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[Purple Berry]

I want to be clear. The main concept I struggle with in relation to Christianity is the concept of a God coming from nothing for no reason. Why him? Is what I keep thinking.

[jimwalton]

It's not like someone sat around thinking, "Let's see, what should I make the First Cause look like and be like?" It's more like "It is what it is." I mean, if nature were always there, I guess you could struggle with, "Why was energy the eternal part of nature? Why not gravity or electromagnetic radiation?" Um, I dunno. It is what it is.

Except to me there's actually a sense and a logic to it. If something were adequate and sufficient to be the First Cause, it would have to be outside of nature, powerful, timeless, personal, intelligent, able to act in nature but not be part of it, and purposeful. Well, we just described the concept of God. God actually fits this picture.

But God didn't come from nothing for no reason. He was always there. He had to have been. When you think back far enough, no matter what it is, you have to come to an answer where you can't go any further and the answer is just, "You've come to the logical beginning of things." God is actually a logical thing: sufficient, eternal, powerful, etc. Arguments to the existence of God are arguments to a complete explanation of the phenomena we see. The choice is not in how God came to be of such power and knowledge, but rather whether the universe or God is the stopping point of explanation. Nature has no sufficient explanation outside of a personal, metaphysically necessary being. God is the terminate of explanation.

Richard Swinburne writes, "There is a natural connection between theism and causality: intelligence, personality, intent, freedom, power, and laws. Theism has sufficient prior probability (simplicity of explanation) and complete explanatory power. The intrinsic probability of theism is, relative to other hypotheses about what there is, very high."

There is quite a chance that if there is a God he will make something of the breadth, depth, and complexity of a universe. It is very unlikely that a universe would exist uncaused, but rather more likely that God would exist uncaused. The existence of the universe is strange and puzzling. It can be made comprehensible if we suppose that it is brought about by God.

[Purple Berry]

Thank you for clearing everything up

So you truly believe I can find peace via religion?

And I should start by talking with God throughout the day as well as reading the bible?

Are there certain things I can keep in mind throughout the day that would help me find peace and freedom from depression & apathy?

[jimwalton]

> So you truly believe I can find peace via religion?

It's not through religion but instead through a relationship with Jesus. Religion is generally us try to be good enough or smart enough or empty enough to find God; Christianity is where God does what is necessary to find us—because He loves us and wants us to come and be part of His family. It's a completely different kind of idea. We want to know God, not just know about Him.

> And I should start by talking with God throughout the day as well as reading the bible?

Yes. I talk to God all through the day. Just what I'm thinking about, what's going on, and thinking about the things I've read in the Bible and figuring out what they mean. Prayer is not mostly asking for things (I don't often ask for things from God), but just talking to Him.

> Are there certain things I can keep in mind throughout the day that would help me find peace and freedom from depression & apathy?

I found (and find) that certain Bible texts helped me find peace, and I said them over and over.

Psalm 23, just a beautiful Psalm
Psalm 6.3-9
Matthew 5.3-10
2 Corinthians (I just love the whole book)
2 Cor. 1.3-11
2 Cor. 4 (the whole chapter)
2 Cor. 12.9-10
Romans 8 (the whole chapter)
Isaiah 40

There are just so many good ones.

Joshua 1.9
Philippians 3.7-21
Philippians 4.4-9

After a while, I just got hungry for the whole thing. I read the Bible, especially the Psalms and the New Testament, like a starving man.

Ps. 5
Ps. 13
Ps. 18.1-6
Ps. 25
Ps. 27

and so many others.

Feel free to keep talking to me, or to talk to me anytime.

[Purple Berry]

Thank you