Granting that all things are contingent, hence perishable (thus, there could have been a time in the past when nothing was in existence as Aquinas argued in the Third Way), is it not also possible that even if all things are contingent, their finite life spans could overlap so that there is no point in time when all of them ceased to exist? Think for instance the life span of human beings. Does this line of reasoning refute the argument for the existence of a necessary being?

The Five Ways relates to us a third way from possibility and necessity. One idea raised in this way is that things are subject to generation and corruption. This means that a thing has a beginning, and consequently, it has an end. This idea is similar to the life span of human beings. A human being is born as a baby, grows, and eventually, dies. Thus, all things are contingent, perishable.

I agree with St. Thomas Aquinas when he said that there came a time in the past when nothing existed. I also agree with him when he contradicted the argument that if there came a time in the past that nothing was in existence, then nothing must be in existence right now because things are existing today, we are existing. Nevertheless, I will agree with the idea of finite things overlapping because we experience this cycle. As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, human beings and everything else are born and eventually, perish. Then, another series of things come into existence, and eventually die. And, it goes on and on, like a cycle. However, if we come to think of it, something must have caused the existence of these finite things. Specially since they are finite, it is impossible to say that these finite things just existed without a cause. And, Aquinas refers to God as this cause. Thus, it is more sensible to say that there came a time in the past that nothing existed, and God caused the existence of these finite things. From there, the cycle of the finite life spans sprang.

Nevertheless, this line of reasoning does not refute the argument for the existence of a necessary being. Actually, this reasoning supplements the idea of God whose existence is necessary. This is justified by the explanation presented a while ago. Again, God is a being whose existence is necessary. He is inevitable in order to make sense of our empirical experience of the existence of things in the world. We have to admit the existence of some being- God, having of itself its own necessity and not receiving it from another, but rather causing in others their necessity.