Creation = existence. before I create my side table, it does not exist. Before creation the world did not exist. That which is created is caused into existance. This does not explain the "existence" of the uncaused.
Intermediate cause (you); final cause (table.)
This does not explain the "existence" of the uncaused.
The explanation is that intermediate and final causes cannot go on into infinity and still have you and the table exist.
In order to avoid going around in circles, I think we need to focus more on specific theology (such as Old Testament literature / scripture demanding your acceptance that refraction only happened post-Noah, after the deity in question produced rainbows as a “pact”) rather than aimlessly wandering around the fog of Deism with tuned biases to make specific religions seem compatible with the unanswered questions. This will be far more productive than switching between Deism / agnosticism and mainstream religion to avoid such queries. If an insult is taken, then that’s a pity, because such beliefs are what the scriptures demand of the believer. Energy and effort would be better spent in addressing these specifics, in preference to taking offense.
A comment I read earlier might serve as a good focus:
“In order to create cells and the universe, your god must be pretty complex as well. Who created your god? Should I just believe something as complex as your god just came out of nowhere? Was he always around? If that is the case, let’s just skip a stage and say the universe was always around.”
Enjoy!