God eternity and the nature of time pdf

Includes a lengthy discussion of the nature of time as dynamic versus static and proposes a novel understanding of divine eternity which is. God and eternal boredom religious studies cambridge core. The question of gods relation to time has generated a great amount of theological and philosophical reflection. This is one of the foundational beliefs of christianity. Since humans measure everything in time, it is very hard for us to conceive of something that had no beginning, but has always been, and will continue forever. We cannot extend the time we have but we can use it foolishly or wisely. Includes a lengthy discussion of the nature of time as dynamic versus static and proposes a novel understanding of divine eternity which is biblically, scientifically, and philosophically tenable. However, god dwells in a different realmthe spirit realmbeyond the perception of our physical senses.

The concept of god, divinities and spirits in african traditional religious ontology has been so misunderstood by many scholars to the point of seeing africans as people who did not know the supreme being nor worship him. Is god s eternity to be construed as timeless or temporal. Undaunted, this is precisely the project which we have set for ourselves in this study. God, time, and eternity the coherence of theism ii. Jan 02, 2020 the apostle john also declared this truth regarding the nature of christ. If williams is right, then it follows that, if god. In monotheism, time can still be personified, like father time. This love mirrored the kind of love that god had for him. To him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. This book is a thorough analysis and discussion of the nature of time and eternity, focusing on the timelessness of god. Of special mention here ought to be the infinity of god the son who, in becoming clothed with finite flesh in a finite world, at the same time became. Please dont be offended by the little quiz above, since the purpose is to begin to look at the nature of god and learn about the views held by many different groups. God, power of like people by nature responsibility, to god excuses science god s glory in nature god, the creator strength, divine communication atheism, description of animism god, the eternal understanding the witness of creation general revelation invisible things knowing god, nature of glory, revelation of the call of god. All else spring forth from him by his will and for his pleasure, being dependent on him for its sustenance.

If god is not eternal, then eternal life is not his to give to anyone. This is only one study out of over 100 in depth lectures by dr johnson on systematic theology including studies of the doctrines of god, christ, the spirit, prayer, salvation, etc. The holiness, power, and eternity of god, are the fundamental articles of all religion, upon which the whole body of it leans. The eternality of god refers to his timeless nature. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. God, eternity and the nature of time alan padgett on. William lane craig phd, university of birmingham, england. Pdf god, eternity and the nature of time alan padgett. Eternity is the sole property of god, it is his intrinsic nature. The gifted christian vocal artist, chris tomlin, stated, god is a mystery, beyond our comprehension. Here are 15 attributes of god, what they mean and why they matter. Wolfhart pannenberg, theological questions to scientists a.

This book focuses on the timelessness of god, providing a detailed analysis of the nature of time and eternity. The lyrics of this song reflect his personal relationship with the god of eternity. God has no beginning as man can understand beginning and no ending either, but god exists now and knows both the beginning and the end as we perceive them meaning. God s existence prior to or sans creation would not entail the existence of time if god in such a state is changeless. Boethius god is timeless in this selection, boethius c. Eternity with regards to god encompasses much more than is commonly thought. Hes written a number of books, commended by many deeply committed christians. Now, eternity is the complete possession of an endless life enjoyed as one simul. All are present at once metaphorically speaking to god s timeless gaze. In fact, jesus taught that we can invest our time in eternity a place where time has no meaning or we can waste it without reference to god with real consequences for time and eternity.

A semipopular exploration of the nature of divine eternity, focusing on the question of whether god is timeless or temporal. This infinity includes the three persons of the triune god. Eternity, then, is the complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of everlasting life. Its valuable to do this, because these groups have ostensibly spent much time and brainpower examining the concept of god s nature. All are present at once metaphorically speaking to gods timeless gaze. Here is aristotles argument for the existence of god, from chapters 6 to 10 of book 12 of the metaphysics in chapter 6, aristotle argues that there must be some eternal and imperishable substance, otherwise all substance would be perishable, and then everything in the world would be perishable. We live in a physical world with its four known space time dimensions of length, width, height or depth and time. Eternity and time contents introduction 1 eternity and time must be distinguished 2 distinction between eternity and time is illustrated 3 god s eternal purpose is executed in time 4 the eternal god adapted man for time 5 man in time has eternity in his heart 6 the certainty of eternity and the uncertainty of time are contrasted. Jesus and his father are one in essence, they exist sans time, and they share equally in the attribute of eternality.

In this fascinating treatment of god s relationship to time, william lane craig argues that god, though timeless without the universe, is in time since the creation of the universe. Pratney 1990, bethany house, mn the king of the kingdom god is the uncreated triune creator genesis 1. By far this is the most accessible introduction to the nature of time and its relation to the god of christian theism. Time and eternity an essay on the philosophy of religion 1st imp. Eternal refers to the endless past, the unending future, or to god s present experience of all time.

Pannenberg, physics, and eschatology in creative mutual interaction robert john russell university ofnotre dame press. Richard swinburne is a remarkable scholar, but in this particular case im not quite sure what to do with him. So let us consider the nature of eternity, for this will make clear to us both the nature of god and his manner of knowing. This remarkable work offers an analytical exploration of the nature of divine eternity and god s relationship to time. Torrance 19232003 published in 1997 a brief but brilliant book titled worship, community and the triune god of grace. To many traditional christian theologians, god is outside of time. Rogers university of delaware among the various arguments for the contemporary rejection of the view that god is eternal is the claim that a timeless god could not be omniscient in that he could not know what time it. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The eternity of god by bo bolding the eternal god is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. The doctrine of grace, torrance noted, is directly related to two of the primary divine attributes, god s holiness and his love.

