10 Massive Questions That God Can't Answer

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10 Massive Questions That God Can’t Answer</h4>

If you believe the Bible, it took God just six days to create the Heavens and the Earth; less than a week to build the universe. If true, that would be pretty impressive. Although, actually, if you follow the most mainstream scientific model as to how and why we’re here - the Big Bang Theory - then the initial moment of creation really happened in less than one second. The singularity collapsed and everything there ever was rushed out, in a cosmic dance that’s been running now for 13.8 billion years and counting. Again, pretty impressive, and also quite a robust argument against what many religions claim.

Indeed, over the years, decades and centuries, there has been a rivalry between science and religion, when it comes to working out all the deepest, most fundamental, and most profound facts of life. But, while the exact figure of God does change from belief system to system, it’s usually They who can provide the knowledge and reasons we need. The buck stops with Them, whenever there’s anything that can’t be figured out. Which is fine, except for when it isn’t.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at ten massive questions that God can’t answer.

#10: What is the True Scale of the Universe?

The vastness of space is something that’s difficult to fully comprehend. It’s estimated that there are more than two trillion galaxies in our observable universe alone. Beyond that, perhaps there are trillions more. There are some pretty staggering numbers, including in relation to the total stars, planets, even black holes that are out there. But why, in general, does such immensity exist? And what lies beyond our observable limits?

In a purely practical sense, physics does offer up some explanations. We know that the universe is expanding and that that expansion is accelerating. One of the ways we can be sure of this is through observing red-shift in the stars, a sign that they’re certainly moving away from us. In a theoretical sense, there are countless implications, too, including that the universe could be infinite in nature. And that, if so, an endlessly repeating multiverse is the only logical conclusion for reality as a whole.

Religious and theological views certainly vary in how they approach this. The cyclical nature of Hinduism means that it’s arguably the most in line with the possible endlessness of the universe. It’s one reason why Carl Sagan famously suggested that Hinduism offers a sense of scale that truly corresponds with cosmology. That said, the general openness of the universe is a bit of a headache. Because, from a god’s point of view, why does it need to be so big? And, if it does need to be like this, then why are we still yet to find anyone else (or anything else) alive?

Here, the question bleeds over into the Fermi Paradox; the seeming contradiction between the overwhelming likelihood that aliens should exist, and the persistent reality that we haven’t discovered any. It’s a major fork in the road for God, with a further question along each path. On the one hand, if we were to find aliens, then did God create those too? On the other, if we never find aliens, then (again) why is the universe quite so huge?

#9: Why Are There So Many Religions?

One way in which religions can be split is monotheism versus polytheism. Monotheistic faiths have one God; polytheistic systems have many. Christianity is headed by what followers believe to be the God, so it’s mono; Hinduism offers an entire roster of deities, so it’s poly. The pantheons of Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and Old Norse are further examples of godly hierarchies that contain many figures - although, often, there’s a lead God like Zeus, at the top.

For some, though, while it’s an interesting aspect of human culture, this variety is an issue. If God really exists, they say, then why hasn't there been a unified message leading to one faith? Consider that countless wars are fought over religious differences, and it’s clearly an urgent matter… but one that will seemingly always be open. 

To some degree, religious diversity might be argued as a reflection of God's desire for humans to seek Them in their own unique ways. But still, why would a supreme being create such confusion to begin with? If there is an omnipotent and omniscient ruler, then why would such a figure allow for so many factions?

While there’s no real physical approach toward answering this question, it might be viewed - away from God - as purely a sociological phenomenon that’s run and run for centuries. There are entire fields dedicated to researching the psychology of groups, and perhaps the formation and continuation of multiple religions is solely that. Just on a momentous scale.

#8: Why Are There Non-God Objects?

At the crux of the matter of God, there’s a long-standing philosophical battle; creationism versus naturalism. While creationists, to varying degrees of literalness, believe that God created everything… naturalists say that everything that exists has arisen via natural forces in the universe, without any higher, transcendental power required. 

With that in mind, it’s been argued that the presence of any non-God objects could be an unsolvable paradox for God. Why does anything exist apart from God? If everything emanates from an all-powerful being who is perfect, self-sufficient and complete within itself, then why create trees, rocks or planets at all?

The problem is that, to do so, is to do one of two things. Either, the act of creating stuff is God willingly risking the ultimate perfection of Their own state… a move which, in itself, might suggest an imperfect assessment of the risk involved. Or, the act of creating stuff is God clearly (and for whatever reason) desiring to want more. Perfection isn’t enough, and so it can’t have been perfect to begin with.

To trivialize it down into the oft-repeated comparison of humans and video games, why does a person choose to play world-building games? For a number of reasons, not least to pass the time and out of boredom. So, the problem of non-God objects is that anything that isn’t God seemingly shows that God (if They do exist) was at one stage also looking to pass the time, and was also bored… which perhaps calls into question Their unquestionably supreme state.

