Q&A: Necessary Existence
Necessary Existence
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Maimonides, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, chapter 1
And if it could enter one’s mind that He does not exist, no other thing could exist.
Do you agree with the statement that God is a necessary existent, and that without Him reality would not exist? And if so, what is the reasoning behind it?
What is the problem with the claim that God created the world (that is necessary), and that He then ceased / will cease to exist?
Answer
As for His being a necessary existent, it seems to me that without that, His existence does not provide an explanation for reality. Who created Him? As for His being a condition for the continued existence of reality—I don’t know. There is a certain logic to it, but I don’t know how to present a clear argument.
Discussion on Answer
This isn’t a matter of reasoning; it’s a matter of definition.
God is defined as that thing without which there is no reality.
For us, the question is what that reality is that we say is reality. Nobody knows that reality.
There was a video here that Rabbi Michi uploaded, if I remember correctly, explaining the idea from the theology channel. From Copenhagen..