What’s Next? See all videos below In previous videos, I have been talking that I wanted to do some videos on apologetic arguments. Until now, I have chosen different topics each time. Topics that some of you suggested and also topics suggested by my own family. The latest suggestion was that of the impact of […]
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Argument from Change Made SimpleThe material world we know is a world of change.
My oldest son is about 1.76 metre. But he was not always that height. When he was born, he was about 51 centimetres. Yes, he changed a lot during the last 15 years.
General Sherman is the biggest tree in the world. According to estimates, it is about 2,000 years old. It is 83 metres high and 11 metres in diameter at the base. Yet, this tree started out as a little seed.
When things change, such as mature size, that event cannot be caused solely by itself. Before it has changed into that state, it wasn’t there yet, it didn’t exist yet. And you know what? Something that doesn’t exist can’t cause anything…
Before I continue I would like to point out that we are working on a series of theistic arguments for the existence of God. I said in the introduction that:
This kind of apologetics comes forth out of what is called ‘natural theology’. Within natural theology you can study the theistic arguments, which are rational arguments for the existence of a monotheistic God. The most known theistic arguments are the ontological, cosmological, design, moral and religious-experience arguments for God. These arguments do not rely on the Bible but are based on objective reasons outside God’s word. An apologist, who uses this kind of arguments, believes that the existence of God is logical without having to point at the Bible. In other words, the idea of God is logically coherent, and because of that, it is possible to make these arguments or combinations of arguments to establish the existence of such a being.
Okay, back to this new argument, called the Argument from Change. I took my son and the huge tree as an example of change. When my boy was a baby he had the potential to become tall, but he was not yet what he has become right now. Likewise, a little tree seed. It actually exists right now in this state of a seed; it will later exist in that other state, a large tree. But it is not really in that state right now. It only has the potentiality for that state.
Now we have a question: To explain this change (from baby to teenager, and from seed to huge tree), can we consider the changing object alone, or must other things also be taken into account? Unmistakably, other things must be involved. Nothing can give itself what it does not have. Furthermore, the changing thing cannot have now, already, what it will come to have later. The outcome of change cannot actually exist before the change. The changing object starts with only the possibility to change. It definitely needs to be worked on by other objects or things outside if that potential is to be made real. Else it cannot and will not change.
In other words, nothing changes itself. When I write a script, my fingers move because I desire to move them. The muscles don’t write this by themselves—something else is working on them. When I go out to a village to teach the people about the Word of God, my muscles are still there, but they are no longer writing because the desire or will is no longer present to do so.
Let’s go a little deeper. Are the other things outside the changing thing also changing? Are the things that move the change also moving? I would say ‘yes’ to that. And because the movers are moving themselves as well, they in turn, need a mover also, or else they cannot change or move. It doesn’t matter how many things there are in this chain, each one needs something outside itself to realise its capability for change.
Ultimately we come to the universe itself. The universe is the totality of all these moving things, no matter how many there are. The universe in its totality is changing as well. Do you see where this is going? We have already concluded that ‘change’ always needs a force from outside to do so. And as simple as 1+1=2, we can conclude that there must be a power outside the cosmos. Can you guess what that power or force must be? It must be an existing thing that transcends the universe. It must be outside the universe. Well, that is an attribute we would give to God.
Let’s reverse and see what happens. If there is nothing outside the material universe, if there is nothing outside matter, time and space then there is nothing that can cause the universe to change. But we know that the universe is changing constantly. So, there simply must be something extra outside the material universe. And since the universe is the final aggregate of all time, matter, and space, that thing, which moves the universe, needs to be outside the universe itself. Now, the funny thing is that, because this being itself is completely outside matter, space and time, and therefore it doesn’t consist of anything physical that undergoes change, it is not a changing thing itself; it is the unchanging Root (or Source) of all change.
And there you have it! The argument for God from change. Mind you, this argument doesn’t tell you that this ultimate being is the God of the Bible. What it does tell you is that there must be something outside this all. Something that is transcendent. Something really powerful. Take this argument together with the other arguments in this series, and you have a strong case for the Creator God of the Bible.
