Did the universe have an eternal past? Engaging with the Atheists’ Arguments
It would be a great contradiction to argue that infinity has reached infinity because it has no end. And there must have been so many infinite moments already in the infinite universe.
Shibli Jouhar, Malappuram
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There have been detailed discussions and debates in human history about the merits of the universe as an infinity.
It can be seen that such rational philosophical debates often lead to a denial of the eternity of the universe.
(A) Infinity has no end:
The first proof that the universe could not have an infinite past is the fact that no infinite network can have a COMPLETED (NO INFINITE SERIES CAN BE COMPLETED). It is an observation that we accept that there are movements and activities going on within the universe. But in the ETERNAL PAST universe, these motions and changes must have taken place from time immemorial. For example, in the infinite universe, the planets and stars must have already completed their rotation.
It would be a great contradiction to argue that infinity has reached infinity because it has no end. And there must have been so many infinite moments already in the infinite universe. So how can the world exist beyond such infinite networks of moments? As you do each action, you will be doing it after the chains of eternal moments that preceded it. How can this happen if you live in a universe with an endless past?
Let’s do a thought experiment. Suppose you need someone else’s consent to read this book. But suppose the chain goes on and on indefinitely, so he needs someone else’s consent and they need someone else’s consent. So can you ever get a permit beyond the endless network of these people? Of course not. Nor can you exist today beyond the past of infinite causes.
In short, the idea of a beginning less universe leads to the great contradiction of the end of infinity. This is possible because there is no effect beyond infinity.
(B) Infinite counter:
Suppose there is a counter that counts the moments parallel to the universe. Imagine counting directly from infinity to zero instead of counting from zero to infinity. Then if we take this from the infinite universe, it may be counting and reaching zero. Because if the universe had no beginning, the infinite past would have passed before today!
But even though I picked up that counter yesterday, it must have been zero. Because in a universe with an infinite past, there must be infinite moments before yesterday. So what if that counter was checked millions or billions of years ago? Still it must have been zero. Take any moment in the universe with an infinite past and there will be infinite moments before that. If this is the case then there is a definite contradiction and an impossibility. It is a thought experiment commonly used to understand the paradox of the concept of the eternity of the universe.
(C) Hilbert’s Hotel Paradox:
The Herbert Hotel Paradox is one of many thought experiments used to show that physical infinity is a possibility. Imagine a hotel with endless rooms accordingly. In each of its endless rooms, there are individuals. So what if a new person comes in and asks for a room? Naturally there are people in every room so there is no room left to give to the newcomer. But there is a mathematical possibility of finding a room in a hotel with endless rooms. Room One will be free if you move people from room one to two and person two to room three next to each other. The room can be given to a newcomer.
Since there is another number after any number in Infinity, everyone who changes will get a room. So when there are people in all the rooms of this hotel, suppose that an infinite number of other people came asking for a room in the hotel. So how do you fix it?
There is a solution to this as well, according to infinity. Convert the individuals in each room to the room number, which is a multiple of two. For example, change the room number one to two, the second to four, the third person to six, and the fourth person to eight. What happens then is that all the people in the odd numbered room are transferred to the even numbered rooms. Then naturally all the single numbered rooms in the hotel will be empty. Now if you ask how many single numbers there are in infinity, there are infinite ones as well. Or the hotel now has an infinite number of rooms. This problem can only be solved by giving those rooms to the infinite number of newcomers. There is no doubt that it is an impossibility for many people who come back when all the rooms are full to find empty rooms in it. This thought experiment proves that the concept of infinity is impractical in the physical world. Therefore, this experiment of thought proves that the idea that the universe exists in such an infinite existence is completely incorrect and contradictory.
(D) Infinity of cosmic motions:
Suppose this universe exists as eternally as the atheists think. Then the motions going on in the universe must have been going on since time immemorial. But here mathematically infinity has a knot. Let’s come to another thought experiment to understand that. We all know that the earth revolves around the sun. So how many times have you orbited the sun? Although its exact number is not known, let us look at the possibilities of the number that indicates the number of times the sun orbits the earth.
1. It can be a single number (ODD NUMBER)
2. It can be an even number (EVEN NUMBER)
3. It can be a single number or an even number (BOTH EVEN AND ODD)
4. It is not a single number or even number.
The last two possibilities are not mathematically possible. A number can never be a single number or an even number at the same time. Then a motion in the universe can only be a single number or an even number. Let us now analyze the infinite universe preached by atheists according to this logic. So which movement in the universe can be numerically called singular or even double? The main challenge here is that any movement that has been going on since time immemorial cannot be called single or double.
When we call a single, we add one to it and it becomes an even number. Since infinity is numerically perfect, how can it add another and change its value and nature accordingly? This problem will be repeated even if it is argued that a phenomenon that has been going on since time immemorial is numerically even. Or if you add a number, it becomes a single number. Then again it proves to be incomplete. If it is not perfect, then it is not infinity. Because infinity, by definition, is itself complete and without any other. In short, there is another paradox that no motion in an infinite universe can be quantified numerically. Since this is an impossibility, it once again refutes the claim of an eternal universe.
(E) Infinity equals Infinity:
Let us come to another contradiction that occurs in the infinite universe. You know that the Earth orbits the Sun once in a year and Saturn in about 30 years. Let’s see if something like this can happen in the infinite universe.
If these rotations (ORBITS) have been going on in the universe since time immemorial, then the number of rotations they have performed numerically must be infinite. So if the Earth and Saturn revolve infinitely, then the number of rotations of both is infinite. It can be marked as: –
Earth’s rotation = ∞ (infinity)
Saturn’s rotation = ∞ (infinity)
So since infinity is equal to infinity, the number of rotations of the earth is equal to the number of rotations of Saturn.
But this is never possible. This is because Saturn rotates once and the Earth rotates 30 times. In this case, the number of rotations of the Earth should be thirty times the number of rotations of Saturn. Or the number of their rotations will never be the same.
These two things can be combined in this way.
1) Number of rotations of the Earth × 30 = Number of rotations of Saturn.
(Accordingly, the number of rotations of Saturn and Earth is not equal)
2) Earth’s rotations = ∞ (infinity)
Number of rotations of Saturn = ∞ (infinity)
* ∞ =
Therefore the number of rotations of Saturn and Earth is equal.
Or the logic of infinity leads to the idea that the numbers of their rotations are simultaneously equal but not equal at the same time. No number is equal and unequal at the same time.
So even for this reason the past of the universe cannot be described as infinite.
The eternal crisis
At least some atheists are beginning to believe that the universe we live in is not eternal, at least because we are beginning to realize that the universe is not eternal. But there are many other atheistic arguments that say that there was another universe beyond the universe, that our universe came into being from the rest when it collapsed, or that there are just plain universes with some quantum fluctuations. While none of these are scientifically possible, there is ample evidence and rationale above that they are not even logically correct. It has been established here that nothing is possible behind the infinite past universe by physical movements, time, changes, or chains of causation. This puts before atheists the exact fact that no physical phenomenon of any kind can therefore be argued to be the cause of the universe.
