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Where did God come from?
I am not trying to start trouble, I believe my Lord and my God totally. But a few days ago, this question crossed my mind and it shook me up a little. I praise my Lord...that I cannot claim to know all His workings and all His ways. I can be as a child and trust my Lord and through 'faith' He gives us Grace and peace.
However.....I think this 'is' a viable question and probably an interesting topic for conversation.
Evolutionists believe the 'Big Bang'...'just happened', but Creationists ask, What went bang, and what did it go bang in?". But.....'If Creation came from 'nothing'.....what did 'nothing'/void' come from? What was 'nothing' 'in' when it became 'something', .....and where did 'God' come from in the 'nothing' to create 'something'?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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The philosophical expression of a thesis first argued by Parmenides, often stated in its Latin form: Ex nihilo, nihil fit, which translated means: out of nothing, nothing can come is a true statement and is one of the many problems scientist have to contend with when discussing theories like the big bang. In simple talk, we say, you cannot get something from nothing, because if all you have is nothing, then that is all you will ever have. Nothing cannot produce something, to think that it can it’s to be absurd. If there ever existed a time where there was absolutely nothing, then we can be sure that today there will be absolutely nothing.
The classical Christian view is that god creates the world – ex nihilo – out of nothing. Does not this contradict the law of ex nihilo, nihil fit, which translated means: out of nothing, nothing can come? Nope! When we say that god creates the universe out of nothing, is not the same thing as saying, once there was nothing and out of that nothing, everything came. We are saying there is a self existent and eternal being that has the power to call out of nothing, something into being. We say in the beginning there was God and God….
And God is not nothing! He alone has the ability to create out of nothing. This is the power of creativity. When we create, we create from existent matter, but god does not create the universe in the same way. He has the power to create by his power and authority of his word and command, because even nothing cannot resist the command of our god.
We know …By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3
The thing is that God has done much in each of our lives and there is so much historical, archeological, prophetical, statistical, philosophical and scientific evidence that for those things, like where does God come from? we take His word for it. He is the great I am and we believe it. No begining and no ending.
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ohhh the short answer is: we do not know where God comes from or what He was up to before
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Permalink Reply by Frances Bare on
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I asked that question to my DAD when I was 6 years old, Who made God and he answered, God is a Mystery and you should never ask that question again in your life, we will know the full story when are with him in Heaven.
As I grew up, Along the way, I felt the POWER OF GOD's love with fellow Christian Families and the question did not ever occur to me again to ask Where he came from but rather discover who God is and to my amazement, as you continue to discover THE SOVEREIGN LORD, it is not enough, you will continue and the abundance is great but it does not end because HE IS A LIVING GOD. You can not get enough of him, you just yearn and yearn more of him.
Have you heard of a SECRET PLACE, well, THE SOVEREIGN LORD dwells there. Where there is a secret place, we continue to search, look and in our journey, we will experience obstacles and encounters but only through FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST will we make it.
GOD is The Alpha and THE Omega, The Beginning and The End and No one will know Where he came from and how He reigns as OUR SOVEREIGN LORD. The answer is how you finish up here on earth and go to him in Heaven then you will truly know.
JESUS is the only one who knows THE FATHER.
Take Care and Stay Blessed.
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Raj,
God told Moses a lot when He told Him “"I AM WHO I AM." God has many names and each one describes a different aspect of Him.
when I hear the suppose intellectuals of this world and their theories that need more faith than the faith we need to believe in God, some of their theories cracked me up, but I do feel sad to see how far some go, to avoid giving God the glory for His creation.
>>"When we leave this universe these laws are non-existent and redundant because, obviously these laws only apply to this universe alone"
Wow - I have nothing against such assumptions, but the scientist and philosophers should not assert things that cannot be affirmed. The theology teacher that made that statement is either a very liberal theologian or just impressed by statements that do not really hold up to scrutiny. Those things are plausible, and sound deep, but under the Christian microscope they fall apart.
When theologians or scientist use words like "obviously" without providing a cinch of scientific proof, but a bunch of assumptions is not wise. Unbelievers would say about anything to keep from praising the Lord of lords and King of kings and unfortunately some in the household of faith, sometimes buy into such assumptions.
Raj you said: >>We understand our world by reasoning with our finite minds.
True up to a point. But we can also, gain wisdom and understanding from above. Not worldly wisdom, which falls very short, but heavenly wisdom.
In the Third chapter of Exodus verse 14 we find the following: And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.'"
