How do I know I’m not brainwashing myself?

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Do you know the circle and its geometrical and mathematical properties?
 
Sweet. Did you need any material proof, when you were taught, to understand that a circle’s center is equally distant from all points of its petimeter?
 
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Now. Do you need material proof to understand that there must have been a First Cause (i.e. God) in order for us to be talking right now? Or do you think pure intellectual exercise is enough to understand that, if there is no First Cause, there is no beginning, and, if there is no beginning, nothing can ever happen at all?
 
But what if the first cause wasn’t God what if the universe was in an endless state of big bangs expanding and contracting a million times over? Sorry if I’m being obtuse.
 
That’s my point. How is it even possible to have endless processes of great expansions and great contractions?
 
That’s where I struggle. It’s theoretically not possible as it doesn’t seem anything comes from nothing but there’s a lot of compelling arguments on chance and random odds. How do I guarantee that the outside force is God and not chance? How do we know we just don’t have enough science to explain it yet and in 500 years we will understand it to be some different mechanism?
 
Good. I see we agree there must be a beginning.

Now, to the second part.

You mentioned chance. This rings the “chaos theory” bell. Tell me, do you understand that this First Cause, to be a first cause, must be immovable, unchangeable and eternal? In other words, the First Cause simply and purely IS?
 
That part I don’t follow. Why does anything have to rely on it? Why couldn’t it have been some spark that extinguished after it exploded or whatever? This is where I’m dense! Sorry.
 
Struggling1 said:
is how to be sure I’m not brainwashing myself to believe.
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You are going to be brainwashed or indoctrinated by someone or something. it may as well be a tradition that is 2000 years old with huge credibility.
Check the criteria for cults. Do you get in trouble for questioning Catholic authority? No. That’s a pretty good sign in my view. Avoid cults. Catholicism is not one of them.
 
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I can’t yet cause there’s no description of it yet. I mean basically the cause of the universe is unknown we know it started we have guesses on the mechanism but idk.
 
So, you are interested in the process. In how energy and matter first formed, not why they formed. Well, I recommend you to delve into quantum physics. In there, you will deal with interesting situations.
 
And sorry for the delayed response I am in and out of cell service :confused:
 
Hello Struggling1, have you come across William Lane Craig? He’s really good on this philosophical stuff.

Have a look on Youtube or reasonablefaith.org.

He makes very strong arguments for a beginning of the universe and argues that if space, time, matter and energy came into existence, then those things must have an immensely powerful, immaterial cause. So if there was absolutely nothing “before” the Big Bang, then something non-physical must have caused it.

Check out Hugh Ross on Youtube also. And Peter Kreeft gives a good argument for God based on absolute morality (Youtube).

Btw, keep praying for faith every day. God knows your struggles and will come to your help.

God bless, Noel.
 
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