> The existence of "free will" negates the argument that God must have 
> created the universe as a "first cause".
>
> The "first cause" argument is that every effect has a cause, and hence for 
> the universe to exist, something before the universe must have caused it, 
> and hence God exists.[1]
>
> On the other hand, either our decisions are caused by what's in the 
> environment, or some aspect of our decisions are not subject to prior 
> causes. In the first case, it would be unjust to blame someone for not 
> believing in your religion if such disbelief is entirely the fault of 
> external circumstances. In the latter case, many decisions have effects 
> without precedent cause, and hence the requirement for God to have created 
> the universe disappears.
>
> Thoughts?

Why does the first case rule out the possibility of God having created the 
universe?  Or do you mean that if "the decisions" are entirely made based on 
the environment, there must have been "something else" at the beginning 
because otherwise no decisions could be made to start the universe?

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