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The First Cause Wouldn't it be much easier to say that there is a beginning? Let's be empirical about this: when we observe the world we see that everything has a cause: the rain causes the plants to grow, the plants cause the production of oxygen, oxygen causes animal life to exist, etc. Does it not follow from this that the whole universe, too, has a cause? Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) - rejecting Plato's concept of eternal Forms - believed that everything must have an 'efficient cause'; the efficient and final cause was the 'Unmoved Mover'. Aristotle was a major influence on Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) who developed the causal argument as part of his Christian beliefs. Basically, Aquinas stated that if 'A' causes 'B', and 'B' causes 'C', then 'A' is the first cause, and 'C' is the last cause. But what happens if 'A' does not occur? Neither 'B'...

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