Does the string of words "what caused the universe" have a meaning?

There are many rough equivalents, from "Where did the universe come from, " to "What caused the big bang," ect. I hesitate to put question marks at the end, because that would imply a question is actually being asked.





Here's my take: A cause must come before an effect. That means that any question about causality implies the existence of time. But time only exists as an aspect or dimension of the universe. So, attempting to ask a causal question about the universe as a whole amounts to using language in a way it can't be sued, and thus ends up being meaningless. That would mean no answer is needed, since no question is being asked.





Please explain if you think I'm missing something important here. Thanks|||Hey, I like this argument. It actually made sense to me, as if you're an actual person with actual thoughts using actual words, instead of the closed-minded baboons on any side of this argument substituting large words for actual logic. I think it's probably stupid to assume that one particular thing caused the universe, or that we could isolate some element as "the beginning".|||Sometimes causes and effects are instantaneously linked, with no time delay. Causal priority and temporal priority are not necessarily equivalents, although they usually are.





A cause must be causally prior to an effect, but it needn't be temporally prior.





There was a time zero, at which the universe was calibrated. It was calibrated by something, not nothing. Something has existed since time zero, i.e. "always," since there was no time before that. This cosmological stuff can all get very subjective once you get into causes, effects, and demanding to include counterintuitive quantum mechanics in your description.





There is something true about the origin of the universe. It isn't nothing at all. There is definitely some explanation of why we are here. And physicists are working on it.|||It is not clear at this point whether the universe had a beginning in the usual sense, so "what caused the universe" may or may not have meaning. There's some indication that the universe is as it is because of the inherent characteristics of space-time (although please don't ask me to explain that). More research is needed.|||"So, attempting to ask a causal question about the universe as a whole amounts to using language in a way it can't be sued"





If it is a non question, it is a non question atheist physicists have tried to answer without using the word "God".|||You know what people mean Mr. English major.





C'mon Gutbucket...you're really going to throw in the towel on the biggest question there is?|||Shh! We need to beg the question that god exists so we can teach he hates brown people.|||The 'what', 'why', 'how', etc. would imply that a question is being asked and that an answer is needed.|||Deep, deep meaning.|||You're sort of right.





Can the instability of empty space be seen as a "cause"?|||I don't think so, and it is useless to ponder it.|||They do, under specific circumstances. If time began in the Big Bang it is impossible that the Universe was caused by anything outside it, for without time there is no causality. In this case it would indeed be meaningless to talk about something causing the Universe.



However, remember that we don't know if time really did begin in the Big Bang. We know our models break down at that point, but that may be a failure of our models instead of the beginning of time. That time began in the Big Bang is the orthodox view in science at present but the reasons for it are mostly theoretical, there is no observable evidence that clearly supports this claim. If time predates the Big Bang and for example has always existed then in that case the phrase would have meaning.|||1. The Thomist CA ( TCA )





The TCA argues that the universe requires a first cause.





The simplified TCA: Everything has a cause that precedes it. (no effect can cause itself)





The(ongoing) existence of the universe is an effect wich requires a cause that is itself the effect of a preceding cause, and so on.





This chain of cause and effect cannot be infinite; there must be a first cause that is itself uncaused to begin the chain of causation.





This uncaused first cause we call God.








2. The Leibnizian CA ( LCA )





The LCA begins with the question, "Why does anything exist rather than nothing at all?"





Leibniz argued that this question must have and answer because"nothing happens without a sufficient reason".





According to this principle of sufficient reason, there must be an explanation for why something contingent--something that could have been otherwise than it actually is-- is the way it is, or why it exists instead of not existing.





within the universe itself there is no sufficient reason for the existence of the universe. Therefore the reason for the universe's existence must be outside the universe; in a being who is its own sufficient reason and who is the reason for the existence of the universe as well.





this sufficient reason of all things is God, whose own existence explained only by reference to himself.





3. The Kalam CA ( KCA )





Everything that began to exist has a cause of it existence.





the universe began to exist.





therefore, the universe has a cause for its existence.





this cause is God.





The premise,"the universe began to exist", is supported by philosophical argument and scientific evidence:





In philosophy it can be shown that an actually infinite number of things cannot exist; therefore the succession of past moments of time cannot be infinite.





In science, the "big bang" theory, for which there is a great deal of astronomical evidence, includes an absolute beginning to the physical universe, refuting the belief in an eternal cosmos. The second law of thermodynamics (entropy) implies that if the universe were eternal, it would have experienced "heat death" by now.





In the conclusion, " the universe has a cause", the cause must exist outside the univers. Since this"cause" must decide whether and when to bring the universe into existence, this cause must be a personal agent, because only a personal agent can decide something. Therefore the God eho id the cause of the universe is a person.