If there was nothing in the beginning..................?

Question

I cannot answer this question from my eight year old grandson.

He and his six friends have decided that they are not religious because...

If there was nothing in the beginning, how could God create himself?

Some question from an 8 year old!

Answer 1

Explain to him that he is asking about infinity, which is where the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

Not all questions have answers yet, and that is what keeps things interesting.

Answer 2

Hey, don't worry show him these scriptures ok.

Colossians 1:15-17,
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist,

and...

Ephesians 3:9,
9 and should make men see how the sacred secret is administered which has from the indefinite past been hidden in God, who created all things.

Isaiah 40:28,
Have you not come to know or have you not heard? Jehovah, the Creator of the extremities of the earth, is a God to time indefinite. He does not tire out or grow weary. There is no searching out of his understanding.

Romans 1:19-20,
because what may be known about God is manifest among them, for God made it manifest to them. 20 For his invisible [qualities] are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable;

Answer 3

I just knew all of the Christians would have to jump on the bandwagon..they seem to have the answers to everything. I mean god only created Christians. Do you know there are some questions for which there are no answers, and that's okay too, perfectly alright to tell a little one, they do appreciate you telling them the truth. If you start making things up then they find you out and perhaps don't trust you next time. It's perfectly alright not to have the answers to all of life's big questions. Unless you are absolutely one hundred percent sure about the beginning of the universe and the existence of god, I would just tell them you don't know, and you doubt there were many people around who were alive back then to tell you..You sound like a nice man, at least you listened to their question and did not dismiss them. Good luck

Answer 4

God is not a form or entity. It pervades all. It is a like a sea, in which all the things and beings with bodies are created, they stay there for some time and thereafter dissolve in it.

Whirls, waves and tides created in the sea r not different from the sea. Similarly things and beings with bodies are not different from God.

Once a child asked his father, "What is God?"
Father showed him empty space and said "if a building comes up in this space, does anything happen to space". Boy said "no".
Father said,"if that building is demolished, does anything happen to that space"
Boy Said,"No"
Father said,"that empty space is God".

These r explanations as God can never be explained by words. Similar aspects of world r used to explain God to most of the worldly people, who r not fortunate enough to experience this truth.

Answer 5

Excellent question from an 8 year old and one which goes to the heart of the debate that rages here. If there was nothing then logically that's what there was and that drives a coach and horses through the creation myth.

Answer 6

The question assumes that God had a beginning. However, the Bible explains that God is 'from time indefinate to time indefinate'.

If God does not exist, then the Universe must have created itself, so, by the same reasoning, we shouldn't believe the Universe exists.

Answer 7

lol You got some philosophical 8 year olds there. But God was never created, He is the Creator. He exists outside the restraints of 'time'. God was always there and always will be there (the Alpha and the Omega.)
God bless

Answer 8

A young child is generally the center of his own universe.

It is difficult enough for them to grasp what life might have been like when you were a child, with no remote tv, no microwave, no dvd's, or vhs', no computers, etc.

They hear the words, but it likely seems like a different world because of how radically the culture has changed.

Similarly, it is difficult for us to grasp a being like God because He is so radically different (Rudolf Otto said "wholly other") than we are. So to try to explain that God was not created, but has always been...can be interesting.

I have a 7 and a 9 year old. I try to explain what life was like when I was a kid, then I try to explain what life was like when my parents and grandparents were children, to the best of my ability.

They're usually like, really? wow....

Then I tell them that was only like 30-70 years ago. Imagine thousands of years ago or more.

Then take it further and try to imagine someone who has always been around.

Answer 9

I agree with all the CHRISTIAN answerers who DO believe in the one and only God! Tell your grandson to at least read the Bible if not, go to church. Don't believe in such thing as the big bang and evolution, it denies God's existence! Stay away from atheism and believe me, then your salvation's near! They say that it's never too late to become a Christian, but as we are finding ourselves in the ending of times, you better seek contact with God, as soon as possible! Rely on Him, or else you'll be doomed.

Answer 10

I am utterly stunned. Your grandson is amazing.

It sounds like he figured out the counter to the Cosmological argument for the existence of God (i.e.

argument from First Cause).

While it doesn't prove god doesn't exist, it definately tears hole in the argument that he does exist based

on that particular argument.

Your grandson is brilliant. I am in awe. I put a link below, because it seems, at your grandson's amazing

pace, you'll need to do a lot of research.

I'd love to see how he destroys Ontological argument for god's existence!

Answer 11

generally it is considered that there was nothing physical in the beginning, but the spiritual world is "ein sof" endless - no beginning no end, no size, no edge.

so there was nothing physical in the beginning but god is what is there even when there is nothing else - god is everywhere.

In hindu philosophy it is sometimes said that the world is god's dream. In the beginning he was sleeping without dreams, and then he started to dream and that is how the world was created. that is the explanation that worked for me at that age.