...Introduction How did God get here? Richard Dawkins, among other atheists, thinks he has the ultimate proof that God doesn't exist. If God created a complex universe, wouldn't it take an even more complex entity to have created God? However, such logic assumes that time has always existed, rather than being merely a construct of this universe. Rich Deem Who created God? It is an age-old question that has plagued all those who like to think about the big questions. Having grown up as an agnostic non-Christian, it provided me with a potential reason why there might not be any god. Various religions tend to solve the problem in different ways. The LDS church (Mormonism) says that the God (Elohim) to whom we are accountable had a father god, then grew up on a planet as a man, and progressed to become a god himself. Many other religions have claimed that gods beget other gods. Of course the problem with this idea is how did the first god get here? This problem of infinite regression invalidates such religions. Christianity claims that God has always existed. Is this idea even possible? Does science address such issues? Christianity's answer Christianity answers the question of who made God in the very first verse of the very first book, Genesis: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) This verse tells us that God was acting before time when He created the universe. Many other verses from the New Testament tell us that God was acting before...
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...the divine characteristics of God. A particular divine aspect that intrigues philosophers is God’s relationship to time (Woodruff). One perspective on God is that He is timeless. This theory proposes that when God created the universe He created time with it, and therefore He is outside of time. The physical universe known to humankind is governed by space, time, and matter. God, however, dwells not in the physical world but outside of it, beyond space, time, and matter. The physical laws that rule the universe do not limit God, in fact, He put the laws in place and He is above them. A Psalmist writes that “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night” (90:4). This passage clearly states that God experiences time in a different way...
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...Define “Creatio Ex Nihilo.” In Latin, “ex nihilo” literally means “out of nothing.” It often appears along with the concept of creation, as in “creatio ex nihilo”, meaning “creation out of nothing.” It contrasts with the phrase “creatio ex materia” (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with “creatio ex deo” (creation out of God.) Christians all believe that the world is created ex deo, however, whether the universe was created “ex nihilo” or from already present material is still a topic of discussion today among Christians and people of other beliefs alike. There is evidence in the bible supporting both creatio ex nihilo and ex materia. Despite the simplicity of defining the concept of “nothingness” (a pronoun denoting the absence of anything), it is still difficult to understand nothingness as a concept. It is very hard to describe something, without saying it is something. Therefore, even saying that a certain thing is nothing is technically describing it as something, which gets confusing after a while. For example: Blue is a colour, as are yellow and red. All three of these colours make up every colour tone we see. Theoretically, there was an absence of colour, what would be in its place, white or black? It is very difficult to imagine this, as all our life we have been able to distinguish what we have seen because of their colour(s). Even when we try to imagine a world without colours, it becomes impossible not to end up labelling the absence of colour...
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...and Moral Reasoning Zummuna Davis October 3, 2012 When you ask a human how the universe evolved some will say that man created the universe. Next question, how can man create something in outerspace? Now the room is silent, why is that? How can you answer a question that cannot be answered. So why do you need proof that God exist, what will that prove, that people are actually worshipping God, instead of a what people say is an inanimate object. In the beginning God created the heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2). There are many traditional proofs for the existence of God, and we will look at three, the argument from design, the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. There are many ways that the universe might have been, it might have had different arrangement of planets and stars; it might have begun with a bigger or smaller big bang; the vast majority of these universes would not have existence of life. We are fortunate indeed to have a universe that does. The argument of design, picture looking at a rectangular skyscraper and examined the structure within it, you might think that this intricate structure was not the outcome of mere chance, but had been designed. Now look at the universe, is it possible that such an intricate stricture, from the orbits off planets around the sun to the cells...
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...a triune, personal God. God is both transcendent and immanent. Meaning, He exists independent of His creation and exerts full sovereignty over it but that He is also omnipresent and entirely involved in His world. What are the basic assumptions about the nature of reality? Theism views reality as both material and spiritual. Theism asserts that God is volitional, moral, creative, purposive, rational, and knowable to other persons. Transcendent means that God is distinct form the universe. He is able and willing to interact with the creation, but His existence is not bound by or limited to the universe. Everything that exists is contingent upon God’s creative act. God is both creator and sustainer of all things. God maintains access to the created order and involves Himself with it as he chooses. God designed the universe in such a way that nature follows a recognizable patter. Because God acts with purpose, reality is inherently meaningful. What is a human being? Human nature is both biological and spiritual. Humans are the unique creation of a personal God, and shares His likeness as personal being. Therefore, they have intrinsic worth as human beings. They were created to enjoy and external relationship with our Maker. Our lives have objective meaning and purpose. Because human nature is a composite of external spirit and mortal flesh, the death of the body is not the end of personal existence. They live externally, either in conscious communion with God or under His righteous...
