Skip to content
On this page

Young Academic Atheist Asks Muslim Questions (2019-12-09)

Description

A brilliant young man makes a series of interrogations in relation to the contigency argument for God's existence.

Full video on SALAM Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPder2zVuYI&t=3s

Kalam Cosmological Arguments Book here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kalam-Cosmological-Arguments-Mohammed-Hijab/dp/1098544021/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mohammed+hijab&qid=1575909497&sr=8-1

Summary of Young Academic Atheist Asks Muslim Questions

*This summary is AI generated - there may be inaccuracies.

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

The young academic atheist and the Muslim discuss the argument of contingency. The young atheist argues that the Kalam cosmological argument is based on shaky premises. He also discusses three reasons why he believes that there could be more than one necessary existence. Finally, he argues that an independent existence must exist in order for everything else to exist.

00:00:00 The young academic atheist talks with a Muslim about the argument of contingency. He notes that theargument can be done through either causation or explanation, and that there is a difference of opinion on the strength of the argument. He says that the Kalam cosmologicalargument, which he holds to be stronger, is based on shaky premises.

  • 00:05:00 The young atheist discusses three reasons why he believes that there could be more than one necessary existence. He points out that the William Lane Craig types of arguments are not necessarily one argument, and that movement is not logically time. He also argues that Christian beliefs are additional information that we come to know through revelation.
  • 00:10:00 The young academic atheist discusses why an independent existence must exist in order for everything else to exist. He argues that the universe is not the necessary existence, and that another explanation must be found for why everything exists.

