Did God Create the Universe from Nothing?

The Kalam Cosmological Argument is a simple argument:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause for its existence;
The universe began to exist;
Therefore, the universe has a cause.
Apologists love to use these three short lines to argue that God is the cause of our universe. Jonathan MS Pearce takes the argument to task and finds it seriously lacking, despite its common appeal. Sounding the death knell for the Kalam, this is a must-have counter to the well-worn religious argument advocated by famous Christian thinkers such as William Lane Craig.
"This is a beautifully crisp and clear introduction to, and discussion of, the Cosmological Argument. Suitable for beginners but also those who want a more insightful and detailed discussion. This is an ideal book for students, and indeed anyone who is interested in what remains one of the most popular arguments for the existence of God." - Stephen Law, Reader in Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London and head of Centre for Inquiry UK.
"Pearce has again delivered, treating the important topic, the notorious (and bad) Kalam Cosmological Argument, in a concise and erudite way." - James A. Lindsay, Ph.D., author of Dot, Dot Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly and Everybody Is Wrong About God
"If you've read enough about Kalam to be intrigued and want the thorough takedown, this book is for you." - Bob Seidensticker, author of Cross Examined: An Unconventional Spiritual Journey and the Cross Examined blog at Patheos.com
"…remarkable. He has written an accessible, yet philosophically sophisticated, critique of the Kalam Cosmological Argument…. he makes some novel contributions to this literature in the course of his analysis. If you have teethed yourself on popular discussions of atheism and religion, and now want to feast on something a little bit meatier, this is the book for you." - John Danaher, PhD, Lecturer in Law, NUI Galway (Ireland), and author of the blog Philosophical Disquisitions.
"With his latest book Did God Create the Universe from Nothing?, Jonathan Pearce has collected a vast array of the most powerful academic and popular-level responses to one of the most well-known cosmological arguments for the existence of God. Theists will be surely challenged by this wide-ranging book which seeks to put an end to this theistic argument about the beginning of the universe." - Justin Schieber, public debater on the philosophy of religion, creator of the channel Real Atheology

"The Kalam argument enjoys much respect that it doesn't deserve, and Did God Create the Universe from Nothing? gives the unsparing rebuttal that it does deserve. Pearce is a capable and confident Virgil, guiding us through the philosophical and scientific fine points of the response. If you've read enough about Kalam to be intrigued and want the thorough takedown, this book is for you." - Bob Seidensticker, author of Cross Examined: An Unconventional Spiritual Journey and the "Cross Examined" blog at Patheos.com