http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism This isn't about any particular religion but more a thread about whether God is a logical starting point for our universe as we know it, despite Determinism. Please don't bring up individual religions unless there's substantial reason, otherwise it just gets messy and confusing. Put simply, Causal Determinism is the domino-effect of the universe (cause-and-effect). From the macro level to the micro level, everything occurs in a series of chain reactions. Basically, if you can put a "because" in front of it, it falls in line with this notion. This would mean that everything, even the thoughts in your head, your flat tire, the individual particles of light entering your eyes can all be traced back to a single point (not necessarily the absolute beginning), but the beginning of the universe that we know (our cosmic neighborhood). You can call this the big bang or whatever you like, but what I'm more interested in is disproving Causal Determinism. Correct me if I'm wrong, but without evidence of anything truly random in the universe, there is no space for actual free will in the universe as we know it. Every movement, thought, emotion, etc. can be explained by a cause and that cause has a cause, etc. It can all be traced back to a previous agent. Now if this is the case, that means no matter what you do, it was (for lack of a better term) destined to happen just by the way the initial explosion happened (the trajectory, speed, contents, heat, etc.). So if this is the case, it brings up two interesting points: No matter what you do, it's already been set in stone You could calculate any point in "time" with a powerful enough computer (brain) given these facts So what I'd like to know is: Can you come up with anything that's truly random? Do you feel that Determinism points toward a god or away from one? How do you feel about this personally?