Posted by:
php
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Date: November 23, 2010 10:19PM
I want to understand the atheists' perspective on the origin of the first substance/atom/molecule. I am a theist. I believe that God is eternal and had no beginning or end, and anything outside of God had its origin from God and can be traced to some action from God. This logic is based on the assumption that nothing in our reality is eternal. I try to imagine infinity's past, and in a flash of confusion, I'm lost, and have to try again.
Question: Similar to Mormon doctrine as taught by Joseph Smith, do you as the atheist believe matter is eternal? Or was matter spontaneously formed out of nothing? I see only two options as an atheist: Option A, that matter is eternal, or Option B, that matter was made from nothing.
[Option A] If matter is eternal, then over billions and trillions of years, life formed and here we are today.
[Option B] If matter is not eternal, then there was a point in time that the first atom/molecule/substance formed. Then, Option A was able to be completed.
If Option B is true, how can SOMETHING jump into existence from NOTHING?
(Is there an Option C? or D? Let me know!)
Here are my thoughts... Nothing in our human realm is eternal. My logic tells me that everything had an origin at some time. So, I give credit to God. Even though I can not imagine God's eternality, I can believe that I was created by him/it with this flawed understanding of his eternality. Whether or not God cares about us, or interferes with our life experience; I have no idea. I have faith and hope in happiness after life, but its still a toss up. So, I understand the agnostic viewpoint, but when it comes to atheism, I'm a little lost. Thanks for your input.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2010 10:50PM by php.