Lesson 3- Why Something and Not Nothing?

Genesis 1:1 KJV 1900

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

John 1:1–3 KJV 1900

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Notice in both of these portions of scripture there is no effort to prove that God exists, it is merely assumed from the very beginning that God exists.

The question that we will ask today is whether or not this is a reasonable assumption based upon the evidence we have.

We begin by first asking the most basic question of all “Why is there something rather than nothing?”

Many years ago, a man named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz asserted that the answer is to be found, not in the universe of created things, but in God. His argument was that God exists necessarily and is the explanation for why anything else exists.

The Structure of the Argument

Everything that exists has an explanation for its existence.

If the universe has an explanation of its existence, that explanation is God.

The universe exists.

The universe has an explanation for its existence.

Therefore, the explanation of the universe’s existence is God.

This sequence of logical arguments naturally brings us to the conclusion that God is the explanation for the existence of the universe if all of the premises of the argument are true there can be no other solution.

Those who reject the existence of God must then present some objection to one or more of these premises if they are to assert that there is some other explanation for the existence of the universe.

Common Objections

The conclusions drawn in 4 and 5 arise naturally from the premises given in 1-3 so it is one of these 3 premises which those who disagree must object to. Obviously even the atheist must admit that the universe exists, so the premises that are objected to are going to be premises 1 or 2.

Objection to Premise 1- God must have an explanation for his existence

This objection supposes that there is no explanation for God’s existence.

Everything that exists either exists necessarily or is contingent upon some outside cause for its existence.

Things that exist necessarily exist by a necessity of their own nature. In other words it is impossible for them not to exist.

By contrast, things that are contingent are caused to exist by something else and don’t exist necessarily. They exist because something else produced them. In other words it is possible for these things not to exist.

Premise 1 might then be restated in these terms- Everything that exists has an explanation of its existence, either in the necessity of its own nature or in an external cause.

It has sometimes been stated that God is the “uncaused cause.” The very nature of God is that he exists necessarily. It is impossible for Him not to exist. If there was a cause which is responsible for His existence, then by definition He ceases to be God.

Colossians 1:16–17 KJV 1900

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Those who reject God’s existence, agree that everything in the universe has an explanation for its existence but that the universe has no explanation.

This commits a fallacy because it is illogical to assert that everything in the universe has an explanation and then suddenly exempt the universe.

Objection to Premise 2-

Those who deny God’s existence almost always respond to this argument in a similar fashion by arguing that atheism is true thus the universe has no explanation for its existence.

The problem that this presents is that in order to make this claim they must agree with premise 2 of the argument which could be restated to say- “if the universe has an explanation, atheism is not true.”

The universe is made up of all of space-time reality, including all matter and energy, thus if the universe has a cause it must be a nonphysical, inmaterial being beyond space and time. What an excellent description of the God of the Bible!

The Atheist’s Alternative

In reality the only alternative that someone who does not believe in God has is to insist that the universe is itself the “uncaused cause.”

However, science itself now asserts that the universe had a beginning, so this logically points to the fact that there was a point at which the universe did not exist.

The obvious problem with this assertion is that none of the things that make up the universe exist necessarily, whether stars, planets, galaxies, dust, radiation, etc...

Moving even to the fundamental particles of which the universe is composed, no one thinks that every particle in the universe exists by a necessity of its own nature. It follows that the neither does the universe composed of such particles exist be a necessity of its own nature.

Conclusion

Given the truth of the three premises, the conclusion is inescapable: God is the explanation of the universe.

Moreover the argument implies that God is uncaused, unembodied mind who transcends the physical universe and even space and time themselves and who exists necessarily.

Psalm 14:1 KJV 1900

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.

Psalm 53:1 KJV 1900

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good.