Who Created God?

Who created God? This is a common question put forward by skeptics and is also a common question among Christians. Often, this question is invoked in response to the realization that the universe had a beginning, and therefore, the universe requires a beginner. This provides strong evidence for God. But the question that naturally follows is, who created God? This is an important question because if God is created, why do we worship Him? Why not worship the one who created God? Why does God get to make the rules if He Himself is subject to someone greater than Himself? There are several points I want to make in order to address this issue.

First, the question is a misunderstanding of what Christians mean by God. The question assumes that God was created. However, Christians have never believed that God was created. Rather, the Bible teaches that God is self-existent[1] and eternal.[2] When someone asks, “Who created God,” the god they have in mind is more like one of the Greek gods (Zeus, Adonis, etc.). These gods were pictured as created beings that dwelt within our world. However, the God of the Bible is not like these other gods. One of the things that differentiates the God of the Bible from false gods is that He is uncreated.

Second, if someone or something had created God, we would then call the thing that created God, God. The reason we call God, God, is because there is none higher.

Third, if something had created God, you would have to ask, “Who created the thing that created God?” But once you answer that question, you would then have to follow up with, “Who created the thing that created the thing that created God?” Each time you answer the question, you are only pushing the problem back one step further. This could go on for an infinite amount of time. However, it is not possible to have an infinite regress of finite things. Eventually, you come to a point where something just exists and was not created. As Aristotle put it, you eventually come to an Unmoved Mover.[3] In the Christian worldview, the Unmoved Mover is God. Thus, since God is uncreated, the question of, “Who created who,” ends when you get to God. He is the One from whom all things flow.

Lastly, the question of who created God does not make sense in light of the law of causality. The law of causality is based upon the principle that whatever has a beginning has a cause. For example, the universe had a beginning; therefore, the universe has a cause. All of science is based on this principle of identifying causes for effects. Now when we look at the question of, who created God, we see that the law of causality does not apply. Why? Because God never had a beginning. If God never had a beginning, then God never had a cause. Notice, “the law of causality does not say that everything has a cause. The law of causality says that everything that has a beginning has a cause, or every effect has a cause.”[4] To ask what caused God, does not make sense, since God did not have a beginning.

In summary, the question of who created God misunderstands who God is, misunderstands the law of causality, and results in an absurd infinite regress. For these reasons, the question of who created God does not apply to the God of the Bible.

[1] The self-existence of God is known as the doctrine of aseity. For further discussion on aseity, see the following article: The Eternality and Aseity of God - The Gospel Coalition.

[2] Isa. 57:13; Ps. 90:2; Ps. 102:26-28; Isa. 41:4; 1 Tim. 1:17.

[3] Frank Turek, Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 22.

[4] Ibid.