The Stage is Yours.

[genkaus]

For me, it quite simple...

Science has shown us that all matter decays. If all matter decays, then the universe and all that exists or existed cannot be eternal.

It's easier for me to believe in a creator who has always existed (not created, that's imposible IMO) than to believe matter "popped" into existence.

And that is where you are wrong. "All matter decays" is applicable only to expanding universe.

However improbable it may seem, that's my reason...

And for the record, here's my "definition" of God...

Simply put, it's that "nothingness" that started everything.
That "nothingness" that exists between electrons.
That "nothingness" that comprises the greater part of your physical existense.

An apt definition. God is nothing.

[catfish]

And that is where you are wrong. "All matter decays" is applicable only to expanding universe.

Are you saying there's another universe or are you eluding to the "big crunch"? Or something else?

[genkaus]

And that is where you are wrong. "All matter decays" is applicable only to expanding universe.

Are you saying there's another universe or are you eluding to the "big crunch"? Or something else?

I'm referring to the state of the universe before it started expanding.

[Jackalope]

And that is where you are wrong. "All matter decays" is applicable only to expanding universe.

Even that is not strictly true, as there are stable isotopes which do not spontaneously decay - at least not that we've been able to detect, which is to say that if they do decay, it is with an extremely long half-life.

As you imply, mainstream cosmology states that matter has only existed since a short time after the big bang. Whatever existed prior to that was not matter, and therefore matter does not need to be eternal for the universe to be eternal.

Additionally, the concept of "eternal" has little meaning without a temporal reference, and as it is thought that time did not exist in any meaningful sense prior to inflation... well, you get the idea, I'm sure.

There may be a case to be made for the universe having a beginning, but so far as we know, decay of matter isn't the smoking gun.

[Cato]

For me, it quite simple...

Science has shown us that all matter decays. If all matter decays, then the universe and all that exists or existed cannot be eternal.

It's easier for me to believe in a creator who has always existed (not created, that's imposible IMO) than to believe matter "popped" into existence.

However improbable it may seem, that's my reason...

And for the record, here's my "definition" of God...

Simply put, it's that "nothingness" that started everything.
That "nothingness" that exists between electrons.
That "nothingness" that comprises the greater part of your physical existense.

Is this an accurate description of your god: God = nothingness?

Your first premise "all matter decays" is wrong. We can break up matter into its consituent parts, but how exactly and under what circumstances does an atom of hydrogen decay? Do you really want to engage in a conversation regarding gluons?

Simpler yet, consider the photon. The tricky little bit that enables you to see what you're typing. The space between electrons is bathed in photons, yet you proclaim there is nothing. I suggest more books than those pastiched together to make the Bible if you want to have an understanding about what occupies space.

[ElDinero]

Also, it doesn't whatsoever prove God. Argument from ignorance, nothing more. Terrible argument.

[catfish]

Look guys, I know it doesn't "prove" anything.

It is a simplified version for you to maybe understand why I believe.

Noone here can prove what existed before the universe, nor the cause of the universe.

The odds that we are here is astronomical, so great in fact, that I would have a better chance of winning the powerball every day for the rest of my life.

What's our best theory for the "cause" of the BB? Gravity?

[ElDinero]

It doesn't matter what the best theory is. Your reason for believing in God is a load of guff, based on nothing.

Do you think it is a good idea that when you don't have a better explanation, you just make stuff up to fill the void? Or that you latch onto whatever sounds best? It's fucking stupid, and presumably you know it.

[Mister Agenda]

The universe is eternal into the future. It currently seems likely to wind up an ever-expanding cloud of ever-more-widely spaced photons; but it will continue to exist, even in this worst-case scenario. I favor an alternative scenario, but that may be because my physics is weak. In all scientific scenarios I'm aware of though; the universe continues to exist infinitely into the future in some form or another.

[Jackalope]

Noone here can prove what existed before the universe, nor the cause of the universe.

There are two unfounded assumptions in the bolded part. Let's see if you can figure out what they are.