Did the Universe Have a Beginning? (Cosmological Argument)

Cause and Effect is a natural law of the universe. Everything that is, was caused by something. Here are some examples:

• Effect: The 8-ball going in the corner pocket. Cause: Hitting the Cue ball into the 8-ball.
• Effect: A lighter creates a flame. Cause: Fuel from the lighter mixes with surrounding oxygen and
are ignited by the spark.
• Effect: Silent treatment from my wife. Cause: Telling her that she has T-Rex arms (she doesn’t,
this is how I flirt…poorly).

However, this breaks down when you trace it all of the way back to the beginning of the universe. What caused the the Big Bang that has led to the creation of the universe that led to the formation of the Earth that led to invention of Auto-tuner which led to the bewildering popularity of T-Pain? Or, perhaps more succinctly, what caused the first cause?

As you might imagine, this question has been on the minds of humans for thousands of years and it
can get a bit messy. “So…if something caused the first cause, then it isn’t the first cause, right? What
caused that cause…” and on and on. Basically it boils down to this: something must infinite. From here we have 2 options; either the universe is infinite OR something outside this universe is infinite. Let’s explore the former, shall we?

Can the Universe be infinite?

Let’s put on our nerd glasses for a second as we address this question. According to the 2nd law of
thermodynamics,

“all forms of energy go from a higher, more organized state, to a lower more chaotic state in a closed
system.”

All this says is that all of the energy in the universe was introduced at the moment of the big bang and
since then everything has been cooling down and spreading apart. Makes sense, right? Stars burn out.
Also, notice the qualifier “in a closed system” in the 2nd law. Our universe is a closed system. (Some scientists have thought about ways of getting around this by saying that.) Let’s assume that ‘Bill Nye,
the atheist science guy’ wants to try to get around this, he might say “Hey, um….maybe somewhere
there are Hydrogen atoms popping into existence. Then the universe is an ‘open system’ and the 2nd
law of thermodynamics doesn’t apply.” Well, I hate to burst your bubble Billy boy, but that statement
has no observational evidence to back it up. Someone who believes such a theory is ‘having faith’ that somewhere Hydrogen atoms pop into existence, uncaused, and maybe someday we will be able to see them. Again, it isn’t science, it is faith. Not only is it faith, it is baseless faith. We have no reason to believe that this would be the case, except that Bill Nye, the atheist science guy, doesn’t want there to be a God.

So, if the universe is closed, which it is, and there is only a finite amount of energy, then according to the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the universe can’t be infinite.

What is infinite outside of the Universe?

Ok, so what can we call the thing outside of the universe that is infinite? Is it possible that another
universe created ours? Well, you would tend to fall into the same problems that we experienced with
our universe, so no.

One hypothesis states that there are two floating membranes that slowly drift toward each other.
When they collide, they create a universe and separate. Overtime though, they slowly drift toward
each other until another Big Bang happens forming another universe. This happens billions of years
apart. However, you run into the same problem with energy decay. How do they have enough energy
to bounce up against each other forever? The 2nd law says that they can’t.

This really only leaves us with one option, that there exists a Creator that transcends time.  To help summarize these points, I made a prezi. Check it out, and let me know if you have any questions.

Proving The Existence of God to Atheists on Prezi

-Seth

What I'm talkin' bout, Willis!

Welcome to Beyond Sunday

Oh!? Hello there, fancy seeing you here.  Welcome to my blog.  Right from the get-go I will wear my faith on my sleeve so there is no confusion.  I am a Christian who believes in the God of the Bible.  I believe that Jesus lived, died for the sins of mankind, and rose from the dead as described in the New Testament.  The state of Christianity in the world is very concerning to me. Not only for the spread of Christianity its self, but for individuals who claim to be Christians, but have no idea about what it means to wear that badge.  In my short 25 years (almost 26...hint, hint) on Earth, I've had my ups and downs with faith.

I grew up going to church sporadically.  Once I got to junior high and high school, I became more heavily involved with church.  I was baptized, went on missions, and tried to spread the word to my friends.  Honestly, it was an easy thing to do because a lot of my friends were going to the same church.  It was fun.  In the midst of all of that spiritual euphoria, I quickly realized that my faith in Christian doctrines lacked a fundamental understanding.

 My friend, Tanner, and me after a 4-hour long Spanish church service during a mission trip in Ensenada, Mexico

My (then) atheist girlfriend poked holes in my spirituality without any effort at all (I know, I know, "don't flirt to convert").  What I found was that it was easy to go through the motions: attend church, sing the worship music, and pray some prayers.  Over time, my girlfriend's questions began to deteriorate my faith.  Questions such as:

Why does God allow so much suffering and pain throughout the world? 

We can't possibly trust everything written in the Bible, right? 

Doesn't evolution, and most of science, totally negate the existence of God?

At that point, these questions defeated by infant-level understanding of what the Gospel truly means and the implications it has on other levels.  I fell into a 2-year stint of Agnosticism/Atheism in which I continued to search for answers, but I never received any that I deemed satisfactory.  

It wasn't until the Spring of 2006 that I was shown a side a Christianity I'd never seen before.  Pastor Doug Coyle showed me a logical defense of the Chrisitan faith called "Apologetics."  This approach, along with a more fundamental understanding of the Gospel, made for an insumountable case for Christianity.  I became hungry, starving for more.  All of the reservations I had slowly dwindled away as I schooled myself.

It was through this "A-HA!" moment that I'm able to call myself a Christian today with more confidence and fervor than ever before.  Throughout the past 5-years I've shared what I have learned with my close friends, but now I want to take it to a more public arena. 

Intentions of this blog

As I mentioned, I've had an interesting struggle with faith.  Throughout my journey, I have learned a lot so I want to provide people with the information necessary that will give them a firm faith foundation. However, understand that I have no formal traning on these topics.  Everything I've learned has come from doing research in my spare time. So please understand that I'm not an expert, but I will put forth information that comes from experts. 

I know that I still have much to learn and an stoked to write this chapter of my spiritual walk with others.  I will bring forth concepts that are philosophical, logical, and sometimes seem academic in nature.  However, I will do my darnedest to present everything in a relatable and casual way that's a fun read.  That's right, fun AND educational.  Like School House Rock...like Sunday School House Rock!  Except, I hope that my blog isn't ripe for parody in a couple years. 

If you only take one thing away from this long spiel its this:

***My #1 goal is to show that faith in the Christian God is the most scientific, consistent, and logical faith any human can have.***

To be clear, I intend this for Christians and non-Christians alike.  You can email me at sethrwalker@gmail.com with more private comments or questions you have.

-Seth