Questions from children - Who created God?

November 2, 12:27 PMMethodist ExaminerJames-Michael Smith

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God, beginnings and time - how do they relate?

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Last year while serving as Pastor of Discipleship at Good Shepherd UMC, Methodist Examiner James-Michael Smith was given a series of questions that the Children's Pastor had collected from the kids on various topics related to God, the Bible and the Christian faith.  The following question is one that children and adults alike frequently wonder about (and some, such as the outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins, believe to be a proof of God's non-existence):

"Who is the creator of God?"

If everything requires a creator and God created everything, then who created God?  And if something created God, then wouldn't that thing be God?  And if so, who created that thing that created God??  This leads to an 'infinite regress', which strikes most people as absurd...therefore implying that the concept of God is itself absurd (as Dawkins and co. argue frequently). 

However, the absurdity lies not in God's existence, but rather in the question itself.  The question commits a basic categorical error because it is based on incorrect assumptions.  God (if He exists) is, by definition, uncaused, eternal, and exists apart from the created universe.  This is not philosphical sleight-of-hand, as some skeptics claim.  Rather, it is a very straightforward claim that rests upon sound logic and good theology.

Everything that begins to exist must have a cause.  But if something exists apart from time and space (which God does, if He exists at all) then it does not require a beginning, because 'beginning' is a term that applies to things which exist within the flow of natural time. 

Asking "who created God?" is like asking "what is that bachelor's wife's name?" or "how sharp is that circle's corner?  It's an illegitimate question.  (Not that it's illegitimate for a chlid to ask the question, of course!  But once the flawed nature of the question is pointed out and explained, it is certainly illegitimate to insist that it serves to disprove God's existence or show the absurdity of belief in God!)

So, who is the creator of God?  No one.  Creation is a property that created things have.  Eternal things (such as God) require no creator.

A hard answer for our created, time-bound minds to grasp...but a correct answer nonetheless. 

For a mind-bending look at the nature of eternity, time and God's nature be sure to check out "Time and Eternity" by William Lane Craig.  For a more readable exploration of the issue, see "Beyond the Cosmos" by Hugh Ross.