Who created God? How did God create the universe?

Question

According to your religious beliefs, if God created the universe and everything in it, then who or what created God? It seems that the God explaination really explains nothing at all. It just shifts the question.
If God created himself, why couldn't the universe have created itself?
If God always existed, why couldn't the universe have always existed?
How did God create the universe out of nothing? Is this a question that we are not supposed to ask? Just saying it was a miracle seems to avoid the question, not answer it.
Do you have any opinions on this matter?

Answer 1

This is a good question.

To answer it I will need to ask you two questions first.

A) Is the Olympus Mons east or west of London?

and

B) How do you teach a Cairn Terrier Algebra?

The first question deals with frames of reference. On Earth we have a frame of reference which is the surface of the Earth. Every point on Earth can be located in terms of any other point. Houston is south of Dallas. Berlin is East of London, and Moscow is East of Berlin. Japan could be East or West of London (I guess) depending on which way you want to go. So, is Olympus Mons east or west of London? Logically has to be one or the other.

Only it doesn't, and it isnt. Olympus Mons is on Mars. It is neither west of London, nor is it east of London. It is in another frame of reference entirely. East and West are concepts that only apply within a particular frame of reference (the surface of the Earth) and Olympus Mons isn't within that frame of reference. The question can't be answered because doesn't make sense. It may sound like it makes sense, but it is actually a nonsense question, because the question pre-supposes that both London and Olympus Mons exist within the same frame of reference, and they don't.

The same is true of God. God exists INDEPENDENTLY of our Universe...(the famous analogy is that of a painter existing independently and outside of his painting). Because of that you can't ask questions about God that presuppose that God exists within our frame of reference.

So to answer question #1, NOBODY and NOTHING created God. God is sometimes described as "the UNCREATED One". God did not create Himself, nor was He created. That idea seems a little wierd to us, because everything in our Universe (our frame of reference) was created (by God). But since God isn't part of our frame of reference, the idea that "everything must have a Creator" doesn't apply to Him.

The answer to #2 is that Science tells us the Universe was created. The Big Bang theory. Not even the most wildly atheistic, religion hating astrophysicsit will tell you that "There is no God because the Universe has always existed." The data just does not support that statment. We can SEE...(well perhaps I should say "those of us who took WAY more science in college than I did can SEE") that the Universe was created.

The answer to #3 is Yes it was a miracle, and no that' s not a cop out, it's just a fact.

This brings me to the Cairn Terrier. I had Cairn Terriers growing up. They are very bright dogs, and they love to learn and are eager to please. That being said, you can't teach them Algebra. Their brains just aren't capable of that level of understanding. There are some things in the Universe that Cairn Terriers are just never going to understand. You can't teach a fish Constitutional Law, you can't teach a pig to sing Opera, and you can't teach a Cairn Terrier Algebra. It is like trying to run the latest version of Windows on an old TRS-80. The machine just doesn't have the capacity to do it.

That doesn't mean that Constitutional Law, Opera, and Algebra don't exist. Just because you are not aware of something or don't understand something does not mean it doesn't exist. (The night before the attack the sailors at Pearl Harbor wern't aware of the incoming Japanese planes, but those planes still existed.)

So why do you assume that we, with our human brains, are capable of understanding everything? Sure we can understand a lot more than a fish or a bird... but EVERYTHING? I don't know about that...EVERYTHING is a pretty tall order.

So my point is, how God created the Universe is probably simply beyond our ability to understand. Just as there is some software to complex to run on a TRS-80, and just as there are some things to complex for a Cairn Terrier or a fish to understand, there is no reason to assume that our human minds are capable of understanding everything... much less how God does things.

It's not that you "aren't supposed to ask the question" it's just that as a human, you (and I) probably can't understand the answer.

Good luck, and I really liked your question.

Answer 2

Let's talk about the "The Cosmological Argument." The argument is simply this: The cosmos is here and must be explained as to how it got here. This argument is using the law of cause and effect, which states: Every effect must have a preceding and adequate cause (the cause must come first and be adequate). What do I mean by adequate? Well, the building didn’t collapse because a mosquito landed on it. The tsunami didn’t hit because someone threw a pebble into the ocean.

Now, when it comes to explaining the existence of the universe, you only get three possibilities: (1) the universe is eternal (it has always been here), (2) the universe created itself, or (3) something created the universe. There is no other possibility except to claim that the universe is simply an illusion and does not exist. So let’s examine these three possibilities to see which is the most reasonable.

