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REPLY: The Law of Causality states : 'Anything which begins to exist , must have a Cause' . Modern science thru the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the radiation echo, and the expanding universe ...all prove that the Universe had at one time, a beginning. It therefore came from nothing then began to exist. The first finite thing (which the universe is), had to have had an INfinite cause. Further, the universe IS sustained by over 250 scientifically confirmed razor edge physics parameters which are all needed , simultaneouly, for it to exist , for earth to exist, and for us to exist on earth. If this doesnt look like willful design and engineering which can only come from a highly intelligent willful mind at work, then i dont know what is. If you refuse an intelligent personal Creator for this personal Universe, then you are left with the leftovers from the Big bang (rocks, dirt, planets, and hydrogen gas) being directly responsible for these 250 plus physics parameters. In other words, design always implies, a Designer. And a Designer always has to be a Person. The Creator (God) does not need a Cause because HE IS the INfinite Cause which brought the universe into existence fully operational , and only FINITE things require a Cause.
You can imagine just how powerful and majestic the Creator is when you consider this, cant you ? He is awesome beyond imagination. Yet he is so personal that he made you in his image for a personal relationship with him which he wants to last into eternity WITH him . He leaves that choice up to all of us , and i hope one day soon that you will take him up on his invitation to experience this real relationship which is the very purpose of ones life on earth. What could be higher or more important ? Certainly not rejecting him so we can live life as we want due to pride , rebellion, and arrogance . He made a way to be reconciled to himself and that is thru sending his Son, Jesus Christ, as a substitute death sacrifice for our many sins. To find Gods favor, one simply believes on this by faith according to the historical evidence , then 'recieves' Christ into his heart and life , then decides to live for him and with him. Its just that simple. Its a free underserved gift that is being offered only for a limited time. If you like things like astronomy, cosmology, and science....there is no greater experience than the Christian Life in which you truly see and witness God in. Regards.
Of all those "logical/scientific rules" you are using you are conveniently skipping some, such as logic rule against infinity believes (infinite regressions and unfounded premises) and science rule against magic/supernatural (unobservable) believes.
When I look at a snow-flake, I don't just jump to the conclusion that "it must have been designed by human-like mindful entities"
If design must have a designer... shouldn't the monotheist entity lack a design? is that even reasonable? can something lack a design? if you pretend that all characteristics are designs, then your god has no characteristics, or else it needs its OWN God to create it... maybe something even MORE infinite? Maybe it's God is outside of it's "nature" and that is why it thinks it is the original God, when it fact, this YHWH creature is actually an atheist whom happens to be mistaken.
A designer always has to be a person? ants are people? ants and bees and other insects design their homes you know. plants+sun design sugar. fungus design colonies and cell walls. None of these are people, nor designed by people (computers also design things). But, because your argument is unfair, you can just say that "god" designed them to design things, even though you have no evidence whatsoever for this. With this unfair argument style, I could always say that YHWH was designed to design things by the ACTUAL ORIGINAL God, whom is MORE Than the alpha and omega, it continues before alpha and after omega. research into "demiurge"
It's easy to imagine just how powerful and majestic gods are when we research into the "six paths buddhists" and their believes about what happens when creatures are reborn as gods and then fall from grace. This is easily done if we just wikipedia "Creator deity" in general Buddhism Creator deity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If god is truly a person, I would remind the creature that it takes more than one person to decide what's fair. And that it is a horrible pagan practice to sacrifice your children.
This god of the Christian faith is such a good salesman... when it comes to pagans and their descendants.
If you truly like reality or what Cosmology and Astronomy shows, what Science teaches, Then there is no greater virtue or experience than the scholarly Agnostic Life.
The heavens God must be talking about must be the physical heavens that we can see visibly. If God inhabited heaven forever why did he need to create a place he is already in? That means God is beyond what we see in the physical universe of billions upon billion of planets. Gods place of dwelling has to be something that we could never imagine if we tried. And whatever that place is...it did not come from anywhere but was always there. That is very strange but thats what makes God who he is..we will never understand how great and powerful he really is.
I disagree on this point. In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth; He created the ideal reality and reality itself. He did not inhabit Heaven forever, he created Heaven, and thus superseded and pre-existed it. It's not a spiritual realm that he resides in, it's the entire existential realm of and out of his creation - he's inside and outside (the union of panentheism/deism and pantheism). God does not "dwell", He just is; He is not in any one place, He is in every place; as said previously, He is Existence itself. No, we cannot imagine, because it is not an image to be perceived; it is a principle to be conceived, and it always was. Further, this principle is what we bring into our spirit, our inner being, our mind: because it is based on Existence, it is rational, and thus it is an ideal based on rational faith. Yes, we can understand Him; in fact, having a Faithful Understanding of Existence is our first great cause; the second cause is to go to Heaven; that is, to establish Heaven with our new, absolute ideals - to form an ideal reality. To deny your soul's capacity to understand God is to doubt Him, to deny the acceptance of His principle within you.
I have asked myself this same question but came to a very different conclusion. We have good evidence that the universe exists. So it must have either had a beginning or not had one and always existed. I tend to learn towards the idea that the universe has a beginning but I am open to either option.
As for God, we really have no evidence that he exist so we really don't need to come up explanations for his origin. Your second paragraph is a good argument against the existence of God, except for the last sentence which appears to not be true. If God's presence is felt and seen everywhere, then everyone would believe in him. The fact that atheists exist is evidence that God is not felt and seen everywhere i.e. his presence is not felt or seen in the immediate vicinity of atheists.
