(February 28, 2014 at 8:49 am)catman Wrote: I don't know what was before then. And neither do you.

But how did nothing become something? I'm genuinely curious.

(February 28, 2014 at 8:46 am)JesusLover1 Wrote: Okay I have a question. Without a spiritual explination, how is it possible for everything to have begun? Doesn't science teach everything needs a cause? Like the Big Bang, how was something around forever? What was before then? I'm not saying this is proof of God, but it seems scientifically impossible that there's a natural explanation to it.

Hey, now we're getting somewhere!

The short answer is that, as of now, we don't know how the universe began, but science is still looking, and we have some good evidence for the big bang such as cosmic background radiation, universal expansion and so on. What happened before the big bang isn't known, and it's possible there's a god back there, but what you'll find is that most atheist aren't willing to give that idea credence just yet, and are waiting for more evidence. In fact, "before" the big bang might not even be a concept that makes sense, since you're essentially asking what happened before time began. Without time, there's no before for things to happen in.

Which is also the problem you're going to have when asking "doesn't everything require a cause?" Well, as far as we know, most things within the universe do, but that doesn't necessarily mean that things outside of the universe do, especially when you're talking about a place where everything we know about time and physics no longer apply. It's simply too muddy to safely say anything about yet: why not just let ourselves say "I don't know," right now, rather than forcing a god in there?

That helpful?

Quote:I can't give out personal information. But please, I'm not lying, why would I lie about something like this? It would be horrible! I'm saying everything I've been told.

Edited to add: I don't think anyone here is saying you're lying. As far as I can tell, we just think you're mistaken as to what you think the cause of this event was.

(February 28, 2014 at 8:50 am)JesusLover1 Wrote: But how did nothing become something? I'm genuinely curious.

I would suggest that you read or watch Lawrence Krauss. He explains it very well. There are a lot of you tube videos of him about that topic.

(February 28, 2014 at 8:50 am)JesusLover1 Wrote:

(February 28, 2014 at 8:49 am)catman Wrote: I don't know what was before then. And neither do you.

But how did nothing become something? I'm genuinely curious.

You have to define what you mean by "nothing".

(February 28, 2014 at 8:50 am)JesusLover1 Wrote:

(February 28, 2014 at 8:49 am)catman Wrote: I don't know what was before then. And neither do you.

But how did nothing become something? I'm genuinely curious.

The something from nothing mantra is a religious misunderstanding, intentional or not, of the Big Bang theory in order to invoke God as the cause of the universe. Meanwhile those that choose this gambit have to ignore the question, "What came before God?". I'm always amused at this point when the rules of causality used to give credence to the existence of God suddenly disappear when applied to God. Nobody using this argument should be taken seriously. The only thing we can be sure of at this point is that the believer's tonsils are so firmly wrapped around God's cock that circulation to the brain is cut off.

I'm terrified guys. I know the Christian God makes no sense, but I don't want to be wrong and go the hell. The thought of hell weighs deep on me everyday.

(February 28, 2014 at 8:50 am)JesusLover1 Wrote:

(February 28, 2014 at 8:49 am)catman Wrote: I don't know what was before then. And neither do you.

But how did nothing become something? I'm genuinely curious.

No-one with any knowledge of the subject suggests this, it's just a misrepresentation used by religious fundamentalists in order to mislead those who have little knowledge regarding the beginnings of our universe. The consensus of educated opinion, based on the evidence that we currently have, leads us to the conclusion that before the space/time/matter expansion (the Big Bang) of the current form of our universe, there was a singularity. A singularity isn't 'nothing', arguably it's 'everything'. Recent developments in quantum physics are telling us that the 'singularity' may not even have been anything like what we currently understand of singularities (and may arguably need to be called something other than 'singularity'!).

Everything else is strictly in the 'we don't know' category however since none of the evidence suggests anything other than natural mechanisms, there's no reason to postulate any god.

(February 28, 2014 at 8:46 am)JesusLover1 Wrote: Okay I have a question. Without a spiritual explination, how is it possible for everything to have begun? Doesn't science teach everything needs a cause? Like the Big Bang, how was something around forever? What was before then? I'm not saying this is proof of God, but it seems scientifically impossible that there's a natural explanation to it.

---

(February 28, 2014 at 8:45 am)Zen Badger Wrote: Really?

Then produce names, dates, the hospital where it happened.

Sworn affidavits from the attending physicians.

Medical records, blah,blah,blah....

In other words, evidence for your assertions.

I can't give out personal information. But please, I'm not lying, why would I lie about something like this? It would be horrible! I'm saying everything I've been told.

Even if it means possibly saving one soul for Jesus?

Tsk,tsk, shame on you.

Where is your faith in god protecting you?

I guess you're not a true Christian™ afterall

(February 28, 2014 at 9:09 am)JesusLover1 Wrote: I'm terrified guys. I know the Christian God makes no sense, but I don't want to be wrong and go the hell. The thought of hell weighs deep on me everyday.

Ahh, Pascal's wager... In which case, you'd need to worship every god or else you might go to any one of the 'hells' that are on the menu.

It looks like you've suffered the standard christian toolkit for indoctrination and it seems to have worked pretty well. I hope for your sake that these questions are the start of a journey in to knowledge. Be assured that there are plenty of well educated believers who aren't constricted by the sort of lies and fear-tactics you've been subjected to. Globally, the majority of christians accept the evidence for the beginnings of the universe, for abiogenesis, for evolution, for plate tectonics, for germ theory, for heliocentrism yet still believe. I may find that odd but the important thing is that they're honest in their beliefs. You can be, too.

Calling troll here.