The world was only a small planet in space. But where did space come from? could anything have always existed? Surely everything that exists must have had a beginning?
As some point, something must have come from nothing....but what about god himself?
Even though God could create all kinds of things, he could hardly create himself before he had a "self" to create with.
So saying this... do you feel right living in the world without at least inquiring where it came from?
Discuss
I think the presupposition here, is the principle of sufficient reason which you have stated as "everything must have a cause". This I thin is a false assumption and the wrong principle to use in order to get actual answers about reality. Why do you assume this?
IF something has always existed, it obviously wouldnt require a cause, and besides this the principle leads either to a contradictory infinite regression or first self caused being which are both impossible. For something to be brought into existence it would first have to not exist. But in order to be ale to produce oneself into existence, one would already have to exist in order to do so. Since nothing can both exist and not exist simultaneously a self caused being is impossible. Likewise an infinite regression is impossible because unless there was a first cause for the series the series would never be able to exist as a successive series.
Another way to look at it is that there has to be a source of being for the contingent series, otherwise the contingent series wouldnt be. That is, either a being has existence in itself or it must receive it from another. That is, either a being has existence in itself and can therefore give it to another that needs it, or a being doesnt have existence in itself and must receive it from another. If every being needed existence from another but there was no being with existence in itself to be able to give it to another, then nothing would exist. But since something does exist, and beings are receiving their existence from another, for we exist moment by moment, this means there must be a being with existence in itself, whos able to give it to another, ie God. who is the source from which we must receive our existence.
The principle that does apply to reality is the principle of causality which states that only whatever comes to be needs a cause, so it applies to a more limited sphere of reality as opposed to the principle of sufficient reason.
The bottom line to this I think is that the universe is contingent, can either be or not be, is not necessary, and since whatever is contingent must be caused by another because it cannot cause itself, the universe must be caused by something beyond what is contingent/beyond the contingent time space universe..ie necessary=God. This follows I think from just using the basic first principles of reason, one of which is the law of causality. Whatever comes to be or can cease to be must be caused, the universe came to be/can cease to be, therefore the universe must be caused. So while nothing cannot cause something, where only something can cause something, something can cause something out of nothing which is consistent w the principle of causality.
