Why is there something rather than nothing?

Answer 1

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The Biblical answer would be that God created the 'something' out of nothing. This is referred to as creation ex nihilo and refers to the creation of all that exists by the one and only almighty God, in the beginning.

Nehemiah 9:6 (King James Version): 6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Acts 14:15 (King James Version):15And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

The Bible also describes God as the sovereign Lord. In other words He is completely self-sufficient and self-directed and so had no need in Himself to make the world or anything else. He made the world, the 'something' because He wanted to.

But the question is "Why is there anything at all?" That implies "Why was there God in the first place?"

Actually it is a silly question (to a human being). As an analogy, imagine a goldfish in a bowl, swimming around and around in circles, and the bowl is on a train going from New York to LA. The bowl is in a closed box. Ask the fish, "where are you going?" He says, "Around my bowl." You say, "That is true, but you're swimming all the way to Los Angeles too."

"Why is there a God?", is a question beyond our knowledge and our understanding. The fish cannot envisage being out of the water in its bowl. We cannot envisage anything out of the time or space of this Universe.

Answer 2

Why do humans respond emotionally to beautiful sights? And why are painters, sculptors, or musicians motivated emotionally (even beyond monetary need) - to create works of beauty? We are created in the image of God (Genesis ch.5), and God himself is a master artist, who (we intuit) enjoys beauty and has made this beautiful world (see Genesis 1:31). The best human efforts to create beauty are a pale reflection of God's own designs. We respond to them because we are made in the Creator's image.
God made the Earth for people: "He did not create [the earth] simply for nothing," but "formed it to be inhabited" (Isaiah 45:18). He wanted people to exist in order to have someone to love, and to give us an opportunity to achieve godliness. All people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy can merit reward in the afterlife. When the righteous use their free-will to obey God despite His being hidden, they have shown that they deserve His love. Their reward will never cease. But even the undeserving are given the kindness of life in this world, and the lifelong ability to draw near to Him.See also:

God's wisdom seen in His creations

More about God's wisdom

Can you show that God exists

Answer 3

Questions like this are known as 'egocentric' questions. If there were nothing, we could not ask the question. Similar questions ask why the earth is just right to support human life, and so on - if the earth were not just right to support human life, we could not ask the question, although intelligent beings somewhere else in the universe could be wondering just the same things about their worlds.

A religious answer, within the framework of Abrahamic religions, is that God created everything.

A scientific answer, from Stephen Hawking (The Grand Design), says that because there are laws such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. This is the essence of the Big Bang, from which the whole universe emerged.