There are only a handful of questions as foundational as this: Why is there something rather than nothing? For many centuries, thoughtful men and women across cultures have wrestled with the origin of the universe. Atheists today may dismiss the question or appeal to vague scientific unknowns, but Christians have long offered a clear, rational answer: everything that begins to exist has a cause, and the cause of the universe must be something beyond it—a transcendent Creator.
This idea is often called the Cosmological Argument, and while it may sound technical, its logic is rooted in everyday experience.
Nothing creates itself. Therefore, something beyond the creation must have created it.
In this blog post, we’ll walk through that reasoning in a way anyone can follow, showing why this argument not only makes sense—it points directly to the God of the Bible.
The Principle of Causality: Nothing Comes from Nothing
This is the most basic and universal truth we encounter from childhood: things don’t just pop into existence without a cause. If a book appeared on your table with no explanation, you would rightly wonder where it came from. It’s not just that it had a cause—it had to have a specific kind of cause: a writer, a printer, and a publisher. Random causes don’t produce ordered effects.
In logic and philosophy, this principle is stated as:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
We instinctively know this. It is the foundation of science, law, and reason. If this principle is denied, all meaningful discussion collapses. It would mean that things can happen without explanation—including the beginning of everything.
So when we apply this to the universe—the totality of matter, space, time, and energy—we must ask: Did it have a beginning?
The Universe Began to Exist
This is not just a religious claim. It is now mainstream science. Two lines of evidence support this:
Scientific Evidence:
- The Big Bang Theory shows that the universe is not eternal—it had a beginning.
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics proves that the universe is running down. If it were eternal, it would have run out of usable energy by now.
Philosophical Reasoning:
- An actual infinite series of past events is logically impossible. If time had no beginning, we could never arrive at the present moment. You cannot count backward from infinity to arrive at today.
Even secular scientists like Stephen Hawking and Alexander Vilenkin have admitted:
All the evidence we have says that the universe had a beginning.
And if the universe had a beginning, then it must have had a cause.
Therefore, the Universe Has a Cause
This leads us to the unavoidable conclusion:
If the universe began to exist, then something (or someone) outside the universe caused it.
But what could that cause be like? Let’s reason it out.
The cause of the universe must be:
- Spaceless, because space began at the Big Bang.
- Timeless, because time began with the universe.
- Immaterial, because matter was created then.
- Powerful, because it created everything.
- Personal, because impersonal forces don’t make choices to create.
This cause perfectly matches the biblical description of God as described in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Objections and Responses
Objection 1: “Then who made God?”
This misunderstands the argument. Only things that begin to exist need causes. God, by definition, is eternal—He never began to exist, so He doesn’t need a cause. The question “Who made God?” is like asking “What’s north of the North Pole?”
Objection 2: “Maybe the universe caused itself.”
That’s impossible. A thing can’t cause itself to exist, or it would have to exist before it existed. That’s a logical contradiction.
Objection 3: “What about the multiverse?”
Even if other universes exist, they don’t explain the origin of everything. A multiverse would still need a first cause. This just pushes the problem back further, like asking who built the builder’s house but ignoring who built the builder.
Atheism’s Dilemma: The Illogical Alternative
If you reject a transcendent Creator, you’re left with a view that says everything came from nothing, for no reason, by accident.
But “nothing” can’t produce anything. As Christian philosopher R.C. Sproul once said:
Nothing is what rocks dream about.
Materialism—the idea that all reality is just matter and energy—cannot explain why matter exists at all. Nor can it explain the fine-tuning of the universe, the information in DNA, or the human mind.
Rejecting God doesn’t make the problem go away—it removes the only rational answer.
The Christian Implication: The God Who Is There
The Cosmological Argument doesn’t tell us everything about God. It doesn’t explain the Trinity, the cross, or Scripture. But it gets us to the essential truth: God is real, eternal, and the Creator of all things. And once that’s admitted, the rest of the Christian worldview begins to make sense.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:20 :
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived…in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
The existence of creation points to a Creator, and that Creator is the living God revealed in the Bible.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just about winning a debate with an atheist. It’s about recognizing the truth of our condition.
- If God created us, then we are accountable to Him.
- If God created the world, then the meaning of life is not self-defined—it is God-defined.
- If God made all things, then denying Him is not only irrational—it is immoral.
Understanding this argument gives the believer confidence and gives the skeptic a serious challenge as Proverbs 1:7 describes:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
The Cosmological Argument is not the end of the story, but it is the first step toward wisdom.
Resources to Explore
Here are some accessible resources for learning more:
- Lee Strobel, The Case for a Creator – Written for laypeople, especially skeptics.
- Norman Geisler & Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
- William Lane Craig, On Guard – A clear guide to classical arguments for God.
- Answers in Genesis – Strong apologetic content on science and Scripture.
- CrossExamined.org – Articles and videos on evidence for Christianity.
- John Lennox, Hugh Ross, and Jason Lisle
- Above all, RC Sproul and Ligonier Ministries.
SDG,
Robert Sparkman
rob@christiannewsjunkie.com
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