An ironic question: Who created God?
Skeptics often ask, who created God? A similar question is, who designed the Designer? There is irony in these questions. Inherent is a commitment to God’s existence, for one cannot inquire anything meaningful about God unless He exists. How can a reasonable person ask seriously about the origin of anything that does not exist? It’s thus ironic that while the question attempts to undermine God’s existence or nullify it altogether, it’s committed to exploring God.
A claim of Christian faith is that “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth ... his understanding is unsearchable” (Is. 40:28). How can this be verified to the satisfaction of an inquiring mind? Even committed Christian thinkers know that the cliches, “by faith,” “by experience” or “by biblical analyses,” do not necessarily satisfy questioners. Nevertheless, I believe that the Eternal God can be known personally and intellectually to the satisfaction of rational thought.
Perhaps some are probably expecting me to provide a concrete reference that explains the origins of God. I must genuinely submit that this expectation is not reasonable. Even if I were to prove indisputably that “A” brought God into existence, then the skeptic would ask what created “A”? These demands could continue ad infinitum into absurdity. They lead to a fallacious line of thinking.
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Knowledge does not require an explanation of its explanations in order to be true. For example, aviators know how much fuel is required to reach a destination and this workable knowledge is true without an explanation of where the computational values originated. We could attempt to investigate the origins, but only after we have acknowledged the computational values.
Likewise, a questioner must acknowledge God’s existence before asking where He came from. If God does not exist, the question is senseless. Where did God come from is a question that is committed to His existence. In other words, a sincere questioner seeks an answer that informs about God and not about whether or not He exists. The question does have a correct answer, and even if one were to reject it that would not negate the actual existence of God.
Further, the Design Argument is often challenged by the question, who designed the Designer? Note that this question does not refute the argument. The argument is compelling and so the question is an attempt to avoid the conclusion by conflating the issue into confusion. The explanation that something is designed can be true regardless of what we know about the designer. I can understand why such an irrelevant question is asked because the questioner doesn’t like where the conversation is going.
Knowledge of the Christian faith is always rigorously challenged. Unlike other knowledge, concessions to a tenet of Christianity could entail moral accountability. Christian thinkers offer explanations that are often compelling, and so a skeptic who wishes to escape accountability often spins the content. Confusion is then deemed as a warrant for unbelief.
In Christian theology, God is eternal. He is without beginning and without end. He is the ultimate ground of reality. That is why we refer to Him as God. The question of where did God come from is purposeless unless it’s asked with theological curiosity. As a young Christian, I remember asking a pastor what God was doing before He created us and the universe. The pastor explained that we don’t know, and although it was a fair question it had no bearing on our relationship with Him as He has decided to reveal Himself to us. Since then, I have grown to understand that in a human lifetime there is no way we could understand everything about God.
Limited knowledge of God does not equate to His non-existence. To the contrary, it means that our knowledge of God is finite as we are finite beings grappling with the One whose “understanding is unsearchable.” Theologically and philosophically, it’s reasonable to believe and conclude that reality has an ultimate ground. For a Christian, there is a consciousness of God’s presence within that is also informed intellectually. We experience and understand God exactly as the biblical writers revealed: “Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (Ps. 93:2). What was understood and experienced of God thousands of years ago has been real to subsequent generations of believers, as well as to us today. We comprehend meaningfully that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
A questioner is sincere only if committed to exploring the attributes of God, and then making up one’s own mind about personal salvation in Christ. Isn’t it reasonable to consider that God is the ultimate ground of reality? It makes philosophical sense; otherwise, we regress into absurdity. All the evil, selfishness, and ill-will we encounter have a remedy in Jesus Christ. It’s a fact that throughout history the Gospel has transformed countless lives, and continues to do so today. Isn’t it intellectually honest to read and investigate this Good News for oneself? Questions are meaningful only when we are genuinely open to considering the answers.
I have a question for the skeptic who asks, who created God? That is, if you somehow discovered that the Christian faith is true would you become a Christian? If you were to answer, no, then you should shift focus on why you would answer, no. It will reveal a great deal about your own questions.
Marlon De Blasio is a cultural apologist, Christian writer and author of Discerning Culture. He lives in Toronto with his family. Follow him at MarlonDeBlasio@Twitter