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...bang theory and its history The big bang is not theoretical, it is a presumption. It is an attempt to explain what happened at the very beginning our universe. Some scientists do define it as an accepted knowledge which explains much on how the earth was created and that is the universe. The findings of the research in the study of the physics and astronomy have openly shown...
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...existence) and all have a purpose for their existence.) 2: The universe begins to exist. (When God Created the universe he spoke it into existence. Which means that God’s word has a cause, and if his word has a cause, then so does the Universe.) 3: Therefore the universe has a cause. (No explanation needed :)) Now people will argue about all...
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...August 12, 2013 Introduction We are aware that the universe exists, regardless; it is human nature to search for a deeper understanding. The controversial debate concerning the Big Bang Theory and a Six-Day Creation has been around for centuries. For years, thousands of people, including the “greatest minds in physics,” have pondered the beginning of the universe. Curiosity has led to questions of how the universe began (LaRocco & Rothstein, n.d.). Many scientists believe the earth to have always been in existence (Chown, 2012). Others, however, believe the opposite; they believe in the creation of our universe. Whether one believes in a scientific development of the universe, or in a higher power of creation, there are two sides to every debate. In this paper, each side will be explained, discussed and compared and contrasted. The Big Bang Theory Many people believed at one time that the universe we know today had no beginning or an end. However, through research, the Big Bang Theory proved that the universe was not infinite. The universe has a history and most certainly a beginning (LaRocco & Rothstein, n.d.). According to many scientists, the Big Bang happened about 15 billion years ago. This event was an enormous explosion “filling all of space with all of the particles of the embryonic universe” (LaRocco &Rothstein, n.d.). However, unlike a bomb exploding fragments outward, the explosion of the universe was an explosion within itself (LaRocco & Rothstein...
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... Apologetics In his book, The Reason for God, Timothy Keller makes it clear that there are clues of God all around us, most of which we don’t even realize. The first of these clues is “The mysterious bang” in which he describes how even though the universe started with all these catastrophic events, there has to have been someone to light the spark. The second clue Timothy Keller describes is “The Cosmic Welcome Mat” which is the idea that the universe was simply created in a way that human life could be possible in it. The third clue is “The regularity of nature” being the idea that the laws of nature and science will always repeat themselves, which leads to one thinking there is a higher being at work who keeps an orderly universe. The fourth and final clue Timothy Keller provides is “The Clue of Beauty” which is the deepest feelings we experience through beauty that can only be explained as a longing desire for something more. Although all these clues for God are provided, it is still argued that religion was just a mere way of coping with the world before there was scientific explanation. Timothy Keller is correct in his assumption that the clues of God are all around us because they are way too much of a coincidence to ignore. To begin with, “The mysterious bang” is the clue that leads us to question what the true cause of the big bang really is. According to Timothy Keller, there is evidence that the universe is expanding explosively and outwardly from a single...
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...The Cosmological Argument The cosmological argument is reasonable proof for the existence of God, with involving components of reasons including the fact that whatever begins to exist has a cause, no thing has placed itself in motion, and that everything that exists is either contingent or necessary. The Cosmological Argument involves many sub-arguments that help validate it and prove that it is correct. One of these arguments is entitled the ‘Kalam Cosmological Argument’. This argument is used to prove that there was a beginning in time, by saying that an infinite number of days has no end, but today is the current end in history right now. If there were an infinite number of days, it would be impossible for today to have occurred. This involves the...
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...idea and concept of a God can be seen as different from Aristotle’s Prime Mover. The first issue is that Aristotle’s Prime Mover, or God, is said to know only Himself and, therefore, not know about the Earth we inhabit or have any plan for us; He is also unaffected by us. This differs greatly from the God of the Old Testament (OT) and Jewish belief. This is because He willingly created the Universe and was aware of creating the Earth and man in his own image. The God of the OT also involves himself in human activity and displays his power to those described in the Bible. Another issue is that the God of Judeo-Christian belief is an imminent one. God’s creation was a special act of creation; God gave humans a special role in his creation and the relationship between God and humans is set up involving rules that must be obeyed by the humans. Aristotle’s Prime Mover on the other hand is impersonal and transcendent. The Judeo-Christian God is also not entirely immaterial as shown in the Bible; God first walks in the Garden of Eden and then secondly incarnates himself into the human Jesus. This is very different compared to Aristotle’s Prime Mover which is described as spiritual energy rather than being able to perform anything physical. There are similarities however between Aristotle’s Prime Mover and the Judeo-Christian God, one such being that both of them are shown to of created the universe or world for a purpose. Aristotle believed that the universe was a purposeful place...
