>>12592093Its not. Logically, the first cause must be eternal. Since it is not itself “caused,” it cannot have a beginning. God, according to the Bible, fits this description, as the only thing in existence that was not “made.” John 1:3 makes a specific distinction between things that are made and things that are not made. God, as it stands, is the only “thing” that was not made. He is eternal, always existing (Psalm 90:2).
The first cause is also necessary. There are other terms used for this idea, such as noncontingent or basic. Without the first cause, nothing else can exist. So, the first cause must exist, and there can be no reality where it does not. Everything other than the first cause is said to be “contingent.” This simply means that everything that begins—or is caused—owes its origin to something else. The first cause, on the other hand, does not and cannot depend on anything else in order to exist, since it must exist. God, again, matches this description, as the One who simply “is” and must be (Exodus 3:14) and as the One who created—who caused—all other things (Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:3).
The first cause must also be changeless, since change is always triggered by some outside force or event. But since the first cause is the “first,” no other causes can affect it. This means the first cause must not only be changeless, but it must also be perfect—it is the standard of all other things, since all other things are caused by and secondary to it. Here, again, the God of the Bible matches this description: He is changeless (Malachi 3:6), perfect (Isaiah 6:3), and the source of all that is (Genesis 2:3).