But if Existence is God, then who in their rational mind would doubt existence? Only fools.
My problem is that in order for something to exist it has to be made up of matter. The very presence of matter is what makes times arrow flow, and makes up existence itself. From the second we had "something" after the Big Bang, we also had a flow of time. To say that something "exists" is to imply it is made up of matter and therefore is subject to the same time constraints that we find in our universe. Therefore, if God does indeed exist then he is subject to some sort of time-frame just as we are.
The OP brings up a good point in his/her title. If existence is God and God is existence, then perhaps they are synonymous. However, people don't like that because it takes away their idea of God as being some sort of omnipotent, omniscient, forever-like being. In order for God to be existence he must also be constituted of "stuff" and therefore limited to certain natural confines to include the flow of time's arrow and laws of physics. So, in the vaguest of senses, if you want to call "existence" or "nature" God then I think you have an inaccurate definition but I won't argue.
God being Existence doesn't mean God Exists (being existential matter), but that God is the essence of existence itself - the manner, way, and law of existential subjects.
absolutely...that is why it cannot be explained nor should an attempt be made. Timelessness is beyond the ken of man, beyond senses, sensory/mental perception, beyond form. Beyond the vocabulary...why then explain anything?
mark
Because it can be conceived, which is the whole point of our thoughts, isn't it?
Your much more familiar with the physics of "creation" than I.
Nevertheless, entertain my mental rambling.
You said " the very existence of matter is what makes time's arrow flow"
If we look at the relationship between matter and energy, we find motion to be significant. In Einsteins case it was the speed of light.
Then if we look at the story in genesis, we find the first thing that was created was light. Before light there was a void ( vacumn ) that had been created.
It was after the creation of light ( motion/energy ), that matter occurred.
Don't know what this means, or were to go with it, but I wonder if great minds would entertain us theists, and begin with the hypothesis that "a forceyet observed" ( or what we call God ) factors into the equation, we might all be able to work together and see where it takes us all.
Well it would make sense that the motion starter was infinite and uncaused - God. Then, it's important to understand that the motion continued on in time, creating and forming, uniting and dividing; the true essence of evolution started with the Big Bang (whether or not it's the only big bang is irrelevant, for this universe is our only concern thus far, and any other universe would indefinitely have the same laws, fit like ours, with sustainability). The Cycle of Existence or the motions of causality began: reason/cause>capacity>action/affect. The Almighty Creator that set this motion forward does not just watch, and it does not interfere (at least not in the way foolish dogmatists believe). It is just existence itself, the laws that make things so. If we realize how things are, we may make them the way they ought to be: that is where "God" as a moral figure of any kind makes sense. God, in this case, is substantial, within our minds as an IDEAL. To be righteous and thus saved is to be ideal, and to form God in reality (essentially, to become God, Christ, God in the flesh). This is merely a summary of a few major truths about Existence.
Pretty close. You are almost on the mark..God is existence itself..It makes me wonder who dumb some people can be - atheists and religious....they all look for proof - a miracle- when they are submerged in the grandest of miracles. They wait for a miracle when they are that miracle- They wait for the second coming of a messiah when they are the messiah...they wait for GOD who is their other half...WE have a contract with God...and our quest is to be whole- we will not be ONE- till we leave this world...
We are like to magnets in a huge universe-------------------we are the one magnet and God is the other...some repel God because they do not understand that they need to be whole- eventually.
Pretty close. You are almost on the mark..God is existence itself..It makes me wonder who dumb some people can be - atheists and religious....they all look for proof - a miracle- when they are submerged in the grandest of miracles. They wait for a miracle when they are that miracle- They wait for the second coming of a messiah when they are the messiah...they wait for GOD who is their other half...WE have a contract with God...and our quest is to be whole- we will not be ONE- till we leave this world...
We are like to magnets in a huge universe-------------------we are the one magnet and God is the other...some repel God because they do not understand that they need to be whole- eventually.
I agree, only we do not have to leave this world; in fact, that would be counter-productive. We are here, and here we must establish Heaven as the Almighty Creators, ourselves. We must form Heaven here, in the universe. Here, we must become one, become one with God and Existence. If we do nothing here to form Heaven, we deserve nothing in the afterlife regarding it.
How can you explain how existence came into existence? The only logical answer is existence is uncaused. Yea of course we will never understand this FACT. It could have easily been Nothing from eternity past to Nothing today. But we see life around us and real things in the universe. When you think about it before we came into this world we were all gone forever and ever! God was the ONLY living thing from eternity past to eternity past. The fact that a Being like God exist is very disturbing...not only that..the fact that this being did not come from anywhere but was always in existence! Life is really a miracle when you think about it. Its not a accident. How can you explain eternity? Existence that has no beginning or end? That is mind boggling and scary. The only way i can think this is possible is that time cannot be tied with it. No matter how far you try to look for a beginning you will never find it.
Thats how i understand eternity and existence. You cannot point to a beginning to it. It if has no beginning then that means it has no end! Just think about if God had a beginning or was created then who created God? It would be a endless cycle! In other words that is impossible..because you have to keep searching for who was first! But you still have a problem..who caused the first? Thats why God is uncaused and has no origin. He is existence itself. His presence can be felt everywhere and seen.
So you think existence is a person?
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