The Contingency of the Cosmos

The Contingency of the Cosmos

One of the most basic philosophical questions we can ask is, Why is there something, rather than nothing? In other words, Why are we here? Why “all this”? For the most part, we take the universe for granted. We live and go about our business, and most days, we never stop to wonder why anything exists. 

Is there even an answer to such a question?

Some have proposed the universe is eternal, that it has always existed. Another answer comes from Eastern religion, which says the universe is just an illusion, a sort of spiritual simulation, and that what we experience is not really happening. The last and most reasonable option is that the universe is indeed real, but it had a beginning. The universe depends on God for its initial and sustained existence. As Paul writes “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17).

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