i ask the professor for systematic theology at martin luther university in germany, dirk evers. there is a traditional distinction between god is the cause of the world or god is the reason of the world. causo oratsio in latin and i would say that if god is the reason of the world it's the fundamental ground of being then it is not necessary to think of a beginning of the universe in order to think of god as the creator. he can be the eternal reason of an eternal creation. it is also not very clear how can we really grasp the idea of a starting point, of an absolute beginning. what should that mean? nothing before it, does time end there, does time begin. already the term to begin is a temporal term so we i think we do not have a real clear distinctive notion of an absolute beginning.... even if you refer to big bang cosmology some would say ok before that there was some kind of quantum effect in the void or something yeah so you always have to presuppose something out of which this beginning arises.... if we assume that god is the reason for an eternal universe - it seems like