A Sentient Singular Being | The Evidence Course | Session 2 / Part 5 (2021-08-04) #

0:00:15 so we've proven that there is a
0:00:17 necessary
0:00:18 independent creator that exists
0:00:21 and that created or is the created and
0:00:24 also
0:00:24 the explanation for the existence of
0:00:27 contingent possible beings
0:00:29 we've established that fact but some
0:00:32 people they argue
0:00:34 how do we know that the this necessary
0:00:36 being
0:00:37 has you know is is a what they term a
0:00:40 god
0:00:41 how do we know it's some a personal
0:00:43 agent that chose
0:00:44 that made decisions that is self-aware
0:00:48 couldn't there be an in unlimited
0:00:50 independent
0:00:52 you know uh being out there that is a
0:00:54 mechanical force
0:00:56 couldn't the cosmos be considered that
0:00:59 necessary being
0:01:00 couldn't there be some subatomic quantum
0:01:02 field particle or whatever
0:01:04 that could be a necessary being that's
0:01:06 always existed
0:01:08 well we say no and we said no for a
0:01:10 number of reasons
0:01:12 the first one is because these things
0:01:14 that they point to
0:01:16 are limited finite and therefore
0:01:19 dependent
0:01:19 i they are contingent possible beings so
0:01:22 therefore you need something outside of
0:01:24 space and time outside of what occupies
0:01:27 the limited nature
0:01:29 of the cosmos or the universe the second
0:01:32 thing is this
0:01:33 is that when we ask about the the
0:01:35 question about
0:01:36 could the creator this this creator out
0:01:39 there
0:01:39 could it be a non-sentient force this
0:01:42 unlimited being could it be a
0:01:43 non-sentient force
0:01:45 we say no it can't be a non-sentient
0:01:48 force
0:01:48 for a number of reasons one of the
0:01:50 examples that is given
0:01:52 was he given by imam ghazali and he
0:01:55 talked about this
0:01:56 in his incoherence of the philosophers
0:01:58 and he addresses the one of these
0:02:00 contentions that god is not
0:02:02 a self-aware willing creator
0:02:05 he is some sort of mechanical force that
0:02:08 had to create
0:02:09 the uh the the effects or had to create
0:02:12 the universe around us
0:02:14 and he said in paraphrase in summary
0:02:17 that if you've got an eternal course you
0:02:20 will have
0:02:21 an eternal effect effect yeah so you
0:02:24 just think about this
0:02:26 if you got a cause so the thing
0:02:29 everything necessary for the cause to
0:02:32 create an effect
0:02:33 then what you're going to have you're
0:02:35 going to have an effect
0:02:37 so he gives an example of the sun
0:02:40 he says as soon as the sun rises you
0:02:43 have light
0:02:44 it's never the case that the sun rises
0:02:46 and you don't have light
0:02:48 or the sun rises and decides you know or
0:02:51 or you know instead of light 20 minutes
0:02:54 later this light
0:02:56 or two three hours later this light as
0:02:58 soon as the sun rises
0:03:00 there is light so he says as soon as you
0:03:03 have the cause
0:03:04 you have the effect the cause here is
0:03:06 the sun
0:03:07 and the effect is the light that is in
0:03:09 things that don't
0:03:10 choose so as soon as you have the cause
0:03:13 you have the effect
0:03:14 it matters that don't choose for
0:03:16 themselves
0:03:17 the effect or the creation
0:03:20 so he said or moving on to what his
0:03:24 point was
0:03:25 was that well what you have here is an
0:03:28 eternal cause the creator
0:03:31 but the effect which is the creation is
0:03:34 not eternal
0:03:36 it's temporal meaning it had a beginning
0:03:39 so even if you talk about modern science
0:03:41 which says that the universe is 13.78
0:03:43 billion years old
0:03:45 we know it had a beginning yeah whether
0:03:48 that's 13.78 billion years ago
0:03:50 more or less yeah whatever you know
0:03:53 we understand and even if people say oh
0:03:56 what came before the universe we know
0:03:58 that an infinite regress
0:03:59 has to have a beginning so we know that
0:04:01 the effect
0:04:02 the limited contingent beings have a
0:04:05 beginning
0:04:06 in time they're not always in existence
0:04:08 but we know that the creator the
0:04:10 necessary being
0:04:11 has always an existence but the effect
0:04:14 is not always existing
0:04:16 so what is that what is the the variable
0:04:19 then
0:04:20 that is affecting or making it
0:04:23 changing the fact that you have an
0:04:25 effect a temporal effect
0:04:27 within eternal cause the variable the
0:04:30 only explanation that we have
0:04:31 is the fact that the creator chose to
0:04:34 create
0:04:35 willed it that the creation came about
0:04:38 not only this but we see fixed patterns
0:04:42 within the universe the universe doesn't
0:04:44 have to have
0:04:45 those fixed patterns that's why we
0:04:48 understand that they're contingent
0:04:50 but they are those particular patterns
0:04:52 as opposed to any other particular
0:04:54 patterns
0:04:55 that indicates intentionality awareness
0:04:59 that they are creating the universe with
0:05:01 a particular pattern
0:05:02 it's like for example if i drew a blue
0:05:05 circle
0:05:06 the blue circle the fact that it's blue
0:05:09 as opposed to any other
0:05:10 color indicates some sort of
0:05:11 intentionality
0:05:13 yeah it doesn't have to be blue it could
0:05:15 be something else
0:05:16 and that was the evidence that we used
0:05:18 in order to come to the conclusion
0:05:19 or one of the evidence we used to come
0:05:21 to the conclusion that a creator
0:05:23 exists that their necessary being exists
