“The Flawed Question: Who Created God?”
One of the most profound and enduring questions humans ask is: “Who created God?” At first glance, this seems like a natural inquiry. After all, everything we know in the universe has a cause, so why wouldn’t God? However, this question itself is deeply flawed, and the concept of infinite regression helps explain why.
The Infinite Regression Paradox
To understand why “Who created God?” doesn’t make sense, let’s consider the concept of infinite regression. Imagine you’re asked to pick up a pen that is right in front of you. Instead of simply doing it, you say, “Let me ask permission from my father.” Your father responds, “Let me ask my father.” Then he went asking for permission from his brother. And then he went asking permission from his wife. Then she went asking for permission from her mother, and so on. If this chain of asking for permission goes on forever, the act of picking up the pen would never happen. No one would ever give permission, and you would never be able to pick it up.
The very fact that you are able to pick up the pen means that the chain of requests ended somewhere. There had to be someone who finally gave permission. If the chain had no end, you would never be able to take action. This simple scenario illustrates a critical point: for anything to happen, the chain of causes must eventually terminate.
The Problem with “Who Created God?”
When we ask, “Who created God?” we’re inadvertently assuming that God, like everything else in the universe, is part of a chain of causes. We’re looking for an origin, someone or something that brought God into existence. But this assumption overlooks the nature of what we mean by God.
In theological terms, God is often referred to as the uncaused cause, the necessary being, or the first cause. Unlike everything in the universe, which is part of a causal chain, God exists outside that chain. God is eternal and does not rely on any preceding cause because God is the cause of everything that exists.
If we were to accept that God is the ultimate source of all existence, then by definition, God cannot be created. God is not part of a chain that needs a creator. God is the source of the chain.
Infinite Regression and the First Cause
The concept of infinite regression shows us that if every cause depended on a previous cause, there would be no beginning, and nothing would ever come into being. Infinite regression is a logical paradox because it leads to an endless loop with no starting point.
For anything to exist, whether it’s the universe, the stars, or even something as simple as a pen, there must be a first cause—something that does not depend on anything else for its existence. In many religious and philosophical traditions, that first cause is identified as God. God is the ultimate source, the one who initiates the chain of events, without needing a creator.
Conclusion
In asking “Who created God?”, we mistakenly apply the logic of finite causality—the idea that everything must have a creator—to something that, by its very nature, is the uncaused cause. God is not part of the chain of created things; God is the beginning of the chain. Just as the act of picking up the pen requires a final permission-giver to end the chain of requests, the existence of the universe requires an uncaused cause to end the chain of causality.
So, the next time someone asks, “Who created God?” we might gently remind them that the nature of God is beyond the confines of finite logic and causality. God is not part of the chain that requires a creator; God is the source of that chain, the one who gives the final “permission” for all things to exist.
