Discussing athiesm today, how do I address this?

[AndysDaddy]

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How can I respond to "God has always existed"?

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Theist: But something must have created the universe. It's too complex to come from nothing. That's where God comes in.
Atheist: Well then who created God?
Theist: God has always existed.
Atheist: Well, if God has always existed, then why couldn't the universe have always existed? It's the same principle.


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"In many cultures it is customary to answer that God created the universe out of nothing. But this is mere temporizing. If we wish courageously to pursue the question, we must, of course ask next where God comes from. And if we decide this to be unanswerable, why not save a step and decide that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question? Or, if we say that God has always existed, why not save a step and conclude that the universe has always existed?"

[/ QUOTE ]--Carl Sagan, Cosmos