Ashraf Schneider – Making Sense of God – Part 2

			Peace, blessings and mercy upon y'all. Welcome back to our page. In this latest series of videos
we're working towards piecing together an understanding of God, whose glory and majesty actually
exceed human understanding. Thankfully, God has given us both intuitive and highly academic rational
proofs for his existence, within his creations, from the universe itself to the cells that make up
each and every living creature. Today, we're going to focus specifically on the creation of the
universe, and the empirical proof Scott provides for us within His Word of his own existence, and
the creation of our entire universe. Thus, let's satisfy our inner science nerds, and look at the
		

			cold, hard facts. Nobody knows us better than our Creator. And so God knows that we will at some
point in our lives, face crises of faith, which is why he addresses us directly in the Quran, posing
as a series of questions which appeal to rational thought, answering these questions logically,
rationally, then serve directly to prove the existence of God. And, in this specific case, his
creation of the universe. The questions God poses are designed to allow us to ponder on the origins
of our existence, not as philosophers but as cynics, appealing directly to the kind of critical
clinical reasoning that denies of faith are likely to employ in attempting to discredit the
		

			existence of God. God in his infinite wisdom provides us with the exact tools we need to prove his
existence not only to those who've already discovered his majesty, intuitively, but even to those
who require so called empirical evidence to justify faith. When it comes to his creation of the
universe. God engages us intellectually by presenting a number of superficial reasonable
explanations of how the universe came to be. He presents the arguments of the assertion and
undermines them in one fell swoop, before presenting what we must conclude the only possible and
rational answer in the Quran in chapter 52, verse 35, to 36, God asks man, how he believes the
		

			universe came to be he asks, Were they created by nothing? Or are they their own creators, or did
they create the heavens and the earth? In fact, they have no firm belief in God. In this verse, God
is then essentially presenting us with four possible explanations for the creation and existence of
both the universe and ourselves. In option one, we were created by nothing at all, and the universe
was created by nothing. In option two recreated ourselves and the universe created itself. Option
three, we were created by something that created itself first, and our universe was created by
another creative thing. option four, we and our universe were created by something greater than we
		

			are capable of comprehending something absolute and eternal, which was not in itself created by
anything or anyone else. When you think about it, the creation of the universe and the creation of
man are similar on a cosmic scale. We both had a beginning, and we will both have an end.
Philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, they all agree that the universe had a beginning, before
which it did not exist. So let us focus on this example of the creation of the universe without
which we would have no planet to call home anywhere. Since the universe had a beginning. The
possible explanations for its creation, like odds are, that the universe was created by nothing,
		

			that the universe was self created, that the universe was created by something created, and that the
universe was created by something uncreated. Let's explore option one, that the universe was created
by the absence of all things, including matter, energy, material, and non material objects, and any
and all causal chains, to look at the universe and ourselves as something that came to be from no
potential no matter nothing at all, is quite a tricky idea to wrap our heads around. basic logic
would dictate that from nothing comes nothing, from something come something with nothing to start a
causal chain, ie no action, there can be no reaction, we always assume a causal chain, and the
		

			absence of one would leave us scratching our heads. If, for example, a herd of car showed up in your
apartment in the blink of an eye, you'd have several questions right? You wouldn't be able to
explain how they got there, and their presence would be completely illogical. So the idea that
nothing created the universe and created us is equally illogical. In option two, it is proposed that
the universe and then kind of self created, but this is a logical fallacy in and of itself, because
we know that the universe did not always exist. It had a beginning. How could the universe have
created it?
		

			Self if it did not always exist before itself, think about it this way, how could I create myself if
I hadn't even been born yet? Could a woman give birth to herself? It seems ridiculous when we think
about it that way, right? Similarly, option three leads us down a rabbit hole. Because if the
universe was created by something else that was created, which was created by something else that
was created, which was created by something else that was created, where does it all end? It would
be turtles all the way down, not making any sense. Try thinking about it this way. Imagine you had
to walk into an office building, that is your only goal. But the security guard says you can't come
		

			in without the permission of his manager. And his manager says that you can't come in without the
permission of the building owner. And the building owner says that you can't come in without the
permission of the current tenant. And the current tenant says that you can't come in without the
permission of a supervisor, on and on and on. How can you ever enter the building without the
existence of one person who has the authority and power to grant you access without deferring to
somebody else's authority. In that same way, for the universe to have been created, there must have
been a creator who did not first have to be created, or to defer to someone or something else. by
		

			process of elimination, then we left with option four, that the universe was created by something
that was not in and of itself created, or reliant on anything else for its creation, that leaves us
with God, as the creator of ourselves and the universe being the only viable rational option. The
Universe had to be created by something, it couldn't have created itself, and it couldn't have been
created by another creative thing, ad infinitum. Or we'd have no beginning which we know it does. So
that leaves us with the only logical conclusion being that the universe was created by something
independent, and uncreated. And Who could that be, but God, one of God's defining characteristics is
		

			that he is absolute and eternal, he was not created, He is the first with no beginning and the last
without end, he may have created the world from nothing, or from the immaterial, but it is his world
and power, then that started the causal chain which brought the entire universe and us into
existence. He is the first and the last, the Most High and most near, and he has perfect knowledge
of all things. As it says within the Quran. In chapter 57, verse three, God then provides us ample
highly academic resources by ways of which we can rationalize our faith. based on empirical
evidence, the proof he provides us on his own existence is irrefutable. In part three of this video
		

			series, we'll be further exploring the scientific proof Scott offices up for his own existence, and
hopefully, you'll be able to see just how much of a divine miracle it truly is that our universe
exists and is capable of sustaining our lives. From the watercycle to the times, everything on earth
has been perfectly orchestrated by God to allow us to thrive on this planet. And as you may have
already come to realize that could have never happened by accident. If you have any questions about
any of the content I've shared with you today, I look forward to connecting with you in the comment
section. Alternatively, you're always welcome to message our page. May the Almighty bless you with
		

			goodness there's like a lot here.