Logic tells us that there is a cause behind everything which begins to exist. This is true of everything in our universe - there is no example of anything that has ever come into existence out of nothing; there is always a cause. This must also be true of the universe itself as it has been proven by science and philosophy to have had a beginning. 

This cause behind the universe is what we would call God. But this is where a common question can arise - what caused God? 

The problem with this question is that it goes against the very definition of God. It doesn’t even matter whether you believe God exists or not, it is widely understood that God is the uncaused cause of everything.

I’ll give an example. Someone could ask me, “If giants were real, would they be taller than the average human?” I would say yes because regardless of whether I believe giants exist or not, the common understanding is that if they did exist, they would be significantly taller than the average man. 

In the same way, whether you believe in God or not, God is by definition the uncaused cause of everything - the transcendent, eternal, timeless, immaterial being who began the chain of cause and effect we have seen in our world ever since. So the next time someone asks you who caused God, you can explain who God is as the first cause of all things because there is no other explanation which can make sense of our universe’s existence. 

I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz