
to exist
Impersonal Cause
(Either it caused itself to exist or was caused to exist)
 Impersonal Cause, First option: the
universe brought itself into existence
This is not possible because in order for an
action to occur, something has to cause the
action. A cause is itself an action. An action
results from something that exists prior to it.
But if something has no existence (nothing),
then it has no prior existence, no properties, no
abilities, and cannot perform any actions.
Therefore, nothing comes from
nothing and the universe did not
bring itself into existence.
 Impersonal Cause, Second option:
The universe was caused to exist by
an impersonal means.
• Whatever caused the universe to exist,
existed prior to the universe.
• This existence was ontologically prior (essence/nature),
not temporally prior to the universe.
• In Mr. Tabash’s debate with Phil Fernandez he said at 54:44, “We
can’t even speak of a cause [of the universe] because there was no time
and space for sequential causation to play out before the big bang
occurred.”
• Two things to note here:
• Mr. Tabash denies temporality before the universe.
• Mr. Tabash, by his own admission, cannot offer us a cause of
the universe.
 An impersonal, ontologically prior
cause either existed in a timeless and
changeless state or it did not.
• Quentin Smith (an atheist), Professor of Philosophy who
is listed under Suggested Links on Eddie Tabash’s site
(tabash.com) said, “…that the cause of spacetime exists
timelessly.”
• Timeless, Changeless state: An impersonal, ontologically
prior cause existing in a timeless and changeless state
cannot perform an action since it can’t suddenly decide
to do anything. It just is.
• Conclusion: an impersonal, timeless, ontological prior
cause could not have brought the universe into
existence.
 Non-Timeless, Changing State
• If the impersonal, ontologically prior cause existed in non-
timeless and non-changeless state then whatever caused it to
change is a prior cause which would be a cause external to
itself.
• We then must ask what caused that prior cause, and the cause
before that, etc. This would mean that no matter how far back
we go, we would never find the first event. With no first event,
there can be no second, no third, etc., and nothing would ever
happen.
• Remember: an infinite regression of prior causes would mean
there is an infinite regression of uncaused causes which would
have to be traversed before we found the cause of the
universe, but this is impossible since an actual infinite of
successive events in the past is logically impossible.
 Conclusion regarding an
Impersonal Cause of the Universe
• Neither the Impersonal-Timeless-Changeless-State or
the Impersonal-Non-Timeless-Non-Changeless-State
can account for the beginning of the universe.

Impersonal Cause
 Two options
• When we have only two options to account for
something (impersonal and personal) and one of
them is negated, then by default the other is
validated. Since the Impersonal Cause cannot
account for the beginning of the universe, the
only option left is the Personal Cause.
IMPERSONAL PERSONAL
CAUSE CAUSE
• That Personal Cause is God.
 Second Option:
Personal Cause of the Universe
• There are only two options to account for a Personal
Being to Act to create the universe: External and
Internal Cause.
• An External Cause would only brings the issue of
causation back to its prior cause, and its cause, for
infinity, which cannot happen since we cannot have an
infinite regression of causes.
• An Internal Cause in a Personal Being would be self
determined, a Decision to Act.
• Therefore, the Personal Cause of the Universe made a
decision to act and created the universe.