Among the ancient versions of the cosmological argument, perhaps the most straightforward is the kalam argument. By 'straightforward' I mean the argument that can be stated the most simply, though defending the argument is not simple, for - like most significant philosophical arguments - it has its critics who raise various objections, some of which deserve a detailed response. In the present day, it is typical to defend the kalam argument by arguing that the big bang theory supports one of its key premises, that is, that the cosmos had a beginning. I will not focus on this argument, however, finding other arguments more enduring than scientific cosmological models. This particular argument originated among Islamic philosophers and theologians during what is sometimes referred to as the Islamic Golden Age, from the 8th century to the 13th, although many of the arguments supporting the premise that the cosmos had a beginning originated some centuries earlier. The Christian phi...