Nothing just happens

There are those who hold that a compelling case can be made for divine existence by noting the existence of the world and appealing to a principle of explanation called "the principle of sufficient reason."  

A posteriori arguments for divine existence come in several forms but have some general characteristics in common --

• Does (or must) the world have a source at all?
• What specific characteristics typify the world's source, if it has (or must have) one?
• Is the world's source, if it has (or must have) one, worthy of worship?

All of them employ the "principle of sufficient reason," a general principle of common sense and science, namely, "Nothing just happens," but they employ it at different levels of specificity.

However, all of them also call for the application of another general principle of common sense and science - Ockham's razor.

In the arguments from causation, or "cosmological' arguments for divine existence, the search for the world's sufficient reason takes the form of a search for sufficient causation (that is, typically, an "unmoved mover" or "uncaused cause").   

Some logic on cause --

• Unestablished
• Alternate Names: - Untestable Definition - the theory advanced to explain why some phenomenon occurs has not been established or cannot be tested. Examples - Aircraft in the mid-Atlantic disappear because of the effect of the Bermuda Triangle, a force so subtle it cannot be measured on any instrument. - I won the lottery because my psychic aura made me win. - The reason why everything exists is that god created it. 
• Exposition Identify the theory. Show that it makes no predictions, or that the predictions it does make cannot ever be wrong, even if the theory is false.
• Post Hoc Ergo Prompter Hoc
• Alternate Names - Post Hoc Description Fallacious - inference that, a causal relationship exists merely because one event happened before the other. Examples - Immigration to Alberta from Ontario increased. Soon after, the welfare rolls increased. Therefore, the increased immigration caused the increased welfare rolls. - I took EZ-No-Cold, and two days later, my cold disappeared. Counter-Example - Roosters crow just before the sun rises. So, roosters crowing cause the sun to rise. 
• Exposition Show that the correlation is coincidental by showing that: 1. the effect would have occurred even if the cause did not occur, or 2. that the effect was caused by something other than the suggested cause.
• Joint Effect Definition 
• One thing is held to cause another when in fact both are the effect of a single underlying cause. This fallacy is often understood as a special case of post hoc ergo prompter hoc. Examples - We are experiencing high unemployment which is being caused by a low consumer demand. (In fact, both may be caused by high interest rates.) - You have a fever and this is causing you to break out in spots. (In fact, both symptoms are cause by the measles). 
• Exposition Identify the two effects and show that they are caused by the same underlying cause. It is necessary to describe the underlying cause and prove that it causes each symptom.
• Wrong Direction Definition 
• The relation between cause and effect is reversed. Examples. - Cancer causes smoking. - The increase in AIDS was caused by more sex education. 
• Exposition Give a causal argument showing that the relation between cause and effect has been reversed.
• Complex Cause Alternate Names - Oversimplified Cause Definition 
• The effect is caused by a number of objects or events, of which the cause is identified is only a part. A variation of this is the feedback loop where the effect is itself a part of the cause. Examples - The accident was caused by the poor location of the bush. (True, but it wouldn't have occurred had the driver not been drunk and the pedestrian not been jaywalking) - The Challenger explosion was caused by the cold weather. (True, however, it would not have occurred had the O-rings been properly constructed.) 
• Exposition Show that all the causes, and not just the one mentioned, are required to produce the effect.
• Genuine but Insignificant Cause Definition 
• The object or event identified as the cause of an effect is a genuine cause, but insignificant when compared to the other causes of that event. Note that this fallacy does not apply when all other contributing causes are equally insignificant. Thus, it is not a fallacy to say that you helped cause defeat the Tory government because you voted Reform, for your vote had as much weight as any other vote, and hence is equally a part of the cause. Examples - Smoking is causing air pollution in Edmonton. (True, but the effect of smoking is insignificant compared to the effect of auto exhaust.) - By leaving your oven on overnight you are contributing to global warming.
• Exposition Identify the much more significant cause.