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...shared a distinct nature. Something was good if it fulfilled its nature and it was defective if it was not what it was intended to be. * Considered that a good human being fulfils the nature which is shared by all human beings. * Therefore, what it is to be good depends on knowing what it is to be human and * This can only be worked out by studying humans to understand what human nature is. For Aristotle something was good if it fulfilled its nature. Evil he held is not a positive thing at all. Evil is merely an absent of good, something suffers from evil if it is missing a good that should be present. Aristotle on God. Aristotle argued that the universe was everlasting, it had no beginning and no end therefore the universe was not created; it has always existed. * Aristotle held that the Earth was the centre of the universe and round the earth, in 40 concentric rings, were set the stars. He thought that the circle was the perfect shape and therefore, the stars had to revolve in perfect, circular...
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...Explain the cosmological argument with particular reference to: The rejection to infinite regress and god as the necessary being (30 Marks) The Cosmological Argument is a posteriori argument put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas. Gottfried Leibnitz also made a similar argument. In the Cosmological Argument, Aquinas said that he believed that all things in the world were caused to exist by something. The universe exists, so there must be something that caused the universe. He believed the first cause to be God. He said that God is the only thing that was not caused by something else. The argument seeks to prove the existence of God from looking at the world we live in and the universe as a whole. The whole theory is based on cause and effect (when one event causes another to happen, the cause is why it happens and the effect is what happens.) Aristotle believed that all movement depends on there being a mover, and there has to be something that originates this. The universe follows this principle so needs a mover – this is the prime mover. The mover caused everything to come into existence, however, needs nothing to cause it and so must be exempt from the laws of nature. Thomas Aquinas created five ways to prove the existence of God, the first proof is based on motion, It can be noted that some things in the universe are in motion and it follows that whatever is in the state of motion must have been placed in motion by another such act, and things achieve their potential through...
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...Introduction Christians today have a biblical principle and opinion of the universe existence. Christians believe that God created earth and that he accomplished that in only six days. Genesis 1 explains the creation and the interpretation is so utterly clear and one writer states “Thus, any interpretation that goes beyond a clear plain meaning of the text is considered to compromise Biblical authority and capitulate to evolutionary theories”. One look at the Young Earth View is said to be formed from the Modern English Bible. Jon W Greene also writes that “Two Christian apologists state this problem well: “When the ‘young earth’ creationist insists that the biblical evidence indicates an earth only six to ten thousand years old, all communication bridges to the secular science community break down. The communication gap widens and such reactionary creationist views are labeled as ‘folk science.’ The scriptures and the gospel are consequently dismissed as meaningless.” And, “Many non-Christians are driven away from the God of the Bible by the young-earth claims which are, frankly, ridiculous to most people who love science. It is a shame that people who love science, who would like to know the One who created the universe, reject, out of hand the Christian God, because they see Christianity as so unscientific. Old - Earth View The scripture shows only six literal days used to create earth and at the hands of God; which is found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 5. The English Bible based...
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...Jubin John Ms. Diomande Compare & Contrast Final Draft 10/22/14 Creation vs. Evolution Today many scientists would have to believe that evolution is the only reasonable explanation of the universe. Scientists, like Stephen Hawking, claim that they proved that evolution is the only correct answer to the origins of life and the universe, yet evolution is a theory proposed by scientists to explain the origin of all species. Evolution is not the only answer but in fact, the creation theory is based on the bible and that God created the universe. This is the idea of creationism which is supported by religion. Creationism offers a more credited answer to the development of the universe than the evolutionary theory because creation has the support of the bible. To make a decision on which theory is more appealing to them, people must choose either religion or science. The creation theory is solely based on the bible. The Bible, in fact, is actually one of the most proven books in history. Creationism is the theory that God created the universe and it's creatures in six days. For example, in Genesis 2:7 it states "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters". The Bible is not considered a science book, but many consider it to be scientifically correct. For instance, the Old Testament is quoted in several ancient manuscripts...
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