Anyway, do take a look in the description of this video! You’ll all sorts of information there. Besides relevant links, you can also find ways to support me. I would also like to invite you to my Odysee channel. Odysee is a platform which based on a new protocol called LBRY. Video that are uploaded through the LBRY protocol are censorship free, unlike YouTube or others. It would be great if you start following me there. I am mostly active on that channel. You can also comment on my videos on BitChute or YouTube, but because I am not very active on those two channels you most likely won’t receive a reply there. If you want to start your own channel on Odysee you can use my invitation in the description. If you do so we will both receive some free LBC!
As always, thank you for watching, God bless you and we see each other in the next video!
All videos of this series
Ontological Argument Made Simple
Introduction In his 1078 work Proslogion, Anselm of Canterbury came with the idea which is known as ‘the ontological argument’. In this argument God’s existence is not just possible or probable or very likely, but is logically ensured. Anselm defined God as “that than which nothing greater can be thought”. Anselm said that this being […]
Cosmological Argument Made Simple
Do you know mister William Lane Craig? This is a hugely smart man, and listening to him sounds like you’re reading an official academic essay. I’ve written a lot of essays and I wish I could write them as fast as he formulates his sentences. Mister Craig is well known for his philosophical way of […]
Teleological Argument Made Simple
What do you think? Are we like orphans or are we citizens of our universe? Are we just an accident, a fluke, a product of mere chance? If we have to belief the secular world we are just a result of time, space, matter, chance and impersonal laws. No, the universe is just what it […]
Moral Argument Made Simple
A new video! On apologetics again. I promised in my last video to show you a bit of our road here in the countryside of Madagascar. So, stay tuned, because I will paste some of that footage at the end of this video. Anyway, let’s get started. I grew up in a time that knew […]
Religious Experience Argument Made Simple
We have discussed several arguments for God. Now we’ve come to the fifth argument and I think this one will tricker most resistance. The Religious Experience argument for the existence of God! A religious experience is when someone feels they have had a direct or personal experience of God. This argument basically says that if […]
Argument from Change Made Simple
The material world we know is a world of change. My oldest son is about 1.76 metre. But he was not always that height. When he was born, he was about 51 centimetres. Yes, he changed a lot during the last 15 years. General Sherman is the biggest tree in the world. According to estimates, […]
Argument from the Origin of the Idea of God Made simple
This argument is closely related to the ontological argument. It starts from the idea of God. However, unlike the ontological argument, it does not say that real being is part of the content of that idea. Nope, it tries to demonstrate that only God Himself could have make this idea to develop in our thoughts. […]
Argument from Miracles Made simple
This argument from miracles, and others, like the argument from religious experience and the argument from change, are not designed to prove the absolute existence of God they only claim a strong probability. Still, I include these kinds of arguments because they, together with all the other arguments, form a strong cumulative case. Other arguments […]
The Argument from Conscience Made Simple
What is good for you, isn’t necessarily good for me. Did you hear that one before? I did! It is called ‘moral subjectivism’, and it is very popular in our western society. But things seems to change if you start to talk about one’s conscience. I have met many who do not, or who refuse, […]
The Common Consent Argument Made Simple
In the last video, and the videos before I asked you whether you have any topics you would like me to discuss. So far, I have several. One of you want to talk about deism and why it is or isn’t a flawed idea. And Nortega came up with also a good topic. He said: […]
Pascal’s Wager
You Wanna Bet on it? My kids love to climb trees. Overall, I’m okay with that, but I normally give them one very important but simple rule: You are not allowed to fall out! And whatta you know… They tend to break that one simple rule every time. One day, one of them came running […]
Atheist’s Opinion – Again the Wager
Atheist Experience 30-03-2008i This wager thingy was still on my mind when I came across a YouTube channel called the ‘Atheist Experience.’ This channel is already running 13 years, so you could say that these guys are pretty experienced in them being atheistic and all. One of the faces of this channel is mister Matt […]
Thomas Aquinas’ first Mover Argument
Article by I. Hofmann, July 2024. All right reserved. Published with permission on Apologeet.nl. Translation by J. Hofmann. Introduction Thomas Aquinas is a well-known Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian from the 13th century. He lived from 1225 to 1274 and was declared a saint in 1323, 49 years after his death. During his lifetime, he […]
