Where did God come from? Most everyone knows the Christian’s response to this question: “God is eternal. He did not ‘come from’ anywhere.” Although atheists may think that this answer is unscientific and merely an attempt to avoid the question, in truth, observation and reason declare otherwise.
The question “Where did God come from?” (or “What caused God?”) assumes that God had a cause. However, by definition, an eternal spirit (“the everlasting God”) cannot logically have a cause. Asking about God’s cause (or origin) is as incoherent as asking “Why matter is eternal?” Matter is not eternal. Matter is no more an eternal essence without a cause than God is a physical being with a cause. Asking “where did God come from?” is like asking “when did eternity start?” By definition, eternity never began. Eternity, by definition, is without beginning and end. By definition, so is God.
Consider that in nature, matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed. Scientists refer to this observed fact as the First Law of Thermodynamics. Evolutionists allege that the Universe began with the explosion of a ball of matter 13 to 14 billion years ago, yet they never have provided a reasonable explanation for the cause of the “original” ball of matter. Evolutionist David Shiga made an attempt a few years ago in an issue of New Scientist magazine in his cover story, “The Beginning: What Triggered the Big Bang.” Interestingly, in the last line of the article, Shiga admitted: “[T]he quest to understand the origin of the universe seems destined to continue until we can answer a deeper question: why is there anything at all instead of nothing?”1 The fact is, a logical, naturalistic explanation for the origin of the “original” ball of matter that supposedly led to the Universe does not exist. It cannot exist so long as the First Law of Thermodynamics is true (that matter and energy cannot create themselves).
Since the physical Universe exists, and yet it could not have created itself, then the Universe is either eternal, or else some thing or some One outside of the Universe must have created it. Relatively few scientists propose that the Universe is eternal. In fact, there would be no point in attempting to explain the “beginning” of the Universe (with a Big Bang, for example) if scientists believed it has always existed. What’s more, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that matter and energy become less usable over time, has led scientists to conclude that the Universe has not always existed; that is, it is not eternal.2
So why don’t the laws of thermodynamics or the law of causality3 apply to God? Because these scientific laws, like all scientific laws, apply to what we find and study in nature. Again, by definition, God is not natural and thus logically is not subject to the laws of nature.
In short, if matter is not eternal, and it cannot create itself, then the only logical conclusion is that some thing or some One outside of nature (i.e., supernatural) caused the material Universe and everything in it. Christians call this Someone, “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 40:28).
Endnotes
1 David Shiga (2007), “The Universe Before Ours,” New Scientist, 194[2601]:33, April 28.
Published December 31, 2018
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06 Oct Where Did God Come From?
Posted at 20:53h in
Where did God come from?
Let’s reverse engineer the question. Try to imagine nothing exists. There is no sun, no moon, no stars, and no galaxies. There are no elements such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen or oxygen. There are no such things as time, space, matter or energy. There is no universe, no God, nothing! Socrates defined it this way,
Nothing is what rocks dream about.
If There Ever Was A Time When Nothing Existed, Then Nothing Would Exist Now; Therefore, Something Must Be Eternal!
I love how the late Dr. Walter Martin used to say it,
If anything now exists, either something is eternal or no one plus nothing equals everything.
There is one thing that scientists, theologians, and philosophers agree on and it’s this—You have only two choices: Either God is eternal and uncreated, or matter is eternal and uncreated—there is no third option.
Einstein Meets Moses
It was 1910 when Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was first published. His mathematical equation (math being a perfect science) provided a basis for proof that the universe and time itself had a beginning. Einstein’s formula revealed that time, space, and matter (which is energy) had a beginning. Interestingly, his theory (which has never been dis-proven) fit the biblical model perfectly. The very first verse in the Bible says:
“In the beginning (that’s time), God created (that’s energy), the heavens (that’s space), and the earth (that’s matter)!
Therefore, as Norman Geisler states it, “Asking the question, where did God come from? is a nonsensical question. It contains the false assumption that God was created or had a beginning and then asks: how is that possible? It’s like asking, where did the bachelor get his wife? Or, what does blue sound like? Bachelors by definition do not have wives, and sight is not in the category of sound.”
In the same sense, God is not in the category of created things. The question itself is fatally flawed. Asking the wrong question does not generally produce the right answer. A better question, to begin with, is, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” As for the question of cause and effect, that only applies to things that have a beginning.
