The book is in my bedroom. So, I might misquote a little. David Mills who seems like a reasonably smart dude wrote in chapter 2 about Law of Conservation/Mass in his best selling book Atheist Universe.
David explained this law states matter can not be created or destroyed. He went on to say that matter & energy are the same. He mentioned that we are all made up of this mass/energy stuff. He mentioned none of this isolated system stuff.
Although he did not put it this way: It is unreasonable to pick from hundreds of uncreated invisible creators because this one or that one suits your fancy. Not forgetting by their very supernatural nature these things(gods?) are forever unknown to the human mind. Then to have the callousness to say it is my invisible thing in another dimension not yours that created the known using magic from an unknown location ex-nihlo not yours. If you disagree I might desire to convert you and argue. IF that fails death and torture might be likely. Oh ya you might be punished if you continue to worship your thing.
Now he did go on to say that because we are made of this stuff and it can not be created or destroyed and the volume of this stuff has not and can not changed based on this accepted law it is obvious that it is this stuff that has existed forever. He also pointed out until it can be demonstrated this can be proven untrue it is what it is. Therefore a god did not do it.
**it is my understanding that energy of some sort is wizzing around at light speed. Some type of unknown omnipresent field that can not be turned on or off slows this energy allowing it to become mass or gain mass or some shit like that. **
This is what David said in his book. Oh ya he also said some hardcore physicists might simply say before time a beginning is not mathematically possible. Which some of you have? I think he implied this is just elitist attitude and the question is better delt with by saying, "We dunno but we lookin".
PB