Monday, April 29, 2019

Uncaused Existence

"If everything has a cause, so why is God exempted? If uncaused existence is possible, then why don't you accept that the universe could be uncaused?"

When it comes to uncaused existence, there is a debate. Is this uncaused existence an intelligence, like God, or is it a system, like the laws of science? So what comes first, intelligence that create the laws of science, or a system of laws evolve intelligence by mindless trial and error process?

Common sense tells me that the intelligence comes first. I have never seen a system coming into existence on its own without human intelligence. The Bible also agrees with me.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NASB, NIV, NLT)

But the evidence is not conclusive because there is only two levels of intelligence now - the uncaused intelligence (probably God) and human intelligence. It can always be argued that human intelligence can come from mindless evolution based on a uncaused existence of scientific laws because the age of the universe, currently (2013) estimated to be 13.82 billion years old, may be long enough for it to happen.

However, if the universe can be proven to be only 6000 years old, we can conclude confidently that the uncaused existence is intelligence, which is, God. Since the young universe has not been proven yet, many people cling to scientific laws as the uncaused existence. Because to acknowledge that the world is really created by an uncaused intelligence, there is an implication. Do we then have to submit to this intelligence?

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21 NIV)

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