Založ si blog

Q: What is a good argument against a theist who says “something can’t come from nothing so it MUST need a creator”?

Q: What is a good argument against a theist who says “something can’t come from nothing so it MUST need a creator”?

There are a variety of different counter-arguments available, depending on how sophisticated or glib you want to be:

  1. We don’t actually know that “something cannot come from nothing.” It may appear to be simple common sense and it may be true that we have never observed it happening, but neither of those things means that it must be true in all cases. There are a lot of things in the natural law that defy common sense, especially when you start talking about quantum mechanics and relativity, so that is not always a good guide. Also, modern science is now claiming that “nothingness” is an inherently unstable state and that things such as “virtual particles” do, in fact, appear ‘out of nothing” all the time.
  2. We don’t actually know that the universe “came from nothing” in the first place. That’s more of a theistic idea of “creation ex nihilo.” The so-called “big bang” theory describes the expansion of the universe from an initial hot and dense state, but it doesn’t say that that initial state just appeared out of nowhere. It could have existed in that state or some other state forever. Or perhaps it “budded” off another universe as part of a larger multi-verse. Or perhaps some other option we can’t even conceive of right now.
  3. Even if it were absolutely true that something can’t come from nothing and therefore the universe must have a “creator” of some sort, there’s no reason to claim that this “creator” must be any sort of sentient being or any sort of “god”. A meteorite “creates” a crater when it strikes the Earth. The process of water seeping through limestone over many years “creates” stalactites and stalagmites. Both of these involve something new arising via an act of “creation,” but neither one requires an intelligent “creator.” Just as there are natural laws that govern how things work within the universe, there might very well be natural laws that govern how universes are formed in the first place.
  4. If everything that exists needs a creator, why doesn’t God itself need a creator? And if you can make an exception for God because it is somehow “special”, then why not make an exception for the universe and skip God all together?


Note: My former Quora blog „Common Sense Atheism“ has now been converted into a „Space“ at Common Sense Atheism. If you like what I write, please consider following my Space so you can be notified when I add new content.

SEVEN FALSE CLAIMS IN GENESIS 1

06.07.2024

(1) Genesis claims Earth was created on Day-1 and the sun, moon and stars on Day-4 (Gen 1:1 / Gen 1:15-16) – Planets are composed of elements and elements are fused by stars. You cannot form planets from things fused by stars before stars exist. (2) Genesis claims Earth had three mornings and three evenings before the sun existed. (Gen 1:5, 8 & 13) – Mornings and evenings are [...]

Creationist

06.07.2024

Creationists assert or claim that there is a benovelent God, a powerful entity that created the universe by his words, (Let there be light), and used dust to create mankind. However, atheists rejected the assertion of the creationists based on the failure of the creationists to prove the existence of God. Therefore, a scientific claim was introduced, as another possibility of the universe [...]

evil

05.07.2024

Nonsense. If anything has created this universe it must be pure evil. I think the reverse is right- evil can only create, it cannot destroy what it’s created. If god had some basic decency he would’ve wiped this hell he created eons ago. If he exists of course

česko, policie

Polícia zasahovala v pražskej štvrti Řepy po nahlásení streľby

06.07.2024 17:57

K incidentu prišlo na ulici Skuteckého na západnom okraji Prahy.

Robert Fico, prvé vystúpenie po atentáte

Fico tvrdí, že podporuje okamžité prímerie na Ukrajine a začiatok rokovaní

06.07.2024 14:47

Mier sa podľa Fica nedá dosiahnuť žiadnymi ultimátami, ani kladením nerealistických podmienok.

Viktor Orbán

Orbán píše pre Newsweek o zlomovom momente: Zmyslom NATO je mier, nie nekonečná vojna

06.07.2024 12:47

Čím viac sa lídri NATO domnievajú, že konflikt je nevyhnutný, tým väčšia bude ich úloha pri jeho vyvolaní, píše Orbán pre Newsweek.

Polícia / Pomáhať a chrániť / Policajné auto /

Útočník dobodal v Moravskom Svätom Jáne majiteľa predajne

06.07.2024 11:13

Napadnutého muža previezli do nemocnice, útočníka polícia zadržala.

Štatistiky blogu

Počet článkov: 771
Celková čítanosť: 220320x
Priemerná čítanosť článkov: 286x

Autor blogu

Kategórie