Audie: What produced the energy before inflation? This is perhaps the ultimate question. As crazy as it might seem, the energy may have come out of nothing! The meaning of “nothing” is somewhat ambiguous here.
The ONLY reason anyone would consider the concept of "nothing" to be ambiguous is because everyone knows its meaning is logically applied to things not in physical existence, and because everyone logically knows no known thing or process doesn't come from SOMETHING or have a CAUSE. This is why I like Geisler's term: "Pop Metaphysics." Non-theists are insisting something immaterial and non-physical can cause massive physical things to "pop" into existence, with extraordinary power, design and organize itself with massive complexity. If that is best described as a "Philcartoon," well, that's exactly what Audie and others appear to hold out as possible.
A philcartoon version of something reasonable.
What about a universe "popping" into existence, organizing itself, immediately obeying tenants of sophisticated guiding laws, BY ITSELF, is in ANY way "reasonable?" And if you suggest that whatever caused that has a non-intelligent cause and wasn't created, well, what caused THAT and where did the intelligence applied and immense power come from? Somewhere, somehow, this would have to trace back to some self-existing, incredibly powerful, uncaused, super intelligence, as a Super Powerful INTELLIGENCE that exists outside of and is THE Cause of all that exists is the only "reasonable" answer. Actually, the other possibility is an AUDIECartoon - as I'm not the one who believes that such a miraculous self-existing, non-intelligent THING should be even fantasized to exist. By the way, such a belief, in what I would call an impossible fantasy that is delusional to believe is even remotely possible, is in no way based upon ANY observed scientific causes/origins or processes - all essential to what came before what exists - despite whatever sophisticated-sounding jargon is applied ONLY to things that came afterward, that were mere RESULTS of whatever caused the universe. Ultimately, Audie is arguing for the possibility of some self-existing, inexplicable, metaphysical things that are unknown, would appear absolutely impossible, and that the belief in even the mere
possibilityof such is only a matter of pure faith - a belief in something that cannot be proven, but is not known to be based upon any reality that anyone has ever shown to be possible. So, Audie has her own AudieCartoon. But then again, I'm not the one who believes in a cartoon cause for the universe. However, the word "cartoon" is a great description of what Audie apparently believes is possible.
This is NOT an attack upon Audie the Great - just upon what she sees as possible
.