(May 2, 2011 at 7:21 pm)darkblight Wrote: does the first law of thermo dynamics show us that the universe has and always will exist and that the notion that things must have a beginning or a end is a human fallacy of thought?
one would say you have a beginning or a end, but the particles that compose you have always existed and always will, yet your mind must have a end for there is no after life.
Just wondering as listening to the many debates I listen to with atheist vs theists I have not heard the answer to the question " well where did it all come from then " being simply that it has and always will exist.
the whole idea that the simplest answer is usually the correct one strikes me as being relevant here for what could be simpler than removing the need for a creation or ending.
I think the more important question isn't where all the matter came from, but rather where the laws of physics came from. If the universe had a beginning, the laws of physics would only start from that instant onwards. 'Prior' to that, the laws of physics do not exist, and neither did thermodynamics nor causation exist. I would tend to think that any attempts to scientifically or logically explain the creation of the universe would ultimately be futile, as our minds have evolved in a universe whereby the laws of physics (and logic) apply, not anything 'beyond' or 'before'.
The only thing that we can say is that we don't know, but that is not the job of the atheist to explain. The atheist does not need to explain anything, since the onus of proof lies on the religious.
