Theism,
Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology
William Lane Craig & Quentin Smith
Contemporary science presents us with the remarkable theory that the universe
began to exist about fifteen billion years ago with a cataclysmic explosion,
the 'Big Bang.' But was this explosion created by God, or did it occur
without cause? The question of whether Big Bang cosmology supports theism
or atheism has long been a matter of discussion among the general public
and in popular science books, but has recieved scant attention from philosophers.
This book sets out to fill this gap by means of a sustained debate between
two philosophers, William Lane Craig and Quentin Smith, who by turns defend
opposing positions in alternating chapters. In Part I, Craig argues that
the past is necessarily finite and that God created the universe, and
Smith presents his criticisms of these arguments. Part II consists of
Smith's arguments that Big Bang cosmology is inconsistent with theism
and that the Big Bang has no cause, with Craig's criticisms of Smith's
argument. Part III presents both philosophers' different interpretations
of Stephen Hawking's new quantum cosmology and its bearing upon theism.
William Lane Craig is Visiting Researcher of Philosophy at the Catholic
University of Louvain, and Quentin Smith is Professor of Philosophy at
Western Michigan University.
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