Need a Cause #3
3. Even things that
are not inclined to
be as they are but
a cause desires
them to be that
way
- Example- A
piece of
wood
becoming a
table
To Be or Not to Be…
C. Everything in
natural world is
open both to
existing and to
not existing (not
necessary beings)
1. Owe their existence to some sort
of cause
2. Everything in nature that exists
needs a cause of some type
-Examples- Train engine
pulling a boxcar or caboose,
chandelier hanging from a chain
3. Generally 2 types of causes
a. Cause of
rest
b. Cause of
motion
Living In the Middle
D. Every
middle by
definition has
something
before it
Middle Causes
1. Over time
“middle
causes” form
one great
middle cause
2. Some middle
causes carry
more weight and
importance then
others
An Uncaused Cause!
E. Therefore there
must be something
by which things
are caused and
which is not itself
caused
_____, Middle and End
1. Otherwise
there would be
a middle with
nothing before
it
2. …this is
impossible all
“middles”
need a
beginning
Absolute Cause
F. Therefore
there must be
a first and
absolute
cause
1. Allows all other things to
come into existence
2. Other things cannot cause its
existence it just “is”
3. No prior cause can exist
before this “first cause”
III. One Cause Further Explained
A. World of
nature is
very
connected
World’s Connection
1. One part is a
necessary
condition for or
even produces
another
2. World is
a unified
order of
things
3. If something
ceases to exists or
fails to act a
particular way it will
be felt in nature
4. Example- the sun
effects a great deal
of nature
Patter of Causes
B. The
interconnectedness
produces a pattern of
objects and beings
whose existence
dependence on other
beings or causes
Beginning In Sight
1. This cannot
continue on
forever, endlessly
because there
was a beginning
to nature
2. Anything
other then the
first cause has
a cause of its
being
C. The first cause of things is a mind
3. Every
productive cause
must be equal to
or superior to its
effect in dignity
and perfection
One Cannot Give…
a. Nothing can
give what it
does not
somehow
possess
b. Example- A
math teacher
cannot teach
more math than
she knows
In Conclusion
4. The first cause must contain in itself
in some way all the perfect and dignity
that it confers on things in giving them
their existence
- Must be alive and intelligent and
therefore is a mind