Bacon proof of God’s existence relied on Aristotle’s first-cause argument

Evidence

The second form of proof is through creation. Bacon equates God with Aristotle’s first cause: since every effect has a cause, and there cannot be an infinite number of causes going back to eternity, there must be one first cause, to which nothing is prior: this is God. Since there is only one first cause, this proves that there is only one God: wise men, among Saracens, Jews, Tartars, and Christians, all recognize God’s unity, and they have little trouble refuting the pagans and idolaters in disputations, Bacon affirms, referring to William Rubruck’s debate in the court of the Mongol khan. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1152

Categorization

• DEFINE: Illustrates the first-cause cosmological argument as deployed by a 13th-century theologian.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1152