Who made God?

Jim2 · Post by **Jim2** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:49 am

A commonly asked question is this: “Who made God?” Some ask the query sincerely. Others frame it cynically. The answer is the same in both cases. Let's look into this alleged mystery.

“Where did God come from? Who made him?”

This is a frequently asked question, and it may be addressed in two basic ways. The most direct answer is the one supplied by the Scriptures themselves. And that will settle the issue for those who have confidence in the credibility of the sacred Book. Secondly, however, one may pursue the inquiry by means of the process of LOGICAL reasoning.

The Biblical View

The view regarding God that is set forth consistently in the Bible is this: He did not come from anywhere. No one made the Creator of the universe. He had no beginning, and will have no ending. He is the eternal, self-existing Being. The testimony of the Scriptures is this:

1.God is “everlasting” in nature (Isa. 40:28), which is to say, he is “eternal” as to his very essence (Rom. 16:26; 1 Tim. 1:17). His existence is “from everlasting to everlasting.” Before the material creation was spoken into existence, he always was (Psa. 90:2).
2.The Lord revealed himself to Moses as the “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14). The “I AM” expression is related to the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh (LORD—KJV, or Jehovah—see ASV footnote). This was the most sacred name for God. The term Yahweh occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament. The word is believed to be a form of the verb hayah, which signifies “to be,” ultimately meaning “the eternal One” or “self-existing One.” God’s existence is underived; no one made him. He simply always was.

LOGICALLY Speaking

The eternality of the Creator may be argued in another way as well. Consider the following LOGICAL line of argument.

1.If there ever was a time when nothing at all existed, then there would be absolutely nothing today. It is an AXIOMATIC TRUTH that if nothing exists, then “nothing” will be the case—always, for nothing simply remains nothing—forever! Nothing plus nothing equals nothing. If there is absolutely nothing but nothing, there cannot ever be something. “Nothing” and “something”—applied to the same object, at the same time—are mutually exclusive terms.
2.Since it is the case that something does now exist, one must LOGICALLY conclude that something has existed always. Let us state the matter again: If nothing cannot produce something, and yet something exists, then it follows necessarily that something has existed always. The question then becomes this. What is the “something” that has been in existence always?
3.In LOGIC, the “law of the excluded middle” states that a thing either is, or it is not. A line either is straight, or it is not straight.
Let us apply this principle to the matter at hand. Something has existed forever. That “something” must be either material in nature, or non-material. If it can be demonstrated that the eternal “something” is not material in nature, then it must follow that the eternal “something” is non-material in nature.

Another term for the “non-material” would be “spirit.” The question now becomes—what does the available evidence reveal? Is it the case that “matter” has existed forever, or does the evidence argue that the eternal “something” is non-matter, i.e., spirit?

4.The most reputable scientists in the world concede that “matter” is not eternal. In his book, Until the Sun Dies (New York: W.W. Norton, 1977), Dr. Robert Jastrow, founder of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and himself a professed agnostic, describes his perception of the initial creation of the universe. He speaks of that moment when “the first particles of matter appear” (21), thus, prior to that moment, matter did not exist.
Subsequently, he declares emphatically that “modern science denies an eternal existence to the Universe?” (30). There is not a particle of evidence that the universe has existed forever. The very fact that scientists attempt to assign an “age” to the universe is revealing within itself.

5.In view of the foregoing, namely that something has always existed, and yet that “something” is not of a material nature, the student of LOGIC is irresistibly forced to the conclusion that the “something” that is eternal is non-material—which means it must be “spirit” in its essence. The Scriptures identify that spirit Being as God. “God is spirit?” (Jn. 4:24)—an uncreated, eternal Spirit Being.

Both Scripture and LOGIC, then, in marvelous concert, testify to the fact that God is eternal. He had no origin. He is the everlasting I AM. No one “made” him. He simply IS.

Also, when talking about the creation, the universe cannot be self-caused! Nothing can create itself, because that would mean that it existed before it came into existence, which is a LOGICAL absurdity.

Hope to respond to responses, but am married now and don't have as much time to respond. I know subjects as this cause controversy, but it's not my intention to do so. Just want to let people know there are explanations to hard questions, and as Christians, we don't have to go unarmed without answers.

