George Pell on The Kalam cosmological argument

George Pell was broadly sympathetic to the Kalam cosmological argument's conclusion — that the universe had a beginning and therefore a cause — though his own philosophical formation was more Thomistic than Islamic. He affirmed that the Big Bang is consistent with the Christian doctrine of creation ex nihilo and regarded the scientific evidence for a temporal beginning of the universe as a welcome confirmation of what theology had always taught.

However, Pell was careful to note, following Aquinas, that the existence of God does not depend on the universe having a temporal beginning. Even an eternal universe would require a sustaining cause. The Kalam argument, in Pell's view, was a useful supplement to the classical cosmological arguments but not a replacement for them.

In public discussion, Pell was comfortable citing the Big Bang as evidence that something brought the universe into existence, while acknowledging that the deeper philosophical arguments about contingency and necessity were more fundamental to the case for God.