Based on intuition, if something begins to exist then it must have had a cause. If this principle were false, then things all around us would be popping into existence without causes all the time. Since they are not, then there must be a limiting factor, and if there is a limiting factor, then there must be a cause that is being limited.
II. The universe began to exist
The universe, which consists of space, time, matter, energy, and the laws of physics, sprang into existence about 14 billion years ago. There are four reasons to think that this is the case:
- If past time were infinite, then we would have an actually existing infinite and all kinds of logical absurdities would result, as outlined in Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel.
- Impossibility of traversing an infinite number of past events. If past time were infinite, then we would have had to gone through an infinite number of past events to get to today, which is like saying that you just got finished counting down all the negative numbers.
- Most scientific theories support an absolute beginning at some point in the past, even if the universe oscillates between Big Bangs and even if there is a multiverse of many universes.
- If the universe were infinitely old, then it would have died a heat death an infinite amount of time ago.
III. Therefore, the universe has a cause
If space, time, matter, energy, and the laws of nature have a cause that brought them into existence, then that cause could not have consisted of any of them. So the cause of the universe would have to be spaceless, timeless, non-physical, and supernatural.
Additionally, an ever present timeless cause would also have an ever present effect. But the universe began to exist from this timeless cause a finite time ago, which points to conscious choice on the part of the cause. Like a man sitting down from eternity can suddenly choose to stand up. If he were non-conscious, then he would just continue to sit for all eternity.
Also, a cause of something must be either a physical prior event, or the willful intention of a free conscious agent. Since there were no physical events to bring the physical universe into existence, the cause must be a conscious agent.
Additionally, an ever present timeless cause would also have an ever present effect. But the universe began to exist from this timeless cause a finite time ago, which points to conscious choice on the part of the cause. Like a man sitting down from eternity can suddenly choose to stand up. If he were non-conscious, then he would just continue to sit for all eternity.
Also, a cause of something must be either a physical prior event, or the willful intention of a free conscious agent. Since there were no physical events to bring the physical universe into existence, the cause must be a conscious agent.
This is a very brief intro. For a more in-depth look, please see the full article.
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