(December 6, 2022 at 3:43 am)Belacqua Wrote:(December 5, 2022 at 11:15 pm)Objectivist Wrote: two different meanings into the concept of 'creation'
Basically the issue comes down to whether you think the universe has always existed, or whether it came into being at some point.
If it has always existed, then everything that's made is made of pre-existing materials. If it came into being at some point, then all the stuff in the universe appeared ex nihilo. Naturally people who believe in God will say "created" ex nihilo, while others will prefer a different verb. "Started" maybe. Or whatever word you use for the Big Bang.
Read the introductory undergraduate text Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker. A third answer exists, which says that the question is meaningless akin to asking, "What color is Saturday?" There is, perhaps, simply no "before" the first moment of time. In this respect, the Universe is its own cause.
