User:Engtuffy/Creation and time

Creation and Time
This article will discus time as used in the Bible an then summarize a technical paper on the metaphysical concept of time. The word-Time is used in scripture about 900 times; Some of these are noted below: Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years. Numbers 9:2 Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. Deuteronomy 15:2 the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. Psalm 75:2 You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity". Ecclesiastes 3:1  A Time for Everything ] There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Daniel 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 2 Peter 3:8  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.     Note the signs of the times and appointed times are repeated. The last times are noted. The first mention of time for signs for days, season, and yrs. is in Gen1:14: Time has a course, there are appointed times, and the Lord’s time. There are specific times and things that happen in due time, as a baby on Kairos time. There were wise men who understood the times. One is struck as to how often the word time is given in scripture and the Lord’s involvement in it. Certain numbers are often used with time: 7 days or times, 3, 10, 40. Time is God’s as he made it and uses it for His purposes. For example- pray to the Lord 3 or 7 times a day. Ecc. 3. Time for everything under heaven; Time for nations to rise and fall; Time for judgment and the end. The animals know the times better than people. Daniel 7: time, times and ½ time. He changes times and seasons In summary God created time for his purposes. He changes times and seasons as in Dan 2:21. In Gen.1:14 time is noted for signs for days, yrs. and seasons. This is the time for seeing the stars from earth and setting normal time (day 4) and our first basis for time. There is the possibility that time was dilated on earth vs. in deep space, on days 1-3. We do not know for a fact that the earth was rotating once in 24 hrs on days 1-3, although it may have been. Scripture indicates God is in complete control of time, using it for His purposes and changing types of time as needed. The common scriptural view is that creation occurred in 6-24 hr days.

An article on God and Time will now be summarized from Ganssle This reference offers some views of time that are not limited to our current 24 hr. day time: For example, timelessness and metaphysical time. Some philosophers think that God’s relation to time cannot be captured by either of the categories of temporality or timelessness. Rather, God is in some third kind of relation to time. One in-between position is that God is not within our time, but he is within his own time. Another view is that God is “omnitemporal.” It is true on this view as well that God is not in our time, but he experiences temporal succession in his being. Our time is constituted by physical time. God’s time (metaphysical time) has no intrinsic metric and is constituted purely by the divine life itself. If God is omnitemporal, his metaphysical time does map in some way onto our physical time. Another view is that God became temporal when time was created.3 God’s existence without creation is a timeless existence but once temporal reality comes into existence, God himself must change.

Although there are many arguments for the claim that God is timeless, this essay will look at three of the most important. These are arguments concerning God’s knowledge of future free actions, the fullness of God’s life, and God’s creation of the universe. 1. Free Actions: This power is not seen to be problematic because God’s timeless knowledge of an event is thought to be strongly analogous to our present knowledge of an event. It is the occurring of the event that determines the content of our knowledge of the event. So too, it is the occurring of the event that determines the content of God’s knowledge. 2. Fullness of God: In thinking about God’s nature, we notice that whatever God is, he is to the greatest degree possible. He knows everything that it is possible to know. 3. Creation: Another argument for God’s timelessness begins with the idea that time itself is contingent. If God created time as part of his creation of the universe, then it is important whether or not the universe had a beginning at all. If the past is infinite, then it is metaphysical time and not physical time that is everlasting. Arguments such as the Kalam Cosmological Argument aim to show that it is not possible that the past is infinite. Suppose time came into existence with the universe so that the universe has only a finite past. This means that physical time was created by God. It may be the case that metaphysical time is infinite or that God created “pure duration” (metaphysical time) also. In the latter case, God had to be timeless. Arguments for temporality: 1. God acts in the world. God’s interventions in the world are often interactions with human beings. He redeems his people, answers their prayers, and forgives their sins. He also comes to their aid and comforts and strengthens them. 2. Many philosophers think that God’s knowledge of the present strongly supports his temporality.

In Between Views: Alan Padgett and Gary DeWeese have each argued that God is not in physical time although he is everlastingly temporal. God’s time is metaphysical time. The claim that God is “relatively timeless” or “omnitemporal” allows its proponents to endorse some of the criticisms of divine timelessness and, at the same time, affirm some of the arguments for timelessness. Since God is not subject to the laws of nature, he is not subject to measured time. He does experience a temporal now, somewhat as we do, but his intrinsic experience is not measured by regular, law-like intervals. He experiences temporal succession, but this succession is that of the progression of his own consciousness and actions rather than that of any external constraints. Craig’s position holds that God is temporal in that he is within metaphysical time. Once God created the universe, he became temporal. Prior to creation, God was timeless. Craig’s position raises an interesting question. Is it possible for a timeless being to become temporal or for a temporal being to become timeless?

Timeless View           In Between views                Temporal view         God transcends                  A. God exists in time but in           God exists in time but is time and exists in	          a time different from our time. Everlasting. an eternal present Proponents:                    Proponents:                            Proponents: Paul Helm, Brian               Alan Padgett, Garrett DeWeese          Nicholas Wolterstorff, Leftow, Hugh                                                          Richard Swinburne McCann                         B. God is timeless without 			                      creation,temporal with creation Proponent: William Lane Craig A conclusion of the Ganssle paper was as follows: Questions about God’s relation to time involve many of the most perplexing topics in metaphysics. These include the nature of the fundamental structures of the universe as well as the nature of God’s own life. It is not surprising that the questions are still open even after over two millennia of careful inquiry. While many philosophers often come to conclusions that are reasonably settled in their mind, they are wise to hold such conclusions with an open hand. God invites us to explore his grandeur through using the minds he has given us.

A few other authors comments on time follow: Wikipedia comments on time: “Main article: Time dilation Einstein showed in his thought experiments that people travelling at different speeds, while agreeing on cause and effect, measures different time separations between events, and can even observe different chronological orderings between non-causally related events. Though these effects are typically minute in the human experience, the effect becomes much more pronounced for objects moving at speeds approaching the speed of light.

Ross noted that Einstein added the 4th dimension of time to unify his theory of special relativity(p.31). The weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force have been unified and six quarks found in the 1990’s(p.35). String theory with 10 dimensions had been proposed to unify all the forces. Strings are like rotating vibrating elastic bands that behave like points, because of their small size. Ross gave 6 evidences for strings in his appendix(p.38,227). It is theorized that the forming cosmos at 10-43 sec., split its 10 dimensions into 6 and 4 (l,w,h, and time). The four continued to expand while the six are curled up and dispersed in the universe(p.40).

Perhaps time was dilated before this as in the Bible; the heavens were being stretched on days 1 and 2. Thus it could be that the time dimension was relative on days 1, 2 and not fixed relative to earth until day 4.