First, is the universe eternal? Absolutely not. We know this is true because of the universally recognized second law of Thermodynamics (the law of energy decay or entropy). This law states that everything goes downhill from order to disorder, more usable energy to less. This law is the reason why heat flows from hot to cold and why this building will fall apart if it is not kept up with. If someone doesn’t believe in the second law of thermodynamics, just challenge them to live forever; even with this awesome machinery we have in our bodies, you will eventually wear out and die. We can see that the universe is running down and wearing out; the stars are burning up, the radioactive atoms are decaying, etc. Given enough time, the universe will experience what they call a “heat death” where there is no more energy available for work (everything will just be low level heat energy); every part of the universe will be the same temperature, and no further work will be possible.

Eternal things obviously do not wear out because they would have had an infinite amount of time to come to their end. Since you cannot have an end without a beginning, the universe must have had a beginning. And everything that has a beginning has a cause. This building had a beginning, you had a beginning, therefore there must have been a preceding and adequate cause. The evolutionists know this and so they came up with the “big bang” theory from that “cosmic egg” (the universe exploded into existence). But there is still a major problem, you have to explain where that “cosmic egg” came from. As it has been said, “There must be a cosmic chicken.” Some scientists like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov proposed the oscillating universe theory to avoid a beginning. This theory states that the universe acts like a yo-yo; it explodes and then gravity pulls it back in, and then the process repeats itself over and over. But the second law of Thermodynamics still refutes that idea, since each cycle would exhaust more and more usable energy. The universe is not eternal!

Ok, that brings us to the second possibility: Did the universe create itself? I think Hebrews 3:4 answers that pretty well, “...every house is built by someone...” Let’s say I walk into my livingroom and see a crayon drawing of our family on the wall. When I ask my daughter where it came from, will I accept her answer of, “It just appeared there; it came from nothing”? Her grandparents might, but I won’t. It is pretty clear that something cannot bring itself into existence. As R.C. Sproul has said, “It is impossible for something to create itself. The concept of self-creation is a contradiction in terms, a nonsense statement . . . It would have to have the causal power of being before it was. It would have to have the power of being before it had any being with which to exercise that power.” As it has been said, “Nothing scratched its head one day and decided to become something.” I’m sorry to have to drop this bombshell on you, but from nothing, comes nothing.

And now the third possibility: Did something create the universe? If the universe is not eternal and could not have created itself, then the only remaining alternative is that the universe was created by something or Someone. This would have to be a transcendent, eternal, self-existing being. I can find only one satisfactory explanation to our conundrum, and that is found in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Someone may argue, “If the universe needs a cause, then why doesn’t God need a cause; who created God?” The answer is, everything that has a beginning has a cause. God, unlike the universe, did not have a beginning. Time is linked to matter and space (as we can see from Einstein’s general relativity). If God created the universe, then He created time along with matter and space. If God created time, then He is outside of time and doesn’t need a beginning.

What is more absurd, to believe that God Created everything out of nothing or that nothing turned itself into everything? The fact is, we live in a Universe that is an effect. There must be a preceding and adequate cause for it. The only thing that makes sense is a Creator who is more powerful than anything we can imagine.

Answer 3

Asking your first question puts you into infinite regression. It just opens up the next question, "And who created that God?" Ad infinitum. God is the uncaused first cause. Everything exists by Him and for Him.
No one suggested God created Himself. God is simply "I am." The Self Existing One, not the Self Creating One. We tend to think of reality as the universe we inhabit and its component parts. The reality is that God is reality. He is what is, was and always will be. This universe we are in is something He is doing.
Of course no one can answer that empirically. Not yet anyway. However, given nothing, how do we propose that something suddenly was? To begin with the premise that there is no Creator, you have a real problem. No matter where you begin, you have to move from the nothig to the something. Those of us who have encountered God have no problem believing He started this cosmos we find ourselves in.
God is omnipotent. That's how! He said, "Let it be!" And it was! No harm asking questions. But saying God created the universe doesn't avoid the question at all. Starting with the premise that there is no God is just avoiding the Answer. That's my take.

Answer 4

Creation forms when energy bits called "quarks"
explode, and interface with invisible forces known
as Laws Of Physics.
Time and space are merely by-products of
this reaction.
Thus, the energy and the forces have been there
all along.

It must be noted that the energy is not The Force,
nor is The Force an energy form. Therefore, no
one created God, although science still pursues
the Higgs Boson, nicknamed the God particle.

It's my own personal belief that all life forms have
two stages: particle and quantum. Particle energy
produces time and space. Quantum energy subtracts
from time and space.

There has been a lot of experiments with particle
smashers such as the Tevatron, in an attempt to
see what causes mass to form. To date, results
have managed to show that indeed, quarks exist
in both stages: particle and quantum. Also, these
quarks retain their characteristics.

