Who created the universe?

I’ve been struggling for years trying to find a belief system that sits comfortably with me. I wasn’t brought up to go to church, so as far as religion goes, I was left to make up my own mind. However, after many attempts of trying out different churches and also Buddhism, I’m still left searching for something much broader. Its an ongoing quest.

I’ve always had great difficulty believing what’s written in the Bible. However, after watching ‘The Universe - Beyond the Big Bang’, I can now find a way to believe in some kind of creator or divine force which brought everything into existence. The way the universe has evolved over time can be understood in the story of creation in Genesis. The stars and the heavens being formed, and then light, and then water covering the earth and finally life forms in the seas and finally humans. Its maybe not the way some religions interpret it - if they take the Garden of Eden story literally (as some still do!), but it can tie up with cosmic evolution and the Laws of Nature. I feel everything is too ordered and wonderous to just be some accident!

Its only now that I’m wanting to really listen to these documentaries. I watched them before, but not with the same interest or hunger to understand. I’m obviously still searching for meaning, but it’s a broader, deeper meaning.

What do others feel about this? I know a lot of Christians don’t believe in evolution without a creator God, but what about with one? I think the Catholic church is now more accepting of this view from what I understand - can anyone shed any light on this for me?

[psychoslice]

I did.

Hi there....

At my age I have realized that the quest will never really end. I have,for most of my life, been a skeptic and tried to find every other explanation to creation that would prove the Bible to be fallacy. The truth of the matter is that I could not. Now do I believe in the idea that God created Adam and Eve only...no because if you read Genesis you will find that once cast out into the world they went to other tribes of people to find wives,marry and have children. BUT...we can also argue that with the overwhelming longevity of people in the Old Testament that God did create them first and then seeded the Earth with others long after they came into existence.

I guess what I am trying to say is that after all my time here I have come to the acceptance that it is OK not knowing. I have faith in both science and my spiritual beliefs. I ultimately believe in a power greater than myself that created Heaven and Earth and whatever order it all happened is for me to know once I pass on into the next phase of existence. I spent so many years trying to figure it all out that it exhausted me and kept me from the real truth of life and humanity which I was missing with all the what if's...Not saying that is a bad thing at all but it is overwhelming. Honestly I dont think God really cares what you believe as long as you do believe and live a life of goodness, love and concern for others.

The question about WHO created the Universe is based on it being created by an entity. This may not be the case.

If you are having ‘great difficulty believing what’s written in the Bible’ you can join the cadre of serious Christian biblical scholars who have been asking these same questions & examining the Bible verse by verse for 200 years & have determined that very little of it is historical fact as claimed.

Originally Posted by Coming2

I have realized that the quest will never really end.

I guess what I am trying to say is that after all my time here I have come to the acceptance that it is OK not knowing.

Thank you everyone for your replies. Also, yes, I agree that the quest will never end because we will never know the truth. Its about finding a way of thinking that gives us peace of mind and some direction in life.

As will be discussed, Hawking firmly believes in the immutability of the laws of nature and their application to the Universe as a whole. So, he would not wish to contradict his firm reliance on the laws of nature by holding to a theory that would violate one of those laws—and yet, his position (i.e., all energy coming from nothing) requires such a violation. Notice, however, that he contradicts himself on this matter. While he wants to believe that everything came from nothing, as his own statements imply, the alleged popping particles are actually already in existence and merely disappear and “reappear,” jumping around to different places. Thus, the ultimate problem with the atheistic position remains. Where did these particles originally come from?

Simple......

When you make a hill of dirt, you make a negative, or a hole. This equils out to zero because the hill has the exact same dirt and amount piled up, as well as in the hole.

This is how things can jsut pop into esistance. Dark matter, is evidence of this. MAtter is the hill, dark matter is the hole. The very fact that there is negative space, which equils out to the same positive space, and equils zero proves this. So we SEE it as comming from nowhere, but it technically doesnt, because when it takes, it creates SPACE.

you created the universe because you are a part of god, the source of all energy. all that is. you then created many lives so that you could experience life through consciousness using all your physical senses.

Originally Posted by sirrius2

you created the universe because you are a part of god, the source of all energy. all that is. you then created many lives so that you could experience life through consciousness using all your physical senses.

We are God's creation, made in his image.
This means that we are able to have many God-like qualities, such as
love & compassion, which makes us different than animals.

It does not mean that we are God.

[DivineLove]

Originally Posted by Beautiful

We are God's creation, made in his image.
This means that we are able to have many God-like qualities, such as
love & compassion, which makes us different than animals.

It does not mean that we are God.

Beautiful,

I agree, with your point of view.

While we have many creative abilities, like the formulation of one's own reality, as relative to their thoughts and emotions, metaphysically speaking. Which is what Sirrius is alluding to.

In terms of Creating the Universe?

We are little tiny baby souls. Our power, is finite. Our comprehension, is also finite.

Just imagine, the Great Soul, or the Infinite Power, that Created our Universe?

I believe, that God is God, alone.

I read, in one channeled teaching, that to God, the human soul, is His Greatest Achievement, His most Precious Creation.

It is a great privilege, to be children of a God.

But I believe, that is all we will ever be, before Our Creator. Mere children ~

Hi,

The programme I had watched about the universe, wasn’t the one mentioned in Tee Hee’s post with Stephen Hawking - this one is showing on Youtube where I came across it a couple of weeks ago and was originally broadcast on the History Channel. Its more to do with how man has tried to make sense of the origins of the universe over the centuries, and what has happened since the Big Bang, rather than what caused the Big Bang to occur in the first place. It was very, very interesting.

I personally can’t believe in the Adam and Eve story in the Bible. As Mattie says, so much of it has been proved not to be historically accurate. It was written in a time when man didn’t have the knowledge he has today. I feel it was written in a way that man could understand then. The messages however contained in it are very powerful and meaningful even today, because I feel if the men who wrote it were indeed inspired by God , then it had to be written in a way that could be understood.

I believe man has evolved into what we are today and will continue to evolve. I don’t believe we are the finished product yet! It has been discovered that people living in very high altitudes adapt over time to their environment and develop a higher level of haemoglobin in their RBC to provide them with sufficient oxygen to breathe more efficiently and comfortably. Also man living in hot climates has more melanin in their skin to protect them from the hot sun. Man is always adapting and evolving to their circumstances.

Originally Posted by Beautiful

We are God's creation, made in his image.
This means that we are able to have many God-like qualities, such as
love & compassion, which makes us different than animals.

It does not mean that we are God.

I think God had a plan when he created the universe, and HAS a plan for mankind - but not only mankind. He is the ultimate creator, so we with our small minds can’t understand all that this entails. Yes, he made us in his own image with the ability to create and to love, but on a much, much smaller scale. We can create and discover amazing things, all to develop our understanding of God’s plan for us, but we will never fully understand what that is. We are tiny, tiny specs in his huge universe, but very precious all the same, and we were given a soul for a reason.

I asked the original question ‘WHO created the universe?’ As Mattie says, why does it have to be an entity. I am using the personal pronoun ‘He’ when I’m writing this, but I don’t believe it’s a He, She or It. I feel it’s a power or energy of some sort that brought everything into existence. We just have to give it a name when we are trying to express what we are feeling or describing. And as Elyse also mentions, yes, it is very exhausting to try and figure out why we are here etc., but its part of our nature I think to question and ask why we are here and where we came from. I feel this is where we are made in God’s image - to continually search for a way to find our sense of belonging and connection with God or Universal Energy or Love.