Given that the universe began to exist, a relational view of time suggests that time also began to exist. When the bible talks about in the beginning it refers to the beginning of the things god created, i. God inside time and before creation dean zimmerman the paper has been revised slightly, in order to fix some mistakes in the version that appears as a chapter in god and time. David must have thought that this would be his life, loving and caring for the sheep. Jul 23, 2002 so i was glad that i had changed my topic from addressing specifically relativity theory to a more general discussion of the topic god, time, and eternity.

If god is indeed the lord of all time, then it has a real unity of meaning. Since we are temporal beings, how can we relate to an eternal god. Sep 29, 2010 richard swinburne is a remarkable scholar, but in this particular case im not quite sure what to do with him. At the time of writing, stace was a professor of philosophy at princeton university, where he had worked since 1932 after a 22year career in the ceylon civil service. In theological categories, eternity is treated as an attribute of god s essential nature. God is the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, 1 declared the prophet isaiah, but exactly how we are to understand the notion of eternity is not clear. Defining and describing this attribute is not an easy task.

He never came into existence and he will never go out of existence but he exists within. After considering two theories of time in the light of modern science and philosophy, padgett argues for a process notion of time. All men see and understand this aspect of god s nature by the witness. Our starting point, which we take from bernard williamss article on the makropulos case, is the intuition that it is inappropriate for persons not to become bored after a sufficiently long sequence of time has passed. For god s mode of being certainly transcends the conditions of time that we are enclosed within. Richard swinburne and gods timelessness catholic culture.

The most salient feature of these passages in regard to god s relationship with time is that god s eternity is not only beyond time, but somehow embraces all time as well. United church of god, an international association the nature of god and christ doctrinal study paper approved by the council of elders august 2005 all scriptures are quoted from the holy bible, new king james version 1988 thomas nelson, inc. Eternity and time contents introduction 1 eternity and time must be distinguished 2 distinction between eternity and time is illustrated 3 gods eternal purpose is executed in time 4 the eternal god adapted man for time 5 man in time has eternity in his heart 6 the certainty of eternity and the uncertainty of time are contrasted. However, the depravity of mans nature is so engrossed. His eternal nature is thought of as being everlasting rather than timeless. He loved his sheep, protecting them and caring for their needs. God, declares the prophet isaiah, is the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity is.

Princeton new jersey 1952, princeton university press, 169 pp is a philosophy book written by walter terence stace. Pl30 boethius god is timeless suffolk county community college. Padgett, god, eternity and the nature of time david braine was formerly a lecturer in philnsophy in the university of aberdeen. The messenger of christ, though he speaks from god. Pl30 boethius god is timeless suffolk county community. Attributes of god the eternity of god by dr s lewis johnson recommended resource includes mp3, page pdf or ms word document. Exploring god s relationship to time download free epub, pdf time and eternity deals with difficult issues in modern physics and brings them into relation with. Time and eternity is a sort of summarized culmination of years of philosophical reflection and publication on the issues involved in such questions. Many theists reject the notion that gods eternity consists in his timelessness.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god john 1. Week 9 god has no beginning and no end god is eternal. The doctrine of grace, torrance noted, is directly related to two of the primary divine attributes, gods holiness and his love. God lives completely outside of time, in a changeless eternal now that contains all of time within itself. Padgett offers a biblical and historical survey of the doctrine of eternity, rejecting both theories of eternity being both timeless and everlasting. Well, if god is in time, then the obvious question raised. The topic and motivation for time in eternity in theology and science the topic of this volume, generically described as time and eternity. Pannenberg, physics, and eschatology in creative mutual.

Anselm on eternity as the fifth dimension katherin a. Traditionally, the christian church has taken it to mean timeless. The most salient feature of these passages in regard to gods relationship with time is that gods eternity is not only beyond time, but somehow embraces all time as well. Time and fate deities are personifications of time, often in the sense of human lifetime and human fate, in polytheistic religions. Any theistic view of the world includes some notion of how god is related to the structures of the universe, including space and time. During that time david learned what love was about. For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it passes by. Tozer knowledge of the holy 2 preface true religion confronts earth with heaven and brings eternity to bear upon time. The nature of god page 3 of 9 which made explicit the beliefs already held implicitly by the church. Eternal god our personal response in reflecting upon the attributes of the eternal god, every response becomes very personal. But in his classic work on this subject, oscar cullmann has contended that the new testament does not make a philosophical, qualitative distinction between time and. The question of god s relation to time has generated a great amount of theological and philosophical reflection.

He is thus a god of the ages, associated with mystery religions concerned with the afterlife, such as the mysteries of cybele, dionysus. The time represented by aion is unbounded, in contrast to chronos as empirical time divided into past, present, and future. Stace then defines two orders of being time and eternity, which he says intersect in the moment of mystic illumination. God inside time and before creation rutgers university. He goes on to say that the nature of god or eternity is such that all religious language is symbolic and that it is necessarily subject to contradictions. God, divinities and spirits in african traditional. All are present at once metaphorically speaking to god. This paper seeks to examine how africans conceive of the supreme being, divinities and spirits. The ontological distinction between past, present, and future is nullified.