Regarding the origin of matter: Fred Hoyle hypothesized that matter was being created continuously. This is the steady state model. Lemaître, Gamow and others developed what became known as the Big Bang Theory which included the idea of nucleosynthesis which is the process of creating new atomic nuclei from preexisting protons and neutrons. I don’t think they propose matter comes from nothing.

You said, “Modern physics gives no opinion about what existed before the Big Bang.” Yet you believe matter has existed forever. In fact, according to modern physics, matter cannot have existed forever, since the theory teaches that matter itself was created at the Big Bang. Therefore, anything eternal cannot be material. Hence, your belief in the eternality of matter is a matter of faith.

What evidence do I have that makes me believe you know God exists?
Well Dedwarmo’s post What do the heavens declare? is a good starting point.

@Dedwarmo: No, it doesn’t. What kind of “response” are you looking for?

By the way, you said, “Interesting point: submitting to a creator. How can you submit to someone you can’t see or hear?” Are you sure your position isn’t one of unwillingness rather than inability (especially given your statement
here: “I have decided it doesn’t really matter whether the Bible is true or not, I am not willing to submit myself to it or God.” (emphasis added.)) It sounds like you acknowledge the possibility. You just aren’t willing to do it.

“Is there anything anyone could say or any evidence that you could see which would convince you that God doesn’t exist?”

“Appealing to what you know is only a logical fallacy if it’s not true. I believe it is true.”

What evidence do you have that makes you believe it is true? And how would that override the evidence demonstrating it is not true (e.g. when I wrote “I do not deep down believe in God or the necessity for a creator and moral lawgiver. “)

In my world-view, producing is superior to consuming. So, activities that ‘produce’ something should take precedence over things that ‘consume’. Creating a movie is better than watching TV. For me, church-going & prayer consume time but produce very little. IMO the world would be better off if more people produced more things and stopped wasting time unproductively. But this is just my opinion and it is no more valid than yours.

Modern physics gives no opinion about what existed before the Big Bang. We have no evidence for which to make any conclusions. Thus, your assertion that “If anything has existed forever, it cannot be material” is unsupportable.

Appealing to what you know is only a logical fallacy if it’s not true. I believe it is true.

You said, “We would all be better off if we took the time wasted on praying, going to church, etc. and spent it experimenting, creating, learning, and solving problems that will make this world a better place.” By what standard would be that time be better spent? The term better implies a standard that is not subjective to either one of us, since if it doesn’t apply to me, then my time is not wasted.

Do you really believe that matter has existed forever? Unless you believe that the universe is an open system, that view violates both laws of Thermodynamics (If mass/energy has existed forever, it would have dissipated an infinite amount of time ago.) And you are not appealing to a source of matter outside the universe, unless you believe in an infinite regress of sources.

However, modern physics holds that the universe did have a beginning and hasn’t existed forever. If anything has existed forever, it cannot be material.

You also said, “Incidentally, I don’t know what you mean when you say “submit to your creator”. I know.

Your statements about seeking the truth sound disingenuous. You seem to only be able to accept the truth if it agrees with your notion that God exists. Just as we shouldn’t rule out the existence of God a priori, we shouldn’t also rule in the existence of God a priori.

Is there anything anyone could say or any evidence that you could see which would convince you that God doesn’t exist?

I do not deep down believe in God or the necessity for a creator and moral lawgiver. Morality is the result of chemical reactions in your body. Nothing more. So too is your sense of self.

IMO it’s unfortunate people waste time preparing for a world that doesn’t likely exist, instead of putting more effort in making this world (the one we know exists) the best place it can possibly be. We would all be better off if we took the time wasted on praying, going to church, etc. and spent it experimenting, creating, learning, and solving problems that will make this world a better place.

Certainly, I can accept that some things have existed forever. Matter, light, energy, etc. and the rules by which they interact have all existed forever. Then the universe is just a result of the interaction & the laws governing the stuff that has existed forever. Just as your God didn’t need a creator, my matter, energy, light, universe, didn’t need a creator either.

It seems a logical fallacy (special pleading or ad hoc reasoning) to appeal to what I inherently “know”. Perhaps these are things that you inherently “know”, but they are not things I “know” or even believe.

Incidentally, I don’t know what you mean when you say “submit to your creator”.