The following is a long article, from which i only cut a small portion. You can find it at: http://www.yhwh.com/GINGN/gingn.htm
What "I AM" tells us about God
YHWH's name, the "I AM", reveals the fullness of His being. All of His nature and attributes are embodied in His name. In other words, rather than a cryptic mystery, "I AM" tells us everything that can be known about YHWH. I know that sounds like a bold statement, but I hope to be able to convince you of at least part of it.
The main concept here has to do with the elusive term "being". Some things "are", while others "are not". If you want a fancy word, this is an ontological issue.
I'd like you to think about a coin. It exists, right? Right. And coins have two sides, heads and tails. They are opposite but equal, in that both exist. Philosophers say that "heads" and "tails" have the same ontological status, which is a convenient way to say that they both exist in the same degree and the same manner.
Now what other things can we think of that are opposites with equal ontological statuses? Let's try these:
Left and right
North and south
Front and back
Male and female
Open and closed
Sweet and sour
However, there are many pairs of opposites that do not share the same ontological status.
Like what?
Light and dark, for one.
You may be surprised. We experience two seemingly (at first) opposite states, but they are not ontologically equivalent in the same way that heads and tails are. Why not? Because light IS. Darkness is not. Light IS. It is an energy. It can be measured, quantified, analyzed, seen, felt. Darkness is simply the absence of light.
"Heads" is real. So is "Tails", and equally so. "Tails" is more than the absence of "Heads". Erase all the figures on the "heads" side and there is still something on the "tails." But remove all the light, and what is left?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And the nothing we call darkness.
Light IS. Darkness is the absence of what is. And YHWH is light. YHWH IS. Light is. Darkness is not.
Over the years I have found a great many people have difficulty grasping this. But it is very important, so I'm trying to be as clear as I can, even at the risk of redundancy. And I want to try it one more way.
Imagine yourself in a pitch dark room. You turn on the switch and light floods the room. An actual energy appears. Photons (the stuff light is made of) stream out of the bulb and illumine the room. Turn the switch again, and the photons disappear. It is not as though something different is now coming out of the bulb which we call "darks" that are "darkening" the room the way the photons were lighting it. It's just that the photons are gone!
No one on the earth knows what light is. We know it moves in waves and we know that it is made of particles, and we know that particles can't move in waves and that waves can't contain particles. But that's what light is. But whatever light is, it is!
"I AM THAT I AM." God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all!
Two more points about this light and dark business:
First, there is an absolute limit to darkness: 0 photons present. Light, however, has no limitation. There is no theoretical limit to the number of photons that can be present in a given space. Go to the center of a star and you'll find a whole bunch of 'em. So, pitch dark is the zero point, and light grows to infinity. This is a statement of quantity.
Second is a statement of quality. While pitch dark has only one color and shape (nothing and none), light has an infinite realm of possibilities for different colors and shapes. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If you are comfortable with this concept, then you can begin to see very deeply into the meaning of "I AM THAT I AM", and why I say that all of YHWH's nature and attributes are embodied in His name. Find the ontological opposites and YHWH is revealed by the one that is.
Let's try some more.
YHWH is life. Life, whatever it is, is. Death is simply the absence of life.
YHWH is light (energy/matter). Energy is. Light is just one form of energy. Matter is. We know, in fact, that energy and matter are opposite sides of the same coin. We can change matter to energy and vice versa, but the total amount of energy/matter can't be changed. It is. And it is YHWH.
YHWH is truth. Truth is a statement of what is. Falsehood is a statement of what is not.
In these few paragraphs we have seen that the personal name of God, YHWH, I am Who I am, embodies all matter, energy, life, and truth.
But there is more. Much more.
Remember that one of the ways YHWH has been translated is "The Self-Existent one." What does this mean?
Something is self-existent if it can exist all by itself, without any dependencies whatsoever. Everything we encounter in life is dependent on something else. Life needs air. Air needs molecules. Molecules need molecular cohesion. Molecular cohesion needs.......and so on. Where does the chain of dependency end? What is the "ontological anchor" of the universe?
YHWH, the I Am that I Am, the creator of the universe, depends only on Himself for existence. He is the source and origin of all that exists. In Him we live and move and have our being.
That is why YHWH is sometimes translated the self-existent one.
Hopefully you can begin to understand why I say that all of YHWH's nature and attributes are embodied in His name. He is the ultimate ground. We are the figures. He is infinite subject. We are object. He is the source. We the proceeds. God, the creator of the universe, is. And that is-ness is not dependent on any other reality.
"Ani" is Hebrew for "I Am." Throughout the Bible you see (in most translations) the phrase "I am the LORD" in all caps like that. In Hebrew, that is Ani YHWH. "Behold, I am the I am." I am that I am.
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Question: "Who is God?"
Answer: Who is God? What is God? How can we know God?