0:05:25 so when we have fixed patterns within
0:05:27 nature and fixed
0:05:28 attributes that we sense within the
0:05:29 universe that could be other ways
0:05:31 then it indicates as intentionality
0:05:33 regards to that
0:05:36 thirdly if we accept that the idea that
0:05:38 the
0:05:39 the creator is some sort of you know
0:05:41 non-sentient
0:05:42 force that has to create then we are
0:05:45 basically saying that the creator is
0:05:47 limited
0:05:48 or is forced and therefore dependent
0:05:51 upon something else
0:05:52 effectively we're saying it's a
0:05:53 contingent being in order for the
0:05:55 creator to be
0:05:57 truly eternal truly self-sufficient
0:06:00 truly independent then it would have to
0:06:03 not
0:06:03 be forced to create but choose to create
0:06:07 so these three arguments indicate very
0:06:10 clearly
0:06:11 the only possible way to explain
0:06:14 temporal effects of the universe
0:06:18 is from an eternal cause is by
0:06:20 understanding that the eternal cause
0:06:23 chose to create the universe in the same
0:06:25 way the only way to explain
0:06:28 how the universe has fixed patterns and
0:06:30 fixed
0:06:31 attributes within the universe when it
0:06:33 could have been other attributes
0:06:34 is to understand the intentionality of
0:06:36 the creator to make it that way
0:06:38 as a poster any other way i determine it
0:06:43 so that explains to us that the creator
0:06:45 has to have a will
0:06:47 the second question becomes well could
0:06:49 there be more than one creator
0:06:52 why do we affirm only one creator again
0:06:55 there is a number of reasons to this
0:06:57 firstly the quran states
0:07:00 had there been had there been therein
0:07:02 gods besides
0:07:03 allah allah then verily uh
0:07:06 besides allah then verily both would
0:07:09 have been ruined
0:07:10 yeah the the the creation the gods etc
0:07:13 glorified be allah the lord of the
0:07:15 throne high
0:07:16 is he above what they attribute
0:07:20 so allah is demonstrating in this verse
0:07:24 and there's
0:07:24 also another verse in which talks about
0:07:26 how the the universe would be in chaos
0:07:28 the creation would be in chaos
0:07:30 by explaining that when you have more
0:07:32 than one creator
0:07:34 yeah there is a inevitable contradiction
0:07:38 yeah there is going to be inevitable
0:07:39 paradox this paradox is this
0:07:42 is that if one creator decides to create
0:07:46 and another creator does not want to
0:07:49 create
0:07:50 then whose will is going to reign
0:07:52 because both are unlimited
0:07:54 both are independent and therefore you
0:07:56 cannot
0:07:57 have two unlimited independent creators
0:08:00 with separate wills to exist this would
0:08:03 be
0:08:04 you know this would result in this
0:08:05 inevitable contradiction
0:08:07 one creator wanting one creator wanting
0:08:09 to do one thing
0:08:10 another creator wanting to do something
0:08:12 else
0:08:13 similarly if we say there's two creators
0:08:16 then
0:08:17 where does the first creator begin and
0:08:19 the second creator end
0:08:21 in fact what you're doing is you're
0:08:23 placing limits upon the creator
0:08:25 and if things have limits then they are
0:08:27 dependent because then they become
0:08:28 contingent beings
0:08:30 so they cannot have limits you can't
0:08:31 have distinct entities
0:08:33 within the you know uh beyond the
0:08:36 universe and
0:08:37 for a number of creators so as a result
0:08:40 you can only
0:08:41 logically have one creator
0:08:44 and we also know from the universe
0:08:46 itself because it has
0:08:48 one set of fixed patterns and behavior
0:08:52 it see it indicates one intentionality
0:08:56 one will to determine the attributes and
0:08:59 the laws of the universe
0:09:01 so we can understand therefore
0:09:04 that there cannot be more than one
0:09:06 creator or more than one
0:09:08 unlimited infinite necessary being this
0:09:11 would lead to contradictions
0:09:13 and also they would limit limit
0:09:15 themselves to each other
0:09:17 so what we've shown through the
0:09:19 discussion
0:09:20 about contingent beings the discussion
0:09:22 about
0:09:23 you know this uh limited things
0:09:25 depending upon other limited things in
0:09:27 this
0:09:28 chain that has to have a an end point
0:09:32 what have we shown regards to the fact
0:09:33 that who determines limited contingent
0:09:36 things to exist
0:09:37 what have we shown also regards to uh
0:09:41 the fact that language has to be given
0:09:43 to us beyond
0:09:45 uh any to human beings that means it
0:09:47 comes from the creator language has to
0:09:49 be taught to us like it mentioned
0:09:50 in the quran about islam being taught
0:09:52 the quran
0:09:54 what does it also show to us that we've
0:09:55 also demonstrated
0:09:57 that allah had to choose to create or
0:10:00 has a will and choice to create and that
0:10:01 the creator allah is one
0:10:04 it indicates to us what allah says in
0:10:07 the quran itself
0:10:19 so we've come to this rationally and
0:10:21 it's also informed to us by the text
0:10:24 declare say allah is one and only one
0:10:28 allah he is self-sufficient independent
0:10:32 from which you know everything else
0:10:33 depends their existence but allah does
0:10:36 not depend upon anyone else for its
0:10:37 existence
0:10:42 neither does he beget nor was he
0:10:43 begotten
0:10:45 who ahead and there is none and nothing
0:10:48 comparable unto allah
0:10:50 this is sort of a class and this is what
0:10:53 we can conclude
0:10:54 by sensing the reality around us