Why the Big Bang Singularity Does Not Help the Kalām Cosmological Argument for Theism

Abstract

The cosmic singularity provides negligible evidence for creation in the finite past, and hence theism. A physical theory might have no metric or multiple metrics, so a ‘beginning’ must involve a first moment, not just finite age. Whether one dismisses singularities or takes them seriously, physics licenses no first moment. The analogy between the Big Bang and stellar gravitational collapse indicates that a Creator is required in the first case only if a Destroyer is needed in the second. The need for and progress in quantum gravity and the underdetermination of theories by data make it difficult to take singularities seriously. The singularity exemplifies the sort of gap that is likely to be closed by scientific progress, obviating special divine action. The apparent irrelevance of cardinality to practices of counting infinite sets in classical field theory and Fourier analysis is noted.1. Introduction2. The Doctrine of Creation and Its Warrant3. Cardinality and Sizes of Infinity4. Modern Cosmology and Creation5. Tolerance or Intolerance toward Singularities?6. Leibniz against Incompetent Watchmaker?7. Induction from Earlier Theories' Breakdown?8. Stellar Collapse Implies Theistic Destroyer9. Stacking the Deck for GTR10. Quantum Gravity Tends to Resolve Singularities11. Vicious God-of-the-Gaps Character12. Fluctuating or Inaccessible Warrant13. Big Bang Cosmology Not Especially Congenial to Faith

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