Leathercrop, if we assume that something is eternal --that it has always existed-- then there is no start point. It exists forever into the past. If that seems incomprehensible, that's because it is. At least to us, anyway. I cannot comprehend it. The notion of there never being a starting point simply doesn't compute. And yet, here we are
ah.. thanks for breaking that down Tonus. And yes, this is the type of stuff that often leads me to believe in God. Quantum physics, black holes, wormholes, mathematical infinities, dark matter... just some of the "realities" out there. What you described is similar to when physics theories start to fall apart, it's incomprehensible. These theories are so reliable we can send a ship into space and bring it back. Yet they do fall apart at the fringes. We don't have to go far, just the "hard" problem of how the animate can come from the inanimate alone, life from unliving matter is mindboggling. And yet, as you said, here we are.