Full transcript with timestamps: CLICK TO EXPAND

0:00:08 salamualikum' when I met you I better
0:00:09 care to pose this isn't dear friends
0:00:11 online EFT we have Jacob handsome man
0:00:14 charismatic his defense is impregnable
0:00:18 on my right we have a boy jockey so we
0:00:24 have my mini jab and Paulo Jacob Jacob
0:00:26 are smoking some couple of weeks ago
0:00:27 about contingency and he just wants to
0:00:29 ask me some questions I'm gonna be back
0:00:36 I'll give it to him I'll give it to him
0:00:43 so can you introduce yourself tell me
0:00:46 what who you are what you support what
0:00:48 your background is and why you wanted to
0:00:50 talk to me I've been wanting to meet a
0:01:02 little bit of a fan boy and I disagree
0:01:05 with pretty much everything he says but
0:01:06 in terms of a sort of intellectually
0:01:08 debating type fella he's a bit of a bit
0:01:12 of a hero of mine especially after
0:01:13 watching to be honest I don't fit cosmic
0:01:15 skeptic corazon in that the paper
0:01:17 reviews to be honest with general
0:01:22 non-believer libertarian nationalist
0:01:25 type as well but against against anyone
0:01:32 who's to support violence well i think i
0:01:34 find that i reconcile I love Tommy very
0:01:37 easily although he's a violent person
0:01:38 nothing yet he made some mistakes in his
0:01:40 past but I think he's a very good man I
0:01:41 think he's fighting for England as I do
0:01:44 for a lot of someone who's described me
0:01:49 as a hero and Tim Robinson is a urinal
0:01:51 is a very possible in very different
0:01:54 whoa all right so you said you read my
0:01:57 book
0:01:57 I wanna come inside so what kind of
0:02:00 we'll talk about Kalam cosmological
0:02:02 arguments well I'll make the kind of
0:02:04 what's referred to as the argument of
0:02:06 contingency yeah - yeah
0:02:08 what Leibniz is who kind of he's my main
0:02:11 proponent now yeah well Aristotle had
0:02:14 his own version right the Greeks had
0:02:16 their own version yet the Arabs and then
0:02:18 the Enlightenment all right so what were
0:02:21 your thoughts on the argument can you
0:02:23 summarize what you understand from okay
0:02:25 so as I understand it thank you it's
0:02:27 sort of it's basically Aquinas its Third
0:02:29 Way isn't it he's I think it's his third
0:02:31 way he says he he says I think yeah and
0:02:33 I'm glad that sort of adapted it from
0:02:34 him he says there are contingent things
0:02:36 or possible existences in this world and
0:02:39 obviously everything needs to have some
0:02:42 sort of cause otherwise it wouldn't be
0:02:43 contingent and this must be basically a
0:02:46 chain of causality terminating in a
0:02:48 necessary being and we the Christian or
0:02:50 the Muslim cause that being God correct
0:02:53 me nervous yes you're right some extent
0:02:56 there are two ways there's two ways of
0:02:57 doing contingency right one of them is
0:03:01 through causality and the other one is
0:03:02 through explanation that's traditionally
0:03:05 so in other words there the contingency
0:03:07 argument or what I think I think it is a
0:03:11 Kalam cosmological argument as well yeah
0:03:13 I disagree with that yeah there's a
0:03:15 difference of opinion on either way it
0:03:18 can either be done from close ality or
0:03:20 it can be done through a explanation it
0:03:23 doesn't need causation right but yeah
0:03:26 you could go through that way and say
0:03:28 okay well if you believe in there's an
0:03:30 effect
0:03:31 a priori as well as cosmologically like
0:03:35 in other words things in the
0:03:37 cosmological environment which are
0:03:39 affected by something have a course a
0:03:42 phenomena which has something that
0:03:45 brought rise to it which is the textbook
0:03:48 definition of the course hi basically
0:03:53 has a course that phenomena has a cause
0:03:55 if you believe in that a priori or if
0:03:58 you believe in that even from a
0:03:59 cosmological perspective you could argue
0:04:01 that well then they have to have a first
0:04:04 cause or whatever right but that's not
0:04:06 the only way of doing contingency so you
0:04:08 can do it through dependents as well
0:04:12 yeah yeah so what what do you think
0:04:15 about their argument about the
0:04:17 dependency one yeah yeah so I separate
0:04:20 that by the way from the clan the kalam
0:04:22 I hold to be the sort of traditional one
0:04:23 the Craig popularized the sort of you
0:04:26 whatever it begins to exist as cause
0:04:28 universe began to exist therefore
0:04:29 therefore God basically and then the
0:04:31 contingency one I think I think it's
0:04:34 stronger to be honest of you I mean the
0:04:35 Kalam really is on shaky ground on both
0:04:38 its premises but the contingency one is
0:04:39 more it's much more impressive because
0:04:41 at face value it does seem as if okay
0:04:44 you know an infinite regression seems
0:04:46 incompatible with everything that we
0:04:48 understand about the world and so it
0:04:51 sort of it seems very reasonable to say
0:04:53 yes this this must terminate somewhere
0:04:55 in necessity I think it's a bit of a
0:04:58 leap that they then call that God so
0:05:00 people like David Toombs said no why
0:05:01 can't it be I think I was using the
0:05:03 persona of Cleon theis he said like
0:05:05 although he said he says first to his
0:05:09 debate he says first first of all you
0:05:12 know you're assuming that there is
0:05:13 something necessary being a no hehe t he
0:05:15 doubts whether you can even use the term
0:05:17 necessary with us having any coherent
0:05:19 meaning and then he says okay suppose
0:05:21 suppose there is he says why can't this
0:05:24 just be the totality of the universe and
0:05:26 then so for me there's several issues
0:05:28 with it it says for one if there is
0:05:30 something necessary okay it could just
0:05:32 be the totality of all that exists I
0:05:34 realize there's problems with analyst
0:05:35 per implanted pattern argument you make
0:05:37 one could simply be that there that
0:05:40 there are just contingent things okay
0:05:42 and it doesn't seem like sort of logical
0:05:45 you know 100% that there must be
0:05:46 something necessary see well I say these
0:05:51 are the two main the other problem is
0:05:52 from an objective is going to be right
0:05:54 we might say you know necessary could is
0:05:57 anything that you you couldn't conceive
0:06:00 like you couldn't conceive otherwise
0:06:02 like some people say no the planet
0:06:05 Jupiter is actually necessary and you
0:06:07 might say are you can conceive of a
0:06:09 planet Jupiter not being there I can you
0:06:11 really is impossible to I'm not sure if
0:06:14 you can conceive of a universe in which
