Can you answer a question I have about the causality argument for the existence of god?

Question

Theists [those who believe in the existence of god(s)] often use the causality argument to "prove" the existence of god(s). It goes something like this: Everything that exists must have a cause, therefore god(s) exist as the cause of all existence.

If everything that exists must have a cause, and god exists, the what/who caused the existence of god? To say that he/she/it had no cause is to deny it exists, since it claims that EVERYTHING that exists must have a cause.

So, here we have the the age-old question, where did god come from?

Peace,
Byron

If god is outside time and space, then by definition he/she/it does not exist, since in order to exist you must have a location in four-dimensional space-time.

Answer 1

You misrepresent the prima causa argument via oversimplification. In essence, you've created a strawman.

All things CONTINGENT must have a cause. God is non-contingent, therefore, God needn't have a cause. The universe is, however, contingent, and therefore must have a cause.

There are many, many flaws with the contingency argument, but I'll call a fellow atheist on a logical flaw just as fast, if not faster, than I will a fundie.

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Yet another straw man, by determining what quantifies existence.

It is possible there is a para-extrinsic space and para-extrinsic time, which our universe is a small bubble in, outside of which still has spacetime and in which a deity resides.

Considering current research in superstring theory, I wouldn't be so quick to rule out extrinsic spacetime.

Answer 2

Special pleading.

I.e. God is 'special' in some way that the universe is not, so the same logic does not apply to him.

Usually something like: God is infinite, and so he does not require a first cause.(Whereas an infinite universe apparently does)


Edit:
So in the responses we have this exactly:

God is not CONTINGENT. (why not?)
God is spirit and is uncreated (evidence for this claim? How doe this absolve him from logical arguments?)
God is not of the universe and does not experience time or space. (again evidence for this claim? Reason that logic does not apply?)
God always was and will always be. (need I say more?)
Supernatural things need no cause because they do not abide by the laws of nature. (And apparently the laws of logic)

All of the above is claiming, without any evidence, that god is beyond the laws of logic, and has some characteristic that makes him so special that the argument does not apply. They all totally fail to give any evidence to back up their argument and it is all basically a handwave so that they do not have to answer this question but can just dismiss it and not have to think about it.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Christians would categorize a little further, everything material and in space and time has a cause. God is spirit and is uncreated, and is the author of all things material, space and time. So we would say that everything points back to an uncreated creator who personally willed the material world into existence.

Addendum to your comment: No, I disagree!! By stating that He/she/it must exist in 4 dimensional space, you limit the chance for supernatural existence. This is our very claim! God created space and time. The author is not subject to the limitations of His work!

Ath

Answer 5

God is the creator of a finite time and space where the earth and this universe exists. He would have to be finite to have a definable location in time and space which he created.

Answer 6

Every PHYSICAL thing must have a cause. Supernatural things need no cause because they do not abide by the laws of nature. Physical things are bound by nature, and nature is temporal and finite. Even the stars are finite and are not eternal. A star just doesn't pop out of nowhere, it needs a cause. A supreme being is not bound by the laws of nature and is timeless. You see time as we know it is chronolocial, it is based off days, weeks, months, years, etc. God is not bound by those elements.

Answer 7

Great question. This is one of the 2 BIG questions that I ask religious fanatics. The other one is how can god watch me and my actions and also watch another person on a different continent at the same time. He can't!! I love finding holes in religious beliefs. It makes me so happy.

Answer 8

Since god has not been proven to exist, there is no reason to look for any cause.

In order to disprove anything, it must first be irrefutably shown to exist.

Answer 9

according to old legends gods were born from something it was an old sumerian book, but it brought about some interesting answer as to where they come from and it said that the god we worship today kill the rest and proclaimed that there shall be no god before him.

Answer 10

God always was and will always be.

Where did all the material come from that makes up the universe? Even an explosion in outer space would have to have material to start with. So where did it all come from if God didn't create it?