Atheists: where do you think we and the universe came from?

You might believe in the Big Bang theory, or that we're just made of random cells, atoms and all that stuff. But where do we come from? Where did these cells and atoms come from? Where did EVERYTHING come from? Was it always there?
If you don't believe in any God, who or what do you think set everything in motion?

Just a humble question, I'm curious to know.

 

Great question. As for myself, I believe that the question is inherently paradoxical. Asking what caused the universe is like asking what's north of the North Pole. Thanks to the Theory of Relativity, we now know that time itself is a part of our physical universe, not just an abstract measurement. Time dilation: time moves more slowly for objects traveling at high velocities and those closer to massive objects than for objects traveling at slower velocities or which are further away from massive objects. There is no such thing as a universal "present". Time is relative to physical circumstances. That means that, when I talk about the universe, I'm not just talking about the totality of "stuff". I'm talking about the totality of space and time. The concept of a "cause" implies that a cause preceded an effect in time. Time itself probably doesn't have a cause, since nothing can precede time in time.

So, from a certain point of view, I guess you could say that my view is that the universe "has always been here", but what I'm really saying is that time does not exist within time. To talk about the universe as a whole is to talk about something that transcends our notions of time and causality. To ask what caused the universe is to ask what caused causality.

 

I don't know. Luckily, I don't think it really matters that I don't know. Sure it's an interesting subject to speculate about but it's unlikely knowing the answer would actually make all that much difference to my day-to-day life.

I don't think this should be limited to atheists though. Even if you believe a god of some sort was involved, the questions of where the matter/energy came from and how it came to be in it's current state still stand (not to mention the age old question of where god comes from).

 

Obviously, we don't know, but I think more interestingly, the question cannot have an answer. Whenever we find a solution, we will have to ask ourselves how that solution came about and why it is to be considered a solution, ad infinitum. This applies to any world view, saying that God created the universe sparks the same questions, "where did God come from?", "what are the rules which govern what we consider to be God's will?", and so on. No matter what solution we turn to, it is impossible to find a solution which is satisfactory. That of course doesn't mean we can find out more and more, I'm just skeptical that the question ultimately makes sense.

That being said, the Big Bang theory states only that there was a rapid expansion of space in the beginning of the universe. This is fairly well established and is not at odds with any important contemporary ideas. It should also be mentioned, as someone did before me, that we humans are used to time being inflexible and homogeneous, and for good reasons, but at the big bang, time doesn't work like that any more.

I don't have a particular issue with calling whatever source you might think of "God". I don't put any magic into that word, and so, I don't mind that word being used, but I should make it very clear that that's not necessarily the same as what many religious people today mean when they say "God".

 

Wait, let me guess. Was it a giant Spaghetti Monster?

If so, who made the Spaghetti Monster, or was the Spaghetti Monster just always there?

 

energy always existed and is ever changing......

even if energy slowly popped into existence over time then change to what we see today, it make more sense then a all knowing all powerful god always existed or popped into existence and created everything we see today

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I believe the universe has always been here. It's endless, vast and constantly expanding. It's hard to image a vast nothingness before 'Big Bang'..

 

We don't have a clue, no one does at this moment and time and quite possible might never know completely as one discovery will infinitely lead to another question or unknown which we must search for.

For some reason, most of the world has no issue believing a super-natural being has always existed or simply brush off the next obvious question of 'where did this super-natural being come from' as something that doesn't require answering, but have trouble with the possibility that anything non-super natural has always existed.

 

Amen. Saying "God did that" is not an answer.

In fact, that comes only after no longer even trying to find the answer.

 

Some folks are comfortable in not caring one way or another where they came from, and others worry incessantly about upsetting the God that they feel created them. At the end of the day, all of us will die, and those who believed in God may get the opportunity to be face to face with their creator. On the other hand, if God does not exist, you just might be dead and it won't matter anyhow. I guess the simplest way to answer the question is that we really don't know, because nobody has returned from the dead (at least not having been dead for a really long time) to give us the skinny on what it's really about.

I used to have lunch once a month with a young Catholic priest, and it would drive him crazy when I would ask..."Jarod, what if this God thing has been a big hoax perpetrated by a bunch of guys in Rome to bilk us out of 10% or more of our cash?" We never resolved that question in two years of monthly lunches (me buying most of them, LOL), because each of us would throw the next Socratic question out to be pondered for another month. He finally transferred to another parish and I haven't heard from his since.

At this point in my life, I just try to be a good person and help others because it makes me feel good, not because I'm trying to please my creator. I guess I'll have the answer when I croak....just like everyone else. Or maybe dead will just be dead, and nothing more. I haven't a clue, as it's outside my pay grade.