0:06:15 there are things that are not there
0:06:17 which leads me to believe maybe there
0:06:19 are more than one necessary existences
0:06:22 so that's about three arguments in one
0:06:24 all right so the first thing you
0:06:26 mentioned was that the first thing you
0:06:28 mentioned was the the William Lane Craig
0:06:30 types of modes both he wrote a book in
0:06:32 79 called Kalam cosmological argument
0:06:34 why would he still Carolyn because words
0:06:36 go give us so with that the reason why I
0:06:39 called it that is to show that this is
0:06:41 not one argument right they wonder
0:06:49 William Lane Craig focuses on is the has
0:06:52 alien was but even as early in his most
0:06:55 famous book at horrific philosopher
0:06:57 which is the incoherence of the
0:06:59 philosophers good even he he postulates
0:07:03 more than one argument which is so he
0:07:06 makes an argument from movement which is
0:07:07 quite similar to you talking about - he
0:07:11 says look he says that
0:07:13 for example this is one of his other
0:07:15 because you talked about one of his
0:07:16 arguments he mentioned it someone of his
0:07:17 book he says everything that begins to
0:07:19 exist has a cause the universe began to
0:07:21 die l'm by the way the universe is not a
0:07:24 good translation of what the hell he
0:07:25 actually said he says the world hasn't
0:07:27 began to exist not the universe the
0:07:30 universe is a new term right so he says
0:07:32 Allah eylem
0:07:33 or the the world began to exist
0:07:35 therefore the world hasn't course right
0:07:38 so it William Lane Craig latched on to
0:07:41 this he makes all his make if you see
0:07:43 William Lane Craig argue that's he
0:07:45 that's like necessarily made that
0:07:47 argument and more than that argument so
0:07:49 for example he said look one of his
0:07:51 arguments I made which is also a
0:07:52 cosmological argument because a
0:07:54 cosmological argument is an argument
0:07:55 that makes reference to the cosmos
0:07:58 literally to the world around us he said
0:08:01 look he said that movement is really
0:08:04 what is its time and movement the time
0:08:09 has paid he says look he says that if
0:08:12 you believe in movement he made an
0:08:14 argument for movement the first mover
0:08:15 argument which is the same argument as I
0:08:17 started to say if you believe in time he
0:08:19 believed in movement so long as there is
0:08:21 time there is movement and if there is
0:08:23 and if and if there is movement there
0:08:25 must be a mover that's another argument
0:08:27 right so the argument i Rossella made
0:08:29 the argument has Allah made the argument
0:08:32 I V Sanders didn't reject the argument
0:08:34 what Abby said is not about that in his
0:08:36 book he said look he suggests if you eat
0:08:39 and this is a good point I'll be son I
0:08:41 said just because there's a first mover
0:08:43 it doesn't necessarily
0:08:47 is the cause of everything that exists
0:08:48 yes so you can believe in a DA stick
0:08:51 first mover yeah you can believe in the
0:08:53 Albert Einstein grab anyway the first
0:08:55 mover argument may it may give us
0:08:58 evidence that there were there was in
0:09:00 fact a first mover or an eternal mover
0:09:02 however it doesn't give us evidence that
0:09:04 that move has intelligence without that
0:09:06 mover is equivalent to make chart from
0:09:07 the isn't it absolutely yes now all of
0:09:10 the argument look I'll be frank with you
0:09:11 the maximum we can prove from a logical
0:09:13 perspective is deistic really
0:09:16 yeah if you put a look if you if you
0:09:21 define theism as a as a personal God
0:09:24 then you cut there's no real first
0:09:27 principles you can use to establish them
0:09:29 here's what we say we say as Muslims is
0:09:31 that our fundamental foundational
0:09:33 definition of God doesn't depend
0:09:35 necessarily on a personal God that's
0:09:38 additional information that we've got
0:09:40 Christian yeah
0:09:42 that's additional information that we
0:09:44 only come to know it's so facto through
0:09:46 revelation so look the necessary causes
0:09:49 this everything in the world is
0:09:51 dependent whether like this book is
0:09:54 dependent on the materials oh whatever
0:09:56 and it goes back and you can't have that
0:09:59 process not going back to something
0:10:00 which is necessary in other words
0:10:02 something which does not depend on
0:10:04 anything else simply simple as that so
0:10:07 you have to have an independent to have
0:10:08 all other dependent things if you want
0:10:11 to simplify the argument to the lowest
0:10:12 common multiple you have to have an
0:10:14 independent to have all other
0:10:16 dependencies what are the attributes of
0:10:19 that independent that independent must
0:10:21 be eternal because it couldn't be
0:10:23 conceived of any other way at any other
0:10:25 time so it has to be like that forever
0:10:27 in the past put a pre-eternal and
0:10:30 post-eternal it has to be necessary in
0:10:32 the fact that it can't be conceived of
0:10:34 any other way and it has to be this has
0:10:38 to be the reason for everything else
0:10:39 that exists the ultimate reason so your
0:10:42 objection that you mentioned about the
0:10:44 universe being the universe it's not
0:10:45 actually an objection because all you're
0:10:47 doing is you're saying that I believe in
0:10:49 an unnecessary since Canon can be can
0:10:52 exist what that necessary existence
0:10:54 could be the universe
0:10:56 so someone could say okay well so you
0:10:58 agree with the premise of the argument
0:10:59 that you just agree with the nature of
0:11:01 the necessary existence
0:11:03 so really the postulation which is what
0:11:05 Bertrand Russell kind of alluded to
0:11:07 himself and others as well that you know
0:11:09 the universes is the necessary existence
0:11:11 is not I think it comes from yes because
0:11:15 he came before but you the point is that
0:11:17 if you say that it's not a rejection of
0:11:19 the argument then you see the point so
0:11:22 you accept the argument but you just
0:11:24 have a different nature you have a
0:11:25 different understanding of what could be
0:11:27 right yes I wouldn't use the word go out
0:11:31 the necessary so at this point that's
0:11:35 not a rejection it's not it's not an
0:11:37 objection to the argument or a rejection
0:11:39 of the ugh yeah you agree the argument
0:11:41 but it's okay it could be the universe
0:11:42 oh no problem so now we won't rule the
0:11:44 universe out but for now we'll explain
0:11:46 why it won't be the universe in a second
0:11:48 right but for now but let's agree that
0:11:50 first of all you accept that there must
0:11:52 be a necessary existence