The first law of thermodynamics states that energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change its form. This physical law is one of the foundations of natural science. When there is a undisputed, universal physical law stating that matter cannot be created, how is it possible to explain that matter exists? There are two possibilities – either matter has always been (it is eternal), or at one time matter did not exist and then began to exist.
There are many theories for how our universe (matter) came to be. Most people in the world believe that the universe was created by a supernatural being (creationism). Some believe that the universe has always existed. Others believe that the universe began billions of years ago, completely apart from any supernatural intervention.
The idea that the universe began completely apart from supernatural intervention is not consistent with the first law of thermodynamics. Anything that is of the physical world is subject to the physical laws of the world, and thus subject to the first law of thermodynamics. This law states that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Thus, in order for matter to be created, it must be created by something that is outside of physical laws and outside of the natural world (supernatural).
The idea that the universe has always existed is actually consistent with the first law of thermodynamics. If matter is eternal, then it never was created. It always was.
However, this theory does not sufficiently take into account the fact that for everthing that happens in the natural universe, there is a cause. In order for anything with mass to move, it must be moved by something other than itself. Because it is quite evident that there is motion in the natural world, there must have been something that moved first, enabling (e.g. causing) all other motion in the natural world. If there was not a "first mover," then this natural world could not be in motion, because everything natural that is moving is caused to be in motion by something else. This first mover must be outside of the laws of nature, because it has no natural cause for moving. In other words, this first mover must be supernatural.
The idea that the universe was created by something supernatural is consistent with the first law of thermodynamics, because physical laws only apply to the natural world. If a being is spiritual and supernatural, then it does not belong to the natural world, and it is not restricted by physical laws. The first law of thermodynamics is strong evidence for the theory that the natural universe began from something supernatural (in other words, that the universe was created). I dare say that the first law of thermodynamics effectively proves creationism.
All naturalistic, materialistic explanations of the origin of the universe merely hide the necessity of a supernatural creator, pretending to offer feasible alternatives to the logical, intuitive idea that the universe was created by a supernatural being. However, upon close analysis, there is no escaping from the truth that there is a creator who does not belong to this universe and is not bound by our physical laws.
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This post was heavily influenced by Thomas Aquinas's proof for the existence of God in his famous book, the Summa Theologica. You can read the book online by following this link. Once you've realized that the book is way to long to read in its entirety, you can read his relatively short proof for the existence of God by following this link.
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The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” – Psalm 14:1
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