Answer 5

To one who examines the evidence, there can be no doubt that God exists. Every building has a builder. Everything made has a maker. The fact of the existence of the Creator is axiomatic (self-evident). That’s why the Bible says, "The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’" (Psalm 14:1). The professing atheist denies the common sense given to him by God, and defends his belief by thinking that the question "Who made God?" can’t be answered. This, he thinks, gives him license to deny the existence of God.

The question of who made God can be answered by simply looking at space and asking, "Does space have an end?" Obviously, it doesn’t. If there is a brick wall with "The End" written on it, the question arises, "What is behind the brick wall?" Strain the mind though it may, we have to believe (have faith) that space has no beginning and no end. The same applies with God. He has no beginning and no end. He is eternal.

The Bible also informs us that time is a dimension that God created, into which man was subjected. It even tells us that one day time will no longer exist. That will be called "eternity." God Himself dwells outside of the dimension He created (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2). He dwells in eternity and is not subject to time. God spoke history before it came into being. He can move through time as a man flips through a history book.

Because we live in the dimension of time, logic and reason demand that everything must have a beginning and an end. We can understand the concept of God’s eternal nature the same way we understand the concept of space having no beginning and end—by faith. We simply have to believe they are so, even though such thoughts put a strain on our distinctly insufficient cerebrums.

Answer 6

Well, if there is no God, how did the universe get created out of nothing? Present scientific theory is the universe came out of nothing, so if God made it happen or it just happened by accident, then why is one harder to believe than the other?

There's no reason God would have had to have been created. We're talking about God, here, not the material universe. Why should God follow the rules of the material universe? God is not matter.

Nobody said God created Himself.

Some theorists used to believe the universe always existed, but the scientific evidence points to the "big bang," not a steady-state universe. God is outside time and space.

Answer 7

Man created God. He wrote a book, called a Bible as a way to conform people. God did not create the Universe. The Universe created itself. It's all science. This is why Christians shun science. It shows how wrong they are.
The bible teaches women to obey men, parents to hit their children, and followers to give their life and money to "God". If you ask me, the invention of religion was a splendid business move to make money, only the setback was brainwashing millions upon millions of people. Still, gotta admit, thats a pretty successful business venture. And the fact that a bunch of crucifying, slave-driving men who wore dresses thought of it is pretty surprising. I wonder if they are rolling over laughing in their graves thinking, "We sure pulled one over on those people! Adam and Eve! Ha! They fell for it! Good thing they didn't ask for an explanation as to why dinosaurs never existed in the bible. I mean, they didn't even think about it. Dinosaurs were here before us...it's scientifically proven!" "No way," says the other guy. "Christians just say thats the Devil trying to steal your faith when you don't whole heartedly believe in Gods word. The Devil, can you imagine! How ridiculous is that! I thought nobody would go for it."

Answer 8

God didn't have a first cause, because God created the universe and God created time and He exists outside of time. The universe, on the other hand, is linked with time.
The problem of first cause is on both sides of the argument, because the idea of something having no cause is impossible for us to really comprehend. Besides, even if the universe was always there, what originally caused the big bang (or whatever theory is most popular currently)?

Answer 9

This goes back to the question... "between the chicken and the egg, which came first ?". My attempt to answer that question leaves me with a theory in which I say: "The chicken came first and represents an evolved stage of the egg. The chicken being a complete reproductive "factory" with all the necessary components to make an egg bio-chemically.
The chicken in my theory comes from an animal less evolved and resembles a chicken at 99.9 % except that it can't produce an egg like a chicken as we know it. Nevertheless, it reproduces in another way. This gradual degradation to a less and lesser animal ends at the point of amino acid which in time formed the building blocks of life as we know it.
I believe my theory applies to the creation of the univers as well.

Answer 10

just because you dont understand doesnt mean it doesnt happen

like for example...u were teleported back in time...lets say 2000 years ago....how would u explain to them that you could kill someone 1000 ft away with something called a "sniper rifle" or how you can travel around the world in less than 3 days... or the fact that the Earth is round?
i personally do not know how a gun works nor how to build airplanes or how to prove that the Earth is round....but i do know that all 3 claims are true.
So maybe the answer to ur question lies 100 or maybe 1000 years from now where we will have the technology and knowledge to know these things.
For now...im just curious wats for dinner tonight.

Answer 11

If someone created God, then that one would be God.
Isn't it plain, that there must be a first cause?
Science has no answer for this.
All they can do is acknowledge that somehow, at some time, the world "became".
Otherwise it always existed. But if it existed, where did it come from?
It looks like you too will have to choose something to believe.
I believe in God.