 

As others have mentioned
It is an unresolvable question for the foreseeable future
But postulating a god is a kludge... And unprovable alternative

Fwiw, lawrence krause has a video and book called a universe from nothing
In which he explains the counter intuitive idea that this universe could come from nothing
.... An idea as remarkable as dark energy and dark matter
The fact is that quantum scale events and einstein space time are just do not
Correspond to our intuitive understanding of reality
And intuitively, the universe we see must either be eternal, or have been created
But these are just the application of our preconceptions of what is possible

 

plus then you just changed the question as now the question is where did God come from instead

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there are some that believe the universe expands, then contracts, then expands forever... like a heartbeat, it's possible the bang is just the end of a contraction....

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We really just don't know. But I don't believe the universe was created by a being of any form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOrSCg_SHs

 

In other words, you hold a negative belief regarding "a being of any form" having created the universe. Would that be accurate?

 

The whole idea of the Universe always being here has already been debunked by even secular scientists.

The atheists here cannot answer the OP's question, because many of the atheists are intellectually dishonest. Atheists will tell you that they don't know. Many will refer to Lawrence Krauss' "quantum mechanics" origins theory - which only makes sense if you were to redefine what the word "nothing" actually means. When you redefine it as "something", you're doing something wrong.

Many other atheists will skate against the grain and say the universe has always existed, but then you have several problems:
1) Red shifting. If the universe was always here, then why is the universe expanding?
2) The universe is getting cooler. If the universe was always here, it would've cooled off completely by now and we'd all be dead.
3) Entropy suggests that, as the universe winds down, black holes would be everywhere, but we don't see that. In fact, we see mature galaxies with billions of young stars. We also see fewer supernovas than we ought to.

The reality is, the universe looks so delicate and precise, that it appears to have been intelligently designed.

 

So, it's quite pitifully dishonest of you to declare that atheists here "cannot" answer the OP's question while simultaneously laying out answers that atheists give for the question.

And what of the possibility of a recurring Universe? A cyclical expansion and contraction?

 

I do not.know which is why science is a beautiful thing.

Science allows us to explore and learn the answers to the very questions you ask and many others. There is nothing off limits to scientific research and the first rule of science is question EVERYTHING.

Religion however sets limits and forbids questions it tells you the god created all that stuff and that is that.

Dissent is not allowed.

 

we answered the question, you just don't like the answers I guess

red shifting.... expanding and contracting causes that

cooling, expanding cause that, it would also heat up on contraction

we do not know if a black hole has a corresponding white hole or if one day it will bang

m-theory also explains all that

fact is, an all knowing, all powerful jealous God would be much much more complicated then a Universe and require a creator itself or at least time to evolve into that God, Mormons believe we will all be God's someday

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About that 'intellectually dishonest' condition you spoke of. I'm not sure if you could call it 'intellectual dishonesty' or simply 'not keeping up with the latest findings in the world of Atheism'. Here is an article that shows that some are not keeping up with the times within that world of Atheism. http://www.examiner.com/article/atheism-101-is-negative-belief-still-belief It is really a good read... I even enjoyed it.

 

The atheist answers are intellectually dishonest, because they make overwhelming and unproven assumptions - or just plain and outright disregard other proven scientific facts.

Intellectual dishonesty #1 - Where would an oscillating universe get its energy? There would have to be energy to cause the universe to expand and energy to cause the universe to contract. However, that's a lot of energy. Where would it get such energy?

Intellectual dishonesty #2 - No one mentioned white holes.

Intellectual dishonesty #3 - No one can prove M-Theory. Since it's part of string theory (which is also unprovable), it's just an idea someone created in their head.

Why would a God be more complicated when the scientific facts appear to point to an intelligent designer?

 

where would a God get it's energy... ?

the bible is just a story ancient man made up in their head... nothing more

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Good point. I assumed that they were, in fact, keeping up with the world of atheism.

In that case, I'll retract my words.

If the being is timeless, spaceless and material-less, then that being can't possibly be restricted by space, time and mass. Energy is bound by those rules of 3 dimensional space. Does that make sense to you?

 

Which I love because the answer most give is "God has always been there". Yet when an atheist gives the answer of "The universe has just always been there", some religious folk go ape(*)(*)(*)(*) crazy lol.

 

that would be like me saying your not keeping up with theism cause you do not believe everything Muslims believe

theism includes EVERYONE that believe in a God

atheism includes EVERYONE that does not believe in a God


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whatever magic you can apply to a God, you can just as easily apply to the universe.... or you can admit we do not have all the answers yet.... Does that make sense to you?

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