To the argument that the universe was caused by God, the village atheist retort is “Oh yeah? Then what caused God?”
But the argument isn’t that every being requires a cause. The village atheist is quite correct that if B causes A, C causes B, D causes C, and so on without end, we have a problem. Nothing has ultimately been explained.
Rather the argument is that every contingent being requires a cause – every being that doesn’t have to be. In reality the impossibility of endless regress makes the case for God, not against Him, because the regress continues only until it reaches a necessary being.
Tomorrow: The Wrong Way to Wake Up