So I was thinking about an argument for God's existence. It's usually known by the kalam cosmological argument. But it has also been referred to as the first cause argument. Either way this is how it goes. 1. All that begins to exist has a cause. 2. The Universe began to exist. Therefore, the Universe had a cause. And if this is so, then God fits that cause most adequately, so the argument goes. I was pondering premise 2, and ONE (and I mean one, people defend this premise in a variety of ways) of the arguments for it are that an actual infinite cannot exist. Support offered is usually Hilbert's Hotel- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert's_paradox_of_the_Grand_Hotel. So, I was thinking about whether this could be a counterargument to the existence of God, using the same support the Theist uses in support of the universe beginning to exist. The argument is as follows: 1. An actual infinite cannot exist. 2. God is an actual infinite. Therefore, it logically follows that God does not exist. I don't know if this argument has ever been made by any atheist before (chances are it has). I've just never seen it. So my apologies for not giving a citation. I contacted my former college algebra professor and asked him if an actual infinite can exist, and he said that no it does not. But God has no beginning or end. Theists usually say God always was, is, and is to come. So it follows that God does not exist. I'm basically just looking for responses to my argument. It's deductively valid, so the conclusion cannot be denied without denying one of the premises. I would like replies from ANYONE interested in the topic. I'm also not offering it as a conclusive proof against God either. I just think it's interesting to think about and I am open to the fact that it could be completely wrong.
I would have to tell you that infinite is not the same as eternal. We are told God is eternal. But I've never heard anyone say God is infinite.
I would have to submit that the use of limited intellect such as that possessed by man renders man totally incapable of determining the total nature of God, thus rendering this thread one that is designed through a state of ignorance of the subject matter... the subject matter being 'God'.
Your premise is incorrect though, you are asking if a god can exist in a universe where infinities do not exist. The concept of god always lie outside of science, it is a convenient way of making the very notion "untouchable" in some minds and completely dismissible in other. I can make god what ever I want, see god is actually infinity plus infinity plus an army and lies forever outside our grasps of observation. This definition, just as the one you posted, does not make the question a legitimate one. Just means that anyone can make something up and act as if it is a legitimate point.
I wasn't asking if God could exist inside of the universe. Since God's normal qualities are timeless, without beginning or end, it seems like God would be infinite by definition. And heaven definitely would be, since it never begins or ends (eternal paradise). That's all I was getting at. But I could be misunderstanding the concept of infinity.
True, however anyone can assign any attributes the imaginary. You say that god may be infinite, I say it is infinite plus infinite plus an army. Maybe a godess. Maybe gods, 2 of them. Or 1,568,234,908 of them. Perhaps they all resemble Winston Churchill. Who is right? Neither one of us because we cannot actually prove it to be true. Imaginary.
Yeah. Defining God is a really big problem because how do we determine what attributes he has? It's kind of done indirectly, through various religion traditions and what not.
Even then, that is not really "indirectly" given the number of religion and how they contradict each other. The only means of understanding the universe is through science, not through the imagination of a priest.
