hughbiquitous

I’ve long been fascinated by discussions on the relationship of God to time. Today I came across an article, God, Time, and Eternity, by William Lane Craig. It’s a pretty heady treatment of the subject, but it’s food for thought if your appetite is sufficiently large.

C.S. Lewis advanced the idea that God exists in an “unbounded Now;” that he lives outside of time, and everything that happens inside time takes place, to him, in the present tense. This comes up when you think about issues like predestination and open theism - it makes the whole question of “does God simply know the future (without controlling it), or does he only know it because he is going to do it?” go away. In this view, for instance, there is no “future” from God’s vantage point.

In the article I linked above, Craig advances a different argument. First, he says, the Bible is doctrinally silent on the relationship of God to time, so it is up to philosophers to use the tools of logic and reason to noodle the matter out. It’s worth digging into that as a premise, but let’s agree to play in that sandbox.

He draws out the distinction between Newtonian time and relativistic time.

Let’s stop right there. Fortunately, I’m married to a woman who challenges me when I’m not making any sense. In a very self-effacing but profound display of wise humility and clear thought, she will often ask me, “OK, but what does that mean in ‘dummy words?’” (more…)

I am announcing here my readiness to renounce my faith in Jesus Christ.

He was the Savior of Israel, yet he commanded no armies, nor did he wield any political influence. Rather than being served, he was the one who washed people’s feet. The closest he ever came to a throne was when he sat on the backside of an ass for a ride into town one Sunday. (more…)