New Book on the Kalām Cosmological Argument

One of the most popular and intriguing arguments in favour of God's existence is the Kalām Cosmological Argument (KCA). For the past several years, the KCA has fascinated me, so much so that I wrote my doctoral dissertation on it, spent my post-doctoral research on it, and wrote an academic book on it. The book is titled The Kalām Cosmological Argument: A Reassessment, and in it I do two things. First, I offer a fresh look at the historical background of the KCA by exploring the early statements of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, and evaluating Philoponus and al-Ghazali's arguments in favour of a beginning of the universe. This part of the book will interest the historian, theologian, and layperson interested in the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. Second, I assess and defend the KCA from a unique perspective. Something that has troubled me about many versions of the KCA is the Infinity Argument, that is, the argument that claims that the universe had a beginning because an actual infinite is impossible. In the book I argue that the Infinity Argument is not a good argument in favour of theism because it is incompatible with Platonism or Realism, it relies on controversial metaphysical intuitions, and it is inconsistent with God's foreknowledge of the endless future (Yes, I know, Craig has postulated that God's knowledge is a simple undivided intuition. I deal with this idea in the book). Having argued against the Infinity Argument, I offer three philosophical arguments in favour of a cosmic beginning that the proponents of the KCA may use. I then jump to modern cosmology and argue that (i) an eternal cosmological model cannot, by itself, justify belief in an eternal universe, and that (ii) the hypothesis that the universe had a beginning is presently the best explanation of the discoveries of modern cosmology. Finally, I defend the premise that if the universe came into existence, then God brought it into existence. I do this by (among other things) offering an unusual defence of the Principle of Sufficient Reason. If you wish to know more, grab a copy of the book on Amazon. And please, follow me on Facebook or keep an eye on my list of publications. Above all, however, love the Lord.