Did the universe have a beginning?
What is the alternative?
I’ve seen people argue that God has no beginning. If this is accepted, then logic cannot compel that entities must have beginnings.
To answer that question some words need definitions..
Time has not been defined.. What is TIME?..
In an "eternal" reality, time is nonsense.. The past, present and future are parts of the same thing.. if viewed in a linear way.. How can time be linear except in a second dimension?.. But there are more dimensions that that..
Eternity -OR- Infinity might be impossible for a human mind to compute.. ACCURATELY..
The answer to this question could be... The Universe always was and will be.. This Universe might be compose of "stuff" much greater than matter or even energy.. What "stuff"?.. Yeah! good question..
Monkeys considering a gold Rolex Watch with a leather band and precious stones presented artistically might be analogous to Humans defining TIME.. and by association this Universe.. Are YOU a Primate?..
Thanks, Texas Songwriter, for raising--again--this very important question. If the question itself is in question, the rationale that determines its legitimacy will certainly give us further insight. It's a question Plato raises at the beginning of the Timaeus. It is a metaphysical question: "I am asking a question which has to be asked at the beginning of an inquiry about anything-was the world, I say, always in existence and without beginning? or created, and had it a beginning?" I notice that Plato thinks the question takes precedence to all other inquiry. This suggests to me that those who refuse the question have given a kind of answer to it, an answer which becomes operative for subsequent inquiry.
Whether the universe had a beginning or not, how is that relevant to this discussion?