Who is God? - The Fact
The fact of God’s existence is so conspicuous, both through creation and through man’s conscience, that the Bible calls the atheist a “fool” (Psalm 14:1). Accordingly, the Bible never attempts to prove the existence of God; rather, it assumes His existence from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1). What the Bible does is reveal the nature, character, and work of God.
Who is God? - The Definition
Thinking correctly about God is of utmost importance because a false idea about God is idolatry. In Psalm 50:21, God reproves the wicked man with this accusation: “You thought I was altogether like you.” To start with, a good summary definition of God is “the Supreme Being; the Creator and Ruler of all that is; the Self-existent One who is perfect in power, goodness, and wisdom.”
Who is God? - His Nature
We know certain things to be true of God for one reason: in His mercy He has condescended to reveal some of His qualities to us. God is spirit, by nature intangible (John 4:24). God is One, but He exists as three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17). God is infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), incomparable (2 Samuel 7:22), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God exists everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12), knows everything (Matthew 11:21), and has all power and authority (Ephesians 1; Revelation 19:6).
Who is God? - His Character
Here are some of God’s characteristics as revealed in the Bible: God is just (Acts 17:31), loving (Ephesians 2:4-5), truthful (John 14:6), and holy (1 John 1:5). God shows compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), mercy (Romans 9:15), and grace (Romans 5:17). God judges sin (Psalm 5:5) but also offers forgiveness (Psalm 130:4).
Who is God? - His Work
We cannot understand God apart from His works, because what God does flows from who He is. Here is an abbreviated list of God’s works, past, present, and future: God created the world (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5); He actively sustains the world (Colossians 1:17); He is executing His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11) which involves the redemption of man from the curse of sin and death (Galatians 3:13-14); He draws people to Christ (John 6:44); He disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:6); and He will judge the world (Revelation 20:11-15).
Who is God? - A Relationship with Him
In the Person of the Son, God became incarnate (John 1:14). The Son of God became the Son of Man and is therefore the “bridge” between God and man (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). It is only through the Son that we can have forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), reconciliation with God (John 15:15; Romans 5:10), and eternal salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Jesus Christ “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). So, to really know who God is, all we have to do is look at Jesus.
http://www.gotquestions.org/who-is-God.html
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Permalink Reply by Ron Payne on
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It is an old question despite the fact that the Bible is quite clear on the subject.
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Psalm 90:2
We see from the above and what follows is that God always existed
"Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting." Psalm 93:2
We are inclined to see everything in the present time. Therefore everything in our minds must have a “Beginning” and an “End” But when one considers time in relation to God, there is no “Time” as we understand it, therefore there is no “Beginning” and no “End” .
Perhaps another word could be used. “ALWAYS” Eternity will “ALWAYS” be. God (IS) “ALWAYS” been and God (IS) ALWAYS be. Note that I did not say that “God (HAS) always been because that could be interpreted as “past tense”. No God always “IS”. He IS today just as He IS tomorrow. God is outside the realm of time.
Because of the above, your question cannot be applied to God, because God cannot be linked to a time or a place.
I believe Raj Vasudevan hits the nail on the head when he points out that God's name is "I AM!"
In the present, the past and the future God ALWAY IS - "I AM"
Ron
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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on
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I am never alone, even when I think that I am. That is an awesome thing...being a Christian prohibits a person from being alone! I'm not sure that a nonChristian could be alone...sooo alone is a noncondition. (Is that a word?)
Blessings to you guys!
Rita
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I love the second video by Venomfangx, specially the "duh"part hahaha OK~ ok i will behave hahaha
1. Either Everything came from nothing, which is IMPOSSIBLE.
OR...
2. Something ALWAYS existed and created everything that is created.
If you are in the side of Logic - you will agree that nothing can only make NOTHING, so obviously something created everything. And whatever created everything always existed.
Some will say well, in that case, the universe always existed and we do not need to involve a God in the picture.
The problem with that is that if we say the universe always existed is to apply properties of infinity to it. Is matter, time and space infinite? But we know matter, time and space CANNOT BE ETERNAL....
And I say Amen!
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Permalink Reply by forgiven on
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(Quote) If you are in the side of Logic - you will agree that nothing can only make NOTHING,
Ha Ha, David, I will have to disagree,
'Nothing' cannot make 'nothing'.....
Nothing cannot make 'anything'. (:
I am seriously enjoying reading these replies, however 'over my head' some may be.
I very much enjoy s t r e c h i n g my understanding.
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Yeah Rob,
To use “Anything” instead of "nothing", would be grammatically correct , but you know the video was trying to be redundant to emphasize the point.
Blessings :)
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