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So when exactly did God not create the universe? A long time ago when there was no life or consciousness? Or a couple days ago when you were thinking up this topic? Maybe he created everything five seconds ago and our memories of yesterday are artificial implants. How constrained to logic and scientific fact is your concept of god? Because you don't need a dozen sentences to say that you can't create something ex nihilo. I'm just stressing the fact that the arbitrary is not true or false, so you can't prove it true or false. Some dork can always come along and throw arbitrary objections at you, like the universe could have been created yesterday with people and pets and politicians even. Also, you begin your formulation like this: You're dealing with "classifications"? In other words, abstractions. Your premise already assumes the existence of something that can form concepts. Furthermore, "classifications" don't exist outside the mind, so they have nothing to do with how a material universe was or wasn't created. You aren't starting with anything objective, not the real or alleged referrents of these "classifications," but the "classifications" themselves. Then you do switch to referrents, but treat them as if they were your earlier abstractions. And finally, if "God" is a "classification," what does it classify? That which did not create the universe? Well, lots of things didn't create the universe.

So matter created God? Is God an Emergent property? I have never been able to prove the "absence" of god in this universe, because there has to be a God that is absent. And if there is no God, no "absent god" can be demonstrated/shown/proved. But it is easy to prove the nonexistence of omicience or omnipotence which I assume you have already been introduced to. But there are definitions of God that don't incorporate those traits as in the first mover. The only solid indication of the non existence of god is that the idea that god created this or that, started this and that, is an unnecessary complication in addition to being arbitrary. Existence exists is complete, demonstrable, already proven out of the box. But it seems that the attraction to the God concept is that the universe having no purpose, is an uncomfortable thought for some. In fact it can be a very disturbing experience. The idea of a God has a purpose that is unknowable to us cures that issue. The existence of God is an emotional requirement not a metaphysical entity observed. (there also are other psychological motivations to want God to exist).

ARI Web event Sunday, February 23 Next Sunday, February 23, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time, Betsy Speicher—a longtime student of Objectivism who has been active in community groups and activism for many years—will share her wisdom on the subject of “How to Talk to Friends and Family about Objectivism.” This live Zoom call is part of a series of presentations and discussions being facilitated by ARI for those interested in spreading Objectivism through community group organization and activism. All are welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. Have you tried to discuss Objectivism with friends, family members, and co-workers? What happened? Did you or anyone else get angry, defensive, or frustrated? With the right approach, this can be prevented. Betsy Speicher, who’s been successfully promoting Objectivism for 58 years, will show you how by sharing some ideas and techniques from her book: The WHYS Way to Success and Happiness. The main idea of the book is that the secret of success is understanding the WHYS—that is, the reasons WHY things are what they are and do what they do. Betsy’s book shows how to figure out the WHYS. Then it has chapters on using the WHYS to find answers, be confident, improve your memory, master your emotions, reach your goals, solve your problems, be creative, raise terrific children, AND persuade people. The chapter on persuasion tells how to get people who disagree with you to change their minds. As one Amazon reviewer wrote: “I put Speicher’s technique to the test at a recent family gathering, during a heated argument about American foreign policy, and it worked. With a few pointed questions, I managed to get my stubborn brother to look at the subject in a whole new way.” Betsy is going to show you how YOU can confidently and successfully communicate YOUR controversial ideas. Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/9498782574 Or join by phone: 1 (408) 638-0968 Meeting ID: 9498782574