Using Their Words Against Them
Prominent evolutionist George Wald, biochemist and Nobel Laureate from Harvard University said,
“When it comes to the origin of life, we have only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility…Spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved one hundred years ago by Louis Pasteur, Spellanzani, Reddy and others. That leads us scientifically to only one possible conclusion—that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God…I will not accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation arising to evolution.”
How Impossible Is It?
“Fred Hoyle and his colleague Chandra Wickramasinghe (both world-famous physicists), calculated the odds that all the functional proteins necessary for life to originate by chance. They came up with a figure of one chance in 10 40,000 ).”2 It is believed that the number of atoms in the known universe is 10 80. That is 10 with 80 zeros after it!
“According to the mathematical science of probability, if a number has more than 50 zeros after it, the odds of that happening by chance is virtually impossible. Hoyle has adopted the theory that life must have come from other planets. That is circular reasoning.”
Allow me to introduce you to Ron Rhodes
“Since the universe reveals time, space and matter, the first cause must be outside of time, space and matter. We can thus conclude that the first cause is timeless and eternal. We can also conclude that the first cause is immaterial since it or He transcends space.”
“To have created the universe, in all of its incredible vastness, out of nothing, the First Cause must be omnipotent. To have created the universe with such precision, and intricate design, perfect for the existence of human life on earth, the First Cause must be omniscient.”
“To have made an unending series of design choices requires that the First Cause be personal, for an inanimate, impersonal thing cannot make choices. God’s personality is also evidenced in the fact that He created personal human beings. And, each of us knows instinctively, that it is morally wrong to murder, to steal, to lie, and to have another man’s wife. The universal moral law is written on every man’s heart. This is also known as conscience. Absolute moral truth is absolute proof of a universal moral law giver.”
All these characteristics are consistent with what the Bible reveals about God. It takes far more faith to believe that no one plus nothing, equals everything than it does to believe in an intelligent designer!
Just as mathematics is a perfect science, so is the moral law of God. Moral truth is as timeless and true for every one of every age as the mathematical equation 2 + 2 = 4.
Incredibly, the moral relativist says, “It’s wrong for you to impose your morals on me.” That statement is in itself a perfect contradiction. Aren’t they imposing their morals on us by saying that? How about when you hear them say, “There is no such thing as right or wrong.” We must ask, “Is that statement right or wrong?”
Another common claim of moral relativism goes like this, “All truth is a matter of one’s own opinion, just like I prefer vanilla over chocolate.” That is fine for food, but when you try to use that same rationale with morality, it completely breaks down. You can’t say, “That was a wonderful evening,” and in the same breath, speaking of Hitler’s murdering six million innocent people, say, “That was a wonderful holocaust. Let’s do it again soon!”
The relativist will argue, “Everybody can believe whatever they want!” Why then are they trying to get us to believe what they want?
The relativist claims that everyone should be free to do whatever he wants. Ask that same person how he feels if someone cuts in line in front of him, or, if he comes home to find his house has been burglarized and his family murdered! Not one of these people would maintain such a ridiculous position and say, “Oh well, who am I to impose my personal opinions on this man. His views on robbery, rape, and murder are just as valid as mine.”
The relativist claims, “No one knows what truth is.” Then he asks you to believe what he just said is true! That is utter nonsense. How can you make an argument against absolute truth unless your argument is absolutely true?
“Once I was a tadpole beginning to begin. Then I was a frog with my tail tucked in. Then I was a monkey in a banana tree. Now I’m a professor with a Ph.D.”
Consider the philosophy teachers who read books that say life has no meaning. Are these books meaningful? How about the professors who teach their students “Truth is whatever is true for you; there are no absolute standards of right and wrong.” Then they turn around and grade your papers (some of these nutty professors have so many degrees they don’t have any temperature left).
Would these same professors mind if their wives were “relatively” faithful? How about if their bank statements were “relatively” accurate?
If there is no God, then there is no moral law. If there is no God, then life is meaningless, and the world is an inexplicable riddle. If God created man then life has meaning and the history of the human race is satisfactorily explained.
If you would like to learn more about answering the difficult questions people ask about God, check out our book, Where Did God Come From? by clicking on the “store” tab.
P.D.