Most sincerely,

Jim

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:56 am

Jim,
Thank you so much for your post!! It was Awesome! and very True!! You did a great job of explaining that,,, love ya Nelly:)

Lizzzz · Post by **Lizzzz** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:22 pm

Thank you Nelly.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:44 pm

Jim, good job. I wasn't going to open because of your title. I thought it was by an antagonist. But then thot; I could respond with words of truth. I wonder if others will avoid...you could always repost with another title, I suppose. Though we are a curious group so maybe everyone will look

My curiosity makes me wonder about your background, training, interests..?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:39 pm

Jim, excellent job. I wished I had had this information back in school debating the issue.

Shal416 · Post by **Shal416** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:35 am

God created Man or Man created God?

The Atheist feels there is no god because god is not concrete; not reality. There are Realists and there are Nihilists. It's not that they don't respect people who believe in god, they have their own personal philosophy, too.

I'm a devout Catholic. I believe in God. And I also read a lot of philosophy, from Nietzsche to Spinoza. Nietzsche said God is dead. Spinoza, who was a monk, said man, simplistic in mind, may not fathom the essence that is god because the mind of man is limited in respect to understanding all that "is" God. I can understand why Atheists feel there is no god. God would not bring so much chaos and horror onto the world if he loves what he created so much...yet without pain, how can we ascertain what is real. We would never know the difference without comparison.

I love God. I love all he created and all that we have created. Sin and Forgiveness of Sin is so important. For how can we learn and practice his teachings if we do not have sin in the world to test us and strengthen our beliefs?

I feel you cannot reject an Atheist and not understand their feelings. We're told to spread The Word, not to convert them all and I can understand why sometimes it pushes people away. God gave everyone Free Will. Yet if He can believe the flock will come, so do I. My faith is strong in this: Only He can judge the living and the dead, and I believe in this wholeheartedly, respecting everyone and their own personal beliefs without questioning why someone cannot fathom the awesomeness of God. It's something you have to be open to, and for the myriad of a person's own experiences throughout their lives they may have a reason to question God, hate God, feel God does not exist, etc, but my faith and patience knows that one day they may come to believe.

I may have left a lot of things out, but I'm not here to write a philosophical novel. If I receive hate mail for this, that's okay. I have respect for everyone's feelings and beliefs.

"If God does not exist, then everything is forbidden."

BLESSED BE AND MERRY PARTING.

Love All.

[Edited for spelling because I'm OCD that way.

]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:42 am

Great Job Jim , Once again You have brought the truth to the people who seem to want to research for a reason to not believe so they can have an excuse to do things that aren't right , they wanna believe he doesn't exist so they can continue living a life of believeing in the Big Bang theory or what ever feels right for their lives. Everyone has a right to believe what ever they want of course and I wont judge anyone because I love Poeple so much and I am so far from being perfect but I do know that God is in Heaven and the Devil is in Hell!
So for me , I choose to Believe in him and Heaven and I wanna see everyone in Heaven along with me!!! Please open your mind and soul and really think about the whole picture dont read and believe everything you hear or see , Find out for your self there is a great Book out there its called THE BIBLE !!!!
May God Bless you all!!!! Ramona

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:51 am

We research to find Truth.

We research to have an understanding of God.

And as a scientist who believes in God, knowing more about what He hath created strengthens my faith, brings me closer to Him.

Science and Faith do not have to exist in separation.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:00 am

Back in the sixties a reporter pushed his way through a crowd as Billy Graham was getting off an airplane. The reporter ask Dr. Graham, "Do you think God is dead?" Dr. Graham said,"No". The reporter asked him,"How do you know that?" Dr. Graham replied,"Because I talked to Him this morning."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:30 am

Jim,

How enlightening your post has been. I am going through a religious struggle with my 15 year old right now and this adds a new dimension to my side of the argument.

She does not believe in Christianity in any form. She has accepted Wiccan as her religion of choice. Her beliefs are as far out in left field as they can get according to what I have learned in my own life. She tells me about certain aspects of her practice and why it is the way it is, and it is tough for me to explain to her the Christian rationale because I have not dug into the depths of it like you have. I love my daughter, and I don't agree with what she has chosen. I am wondering if the reason she has chosen this path is because she hasn't delved into the real basis for believing the way we do. I don't know. This whole subject can open a huge can of worms at my house.

Thank you for bringing a new understanding of this to me. At this point in my life I am struggling with my spirituality but this post makes me want to take a good, hard look at my faith and where I need to go from here.