"...-"If everything is cause and effect, then where did the first cause come from?"--why are you so slow to post an answer?"

Why, because I had to go look it up in Aristotle, of course! ;>)

seriously- for us, it is not necessary to locate or identify a 'first cause'. There is the concept of 'remote cause', which relates to the fartherist back cause necessary to explain or discuss particular phenomena, but since **FIRST** cause is so difficult to even conceive, let alone identify, why bother? There is still debate over whether the 'big bang' was just one in an infinite series of big bangs, and if THAT is hard to take in, just shrug, as I do, and don't worry about it.

   I submit that just saying "there MUST be a First Cause, so I'll just arbitrarily call it 'God'", solves nothing, as I can always ask, "Then why would there BE a God in the...ummmm...first place?"

We have certain tools to slowly investigate the physical laws of the universe, and we sorta think right now that somewhere about 14-15 Billion years ago, 'something' happened that 'caused' all the complexity we see now. We're still looking to see if we can pin it down closer, or revise our notions of what happened....but there's just no way to even grasp any concept of an "ultimate force/spirit" which 'decided' to start things rolling.....and pretending that we can is just imagining that creating a linguistic 'name' somehow endows reality.
   Saying "we can't understand it, therefore God done it" is just circular reasoning disguised as useful logic. (There are some unstated assumptions hidden in the syllogism)

....all of which leaves, as "compelling reasons" for positing a god, "Someone told me there was one, and I like that answer because it makes me feel good"....and isn't THAT how it works?