[wideawake]

You'll notice that he also takes the Aristotle/Spinoza dodge.

Aristotle believed that the world always existed and the Unmoved Mover (i.e. God) always existed and that the UM did nothing much other than organize the preexisting world.

Spinoza believed that the world always existed and that the world and everything in it was God (thoroughgoing pantheism), eliminating Aristotle's distinction.

Both of these theologies dodge the obvious question: where does the world come from if God was not its author?

[snarks_when_bored]

You'll notice that he also takes the Aristotle/Spinoza dodge.

Aristotle believed that the world always existed and the Unmoved Mover (i.e. God) always existed and that the UM did nothing much other than organize the preexisting world.

Spinoza believed that the world always existed and that the world and everything in it was God (thoroughgoing pantheism), eliminating Aristotle's distinction.

Both of these theologies dodge the obvious question: where does the world come from if God was not its author?

Your last question seems to ignore the points you made earlier about the world having always existed. If the world (i.e., physical being of some sort) has always existed, the question, 'Where does the world come from?', is already answered.

[spinestein]

" where does the world come from if God was not its author? "

If God was the author, then who wrote God?

:^)

[elmer fudd]

"Both of these theologies dodge the obvious question: where does the world come from if God was not its author?"

Yes, they do, but if God did create the world then where did God come from? Using the scientific method, unless there is evidence to the contrary you always go with the simplest explanation. In this case it is simpler to postulate that the universe was always there than that God created the universe and that God was always there.