#7: What Happens to the Uncontacted?

In many ways, religious following is a tricky thing to track. Mostly because no one person views, follows or even dismisses religion in quite the same way. From ardent worshiper to casual believer; a devotee of one Faith, to an identifier with many, or a refuser of all… there’s an infinitely wide scope. However, what’s clear is that there are some that actually have zero opinion on religion, at all, because they very literally have never heard of it.

In most cases, these are members of uncontacted tribes. Groups of people that have always lived outside of so-called ‘modern civilization’. In the most extreme circumstances, there are some who may even be almost wholly unaware of life beyond their own community. Here, followers of religion - particularly of Christianity, and especially in the 19th and 20th centuries - may well have embarked on missionary trips to spread the word of their Faith. For better or worse. 

Nevertheless, there will have been countless people before (and still) that simply haven’t heard of God - whichever God - and that’s seemingly a bit of a conundrum for God. Because, if knowledge of specific doctrines or deities is essential for salvation or enlightenment according to many faiths – then what happens to those who live isolated from such teachings? 

For physicists, naturalists, many scientists, for anyone who doesn’t believe in God, clearly this isn’t a problem at all. And, in fact, some might argue that a life free of the knowledge of religion might even be enviable. But still, while God seemingly can tell you what will happen to those who are loyal to Them, and to those who aren’t… the fate of those who are neither one nor the other is something that there’s apparently no simple answer for. 

#6: Why Is There Evil?

The Problem of Evil is surely one of theology's most enduring challenges, in general. In short, it asks “why does evil exist?”. But, beyond that, it’s a potential hammer blow to the nature and effectiveness of God, overall.

The Problem is that, if an omnipotent and benevolent God really does exist, then how can evil continue unabated throughout history? Why is there cruelty, when God should be both powerful enough to stop it… and good enough not to want it?

Similarly, there’s the Problem of Hell. In much the same way, it asks why Hell needs to exist if God is good and supreme enough to rise above it? And, from a different point of view, how can Heaven exist for so long as Hell does, too? Shouldn’t knowledge of Hell be enough to ruin Heaven? And if you’re just not aware of Hell while you’re in Heaven, then how do you know you’re in Heaven to begin with?

The presence (and prevalence) of evil in the world is enough for many to lose Faith, or never to gain it in the first place. Again, in any God or religion, period. And, while believers at times argue that evil could be necessary for, say, free will or moral growth, the question of “why” remains one of the thorniest and most controversial of all.

#5: Where Did God Come From?

Particularly in most monotheistic traditions, God created everything. At first there was nothing and then there was something, all thanks to God. But here’s where it gets a little murky. Because, if God made all of this… then who made God? This is known as The Problem of the Creator God. And it’s another aspect of the Divine that appears paradoxical.

Sit with the issue for just a moment, and you realize that it’s what’s known as an infinite regress. A situation where a series of circumstances are directly linked and governed by whatever comes before and after, continuing on and on forever. God creates us, then who creates God? And who creates whatever created God? And so on.

Some believers claim that the counterargument is simple; God is what’s known as the first cause. This links all the way back to Aristotle, who figured that eventually there must be what he termed an unmoved mover. Something that affects something else, but is not affected by anything else itself. For believers, this is God. But for those who don’t believe, it just isn’t possible. And, ultimately, it is a pattern (and problem) in almost all major religions. The supreme figure (or figures) don’t provide details of how They came to be… almost as a default aspect of Their existence.

What’s interesting is that, here, there are problems in science that seem to relate. If we take the Big Bang Theory as true, then it all makes a great deal of sense, all the way up to the very, very first moment of all. That infinitely small moment of time in which something really did come from nothing, or so it appears. For most scientists, whatever happened here wasn’t God. But, there’s no universal clarity as to what it was, either.

#4: Do We Have Free Will?

God is all powerful. Humans have a choice. Can both of those sentences be true, together? Herein lies the eternal complexity of free will. And, of course, it’s a subject of debate far beyond the religious context. But, for now, can God say whether free will exists? It may be that the answer is no… if the answer is yes.

If that sounds confusing, it’s because it kinda is. But also it kinda isn’t. Religious texts often emphasize human agency… while also asserting divine omniscience, suggesting predestined outcomes known by God (or gods) ahead of time. The question is, if our choices are already known (or determined), then is true free will even possible?

It could be argued that free will and God can’t exist together. If God creates free will and grants it to us, then how “free” is that “will”, really… if it’s only ever what God has allowed? On the other hand, if free will is a phenomena apart from God, then God isn’t quite so godly, after all, because They aren’t all-powerful. The counterclaim often reads that God grants free will to enable humans to develop their own character, make moral decisions, and experience the consequences of their actions. But, from God’s position of unrivaled perfection, why bother? Or, at least, why take the risk? 

