by Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (Islamic
Education and Research Academy)
PART II from III
Logical Argument
Logic necessitates that if there were
more than one God who created the universe it would be in chaos and there would
not be the level of order we find in the cosmos. However you may point out that
your car was made by more than one creator, one person fitted the wheels, and
someone else installed the engine and another person the computer system. So
from this example there can be more than one creator with the created thing
still able to exhibit order and stability.
In order to respond to this contention what
has to be understood is that the best explanation for the origins of the
universe is the concept of God and not ‘designer’ or ‘creator’. There may be a
possibility of multiple designers or creators, as highlighted by the car
example, but there cannot be more than one God. This is because God by
definition is the being that has an unlimited imposing will, if there were two
or more Gods that would mean that they would have a competition of wills and
that would result in chaos and disorder. However you may argue that they can
agree to have the same will or each have their own domain, but that would mean
that their wills are now limited and passive, which would mean they are not
Gods anymore by definition!
This is explained well by Ibn Abi Al-Izz
in his commentary of ‘Aqeedah at-Tahawiyyah’:
“The most common argument they advance is
known as the argument of exclusion. This argument runs like this. If there were
two creators and they disagreed about something, such as one wanted to move X,
whereas the other did not want it to moved, or one wanted to make Y a living
being, whereas the other wanted to make it lifeless, then, logically speaking,
there are only three possibilities. First, the wills of the two are both
carried out; second, only the will of one of them is carried out; third, the
will of neither of them is carried. The first case is not possible because it
requires the existence of contraries. The third possibility is also ruled out
because it would imply that a body is neither moving nor not moving and this is
impossible. This would also imply that both of them are incapable or carrying
out their wills, which would disqualify them from being God. Finally, if the
will of one is realised and not that of the other, he alone will deserve to be
God and the one whose will is not realised cannot be considered God.”
Conceptual Differentiation
What makes us appreciate difference and
duality? How do we differentiate between two people walking in the street? The
answer lies in what is called conceptual differentiation. These concepts
include space, distance, form, and physical features. Take the following
diagram into consideration,
The reason you can perceive two objects
above is due to differences in colour, size, and shape, including their placement,
in other words there is a distance between them. In absence of these concepts
could you perceive the two objects or any objects at all? You could not,
because these concepts are required to perceive any number of entities. Now
since the cause of the universe is outside the universe (if the cause was part
of the universe it would mean that the universe created itself, this is absurd
as it would necessitate the universe to exist and not exist at the same time!),
you can safely assume that there are no conceptual differentiators such as
distance, shape, colour and size; because these concepts only make sense within
the universe. Therefore if there are no knowable conceptual differentiators we
cannot claim a multiplicity of causes, as I have explained above the
impossibility of perceiving plurality or multiplicity in absence of these
concepts.
Since you have no concepts to acknowledge
a plurality of causes does this mean that even a single cause can’t exist? No
it doesn’t, because if there were no cause for the universe then that would
mean the universe, in the words of Bertrand Russell, “Is just there and that’s
all”. In other words it would mean the universe is infinite, however this
cannot be the case, as mentioned above the universe began to exist. Therefore a
single independent cause is rationally necessary to explain the fact that the
universe began to exist and that a plurality of causes cannot be perceived due
to the absence of conceptual differentiators.
(To be continued to PART III)
Source: http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar