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Either the universe has existed eternally or something else that has existed eternally created the universe.
—General Nazort
False dilemma. A universe of finite duration, yet uncaused is a possibility.
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The big bang, which has been proven, suggests that the universe had a beginning. If it had a beginning, it could not have existed eternally.
First of all, scientific theories are never proven. See this
introduction to the scientific method. While the statement you posted above is false, I doubt any scientists in the relevant fields would claim the standard big bang model can provide an accurate description of the universe prior to a certain point.
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There are numerous theories that seek to combine the big bang and an eternal universe, but none have been proven as of yet. So to the best of our current scientific knowldege, the universe began in the big bang. So the question is, who/what started the big bang? I believe that God did.
Maybe it was Lucky the leprechaun?
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Some people in this thread have misused the idea of cause and effect. The law of cause and effect states, "every effect must have a cause."
It does not say "everything must have a cause, just every effect must a have a cause.
AND
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Cause and effect is true by definition
If something did not have a cause, then it is not an effect.
You're playing word games here. The big bang is an event. There is no reason there must necessarily be any prior events to that. If that's the case, then by your definitions this event was not an effect at all. If the primordial event is not an effect, you have no argument.
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