Interestingly, it’s a conundrum that is - in its own way - bleeding over into contemporary science and technology, through artificial intelligence. Developers are plagued by questions regarding AI and agency. How much should it be allowed to do by itself? And how much will it learn to do, whether we like it or not? From an extremely simplified perspective, though, if you had the perfect computer already, why would you give it sentience and thereby risk it (perhaps inevitably) ruining itself or everything else?

With AI, at least in the beginning, we are (or were) the gods. With us, and with life in general, God supposedly faced similarly tricky decisions.

#3: Why Do We Die?

In other words, why create something to kill it? Of course, many religions offer the promise of an afterlife as reason enough for the existence of death. But the likes of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Elysium, Valhalla, life after death in whatever guise, is always a product of Faith first of all. Although there are some scientific theories leaning toward a more metaphysical continuation post-death, most are more likely to suggest that death is the end. That, if it’s the start of anything, it’s the start of nothingness.

Even beyond it being a transition from here to the ever after, though, the purpose of death is often unexplained within many religious frameworks. Why do we have life that is temporary when, presumably, it could’ve been permanent?

To some degree, it’s a question that pits the existence of God against the science of evolution. With one Charles Darwin leading the way since the late 1850s - when “On the Origin of Species” was first published - we know beyond doubt that life on Earth is an ongoing process. Species come and go, adaptations are made and lost, the survival of the fittest rumbles on for so long as Earth exists in the universe. Life is an interconnected web in the natural world… and death is a major part of that. Why do we die? So that we can learn how to survive.

Under the gaze of seeming Gods, however, the presence of death still seems a little… harsh. The natural world shows us that everything continues and nothing can stagnate. But, if any kind of supreme deity made all of this, then why make it that way? Here, where God seemingly flounders, nature takes control.

#2: Why Is There Suffering?

Although closely tied to the Problem of Evil - as evilness clearly creates suffering - the fact that any one person, animal, plant, group, civilization, even ecosystem can be made to suffer in any way is arguably the most controversial unanswered question of all. If God is omnipotent, so the argument goes, then why does anything bad ever happen?

Consider natural disasters, which are also ominously (and widely) termed to be “acts of God”. Hundreds of thousands of people all across the planet are either killed, injured or displaced as a result of what might otherwise be characterized as an arsenal of natural disasters. Hurricanes, mudslides, forest fires, earthquakes. Tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes. There is a terrifying array of ways in which circumstances almost entirely out of our control can kill us. So, what gives? Why wouldn’t God intervene? Perhaps because They aren’t good enough to want to… or They aren’t powerful enough to do so… or They aren’t all-seeing enough to notice. In general, the existence of disasters is something that God seemingly leaves open for debate.

Similarly, the Problem of Evil and Suffering extends far beyond human beings, and the effect of the world on us. Darwin, himself, wrote extensively about the suffering of animals. Theorists have long mused over the fact that millions of animals - millions of life-forms on Earth - are made to suffer by their predators. Or, again, by the elements. Or directly at the hands of human beings. Or indirectly, as a result of technology. Does a bear caught in a landslide deserve to be there? Does a beetle on the path want to be stepped on? Does the mouse welcome the hawk? In all cases, the animal might be left clinging onto life for hours, even days, suffering without option.

And, finally, there’s the everyday anguish that our brains can force upon us. On the one hand, the human brain is often labeled to be the single most complex, natural structure in the universe. It is unparalleled, so far as we can tell. And yet, within it breeds depression, or paranoia, or desperation, or hatred. Our mental contemplation of life is never smooth sailing… but, again, why should that be? Neuroscience has moved over recent decades, especially, to understand better than ever exactly why we are how we are. But God provides only guidance, in the meantime, in often wholly ambiguous ways.

#1: What Is The Meaning Of Life?

As with so many of life’s other big questions, it’s something that might never have a universally correct, accepted or logical answer. Why are we here? Is there a reason? However it was that life came to be, what’s the ultimate aim?

It’s a line through which religion, as a whole, can be roughly split. While many (including most Abrahamic Faiths) posit that the point of life is to live well enough for salvation and to transition into the next life… many others (including Hinduism and Buddhism) emphasize the need to break free from suffering. In one sense, then, the figure of God does at least provide an option as to what the meaning is.

And yet, the meaning of life still remains an entirely personal and arguably unreachable goal. Again, there is no universal consensus. Interpretations differ from person to person, creature to creature, yes… but also within any one person, over time. What was the meaning of life when you were a child? When you were in your twenties? Your fifties? Does a 100 year old consider the question in the same way as a six year old would? Your meaning could be (and probably is) very different to even that of your best friend, the members of your family, your significant other, your children.

Clearly, for those who follow a religion, or even for those who don’t but do have a cultural understanding of what God might be… the quest for the meaning of life may well be something you look to a divine power to answer. But the evidence shows that we don’t have an answer. In place of meaning we have assumptions, interpretations, hopes, dreams, fears… a whole range of vague conditions. Perhaps that, in itself, is what makes life really worth living. But not even the all-powerful ever truly nails it down.