If there is no God, then how long has the universe been in existence. It can't simply be answered with "forever". If so, when did forever start? Who or what created the universe. Was it what we consider God? How long has God been in existence? What created God? Just saying "forever" doesn't lead to anythig.
2006-06-16 18:23:31 · 17 answers · asked by De Avila 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Forever doesn't have a start, that's partly what the word means. If the universe has a beginning, we don't how it began or what was there beforehand, there are only theories. The universe as we know it has been estimated to be at least 15 billion years old but, no more than 20 billion years old. (Different websites have different numbers though)
2006-06-16 18:26:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It can't simply be 'forever'?
If you ask any Christian where god came from, they would say: "he was and always will be"
Who’s inventing forever?
The present universe has existed for roughly 15 billion years, yes, but that doesn’t mean there was nothing before that, that a beginning is necessary. We see things be born, grow, live and die. The sun rises and sets. We wake up and we go to sleep, everything around us that has a construct seems to begin and end. But does that mean that the very fabric of existence needs a beginning and an ending or does it simply mean we are trying to understand something much more than ourselves by putting it in terms of our general lives and experiences? I'll let you be the judge.
The bottom line is this: Either energy and matter has always existed. Or a creator of energy and matter has always existed. Think critically about how much sense each of these two things make before deciding which one you believe to be true, but ultimately... it will be a long time, or never, before we know the answer to this question.
God could have a continually looping creator of his creator of his creator... you get the picture. There is no way to end this without forever. The only solution is that something, either the constituents of all existence, or a creator of those constituents, has always existed.
2006-06-20 06:41:55 · answer #2 · answered by The Intelligent Designer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Can you lift up a stone and at the same time not lift it up? The coffee that you were drinking yesterday, can you undrink it?
You are trapping yourself with impossible questions. There are laws in the Universe. God created these laws for definite reasons and they will be kept. If you try to go again these laws you will only break yourself against them.
The questions that you ask will really make no difference to you even if you did know the answers. Forever started so many years ago that it makes no difference to you when it started.
God is perceived differently and can be perceived in infinite way as God is infinite and eternal. God is eternal and has therefore always existed.
Mind cannot comprehend absolutes like Eternal, Infinite, forever, etc. It likes what it can solve. Try giving the mind something that it cannot solve and it will go bananas!
Go to a quiet place and sit there with your eyes closed. Then think about something that is not possible... hmm can you lift a stone and at the same time not lift a stone? Now if your mind does come up with some explanation then keep going thinking about the question.. try to find another way of looking at it. Do this for hm 10 minutes if you can.
Or just sit still for ten minutes and observe your mind rambling away about stuff and other stuff! ;)
2006-06-17 01:42:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The latest estimates say that the universe is about 14.5 to 15 billion years old. This is determined by measuring the age of the light from the most distant galaxies. In recent years, the Hubble Space Telescope has seen deeper into space than anything else ever has, and there is a point where there is 15 billion year-old light, and then nothing else past that. That is the edge of the universe. As for whether God created it, I don't know. But these are the scientific facts proven by modern physics.
2006-06-17 01:30:17 · answer #4 · answered by benbobbins 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't understand why so many people can accept an eternal god who was never created, but they can't apply the same logic to the universe. Something "created out of nothing", is an absurd idea. The unexplained origin of the universe is probably the thing that causes people to believe in a god. You can't explain it so you invent god. This god snaps his fingers and suddenly the universe exists. What a pathetic explanation. The existence of the universe is a mystery, and people can't explain it because they're not smart enough. It's like a mouse in a data center thinking "Holy crap what's this?" I think quantum physics is going to help us understand better. FYI, in my theology/cosmology the universe is virtual (it's not really what we think it is and it's only an infinitesimal part of something far greater).
2006-06-17 01:38:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is simple. I don't know in what level your knowledge of Physics is but if you study it you will find a very famous proven law : "Matter is neither created nor destroyed" Although it seems vague as you said how to define forever but the matter has always been here. Unfortunately, even God can not solve this puzzle. let's say God created this universe. was the creation out of nothing? if there was nothing then where was God ? Why did not he decide to create the universe earlier and etc ... If it is hard for you to believe Matter could have been here for ever try defining nothingness for yourself and ask yourself which one makes more sense ? Matter has always been here OR Matter has come out of NOTHING !!! Good Luck
2006-06-17 01:30:42 · answer #6 · answered by bandari 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All things exist because they were created. At revelation 4:11 it helps us see that God is the ultimate creator and he has always existed and that is why he is Almighty God. The universe came into existence after the creation of Jesus Christ since he was the "firstborn of all creation(col1:15). After then he was a masterworker along side his father in heaven according to Proverbs the 8th chapter around the 31st verse. Hope this helps
2006-06-17 01:43:03 · answer #7 · answered by smoothassilk 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is similar to asking where does a circle begin.
There is no beginning and there will be no end.
Just like a great big circle.
The universe exists; God does not.
Our visible universe began it's expansion a few billion years ago, but our visible universe is just a dot on the entire universe. The expansion of our visible universe was not the "beginning" of the universe, it was an event.
2006-06-17 01:29:41 · answer #8 · answered by Left the building 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's like living in a drawing and asking, if there are three dimensions, then what are the XY coordinates for getting there?
The answer is you can't answer it in XY coordinates, you need a Z, you need stereo-vision, you need to live outside of the flate plane.
We can only ask questions within our ability to grasp them.
But doesn't having a forever just show that there has to be a God? If we cannot see forever, but we can grasp something of it, then it shows that there is something of God's thumbprint in our psyche. The bible says that God has laid eternity in the hearts of men (Ecclesiastes 3), and yet we cannot see everything from beginning to end.
Just ask the real God to reveal himself to you, just speak to out there with a searching and open heart. And you'll be surprised by the answer.
2006-06-17 01:31:28 · answer #9 · answered by rapturefish 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The universe came into existence with the big bang, evidence of which can be picked up by your home television set (that snoe stuff is rediation still bouncing about from then). I have to admit that I can't remember the age of the universe, but if you hunt around in scientific journals or the suchlike you'll find it. It's V old though.
2006-06-17 01:28:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