A6. The Question of Time
What is "time"? It is said that we never "have " enough time, so we must "make" time. It is also shown in relativistic math that time slows down as the observer approaches the speed of light. The Bible talks of "End Times" and the "Time of the End". Did God create Time? Does God have any time Himself? We talk about saving time and losing time; being on time or behind time. Have you ever heard that we should save time and use our time wisely? Does time heal all wounds? Does time fly or stand still? I know time waits for no man, right?
Would it be possible to travel backwards in time, or forwards at any rate we like? Is "time" a fixed aspect of reality, ie more than an artifact of our human experience, a mental construction based on our perceptions?
It seems that time means different things in different situations. What is this thing we call "time" anyway? Is time just a variable in our mathematical equations or is it some absolute quantity? Augustine (early fifth century) felt that time was an extension of the mind. Einstein (early 20th century) said that space and time are "modes by which we think not conditions under which we live." So is there something absolute about time, or is it just a figment of our imaginations that is relative to our other perceptions?
In my opinion, "time" is merely the separation of events. If God separates events, then God must be moving through time. In my model where God is the Prime Thinker and everything else is a thought in the mind of God, God would be outside the time of His thoughts. God has a watch on, that tells Him what time He is moving through. He knows of things He has thought of in His past and He knows what He will think of in His future. However, as with any thinker, God can imagine a situation in His mind and assign any time He wishes to it. I can do that and so can you. So, if God can think at least as well as we can, then He can do it too. I conclude that God is in His own time, but outside the time of His thoughts, just as is the case with any thinking being.
We need to be logical about this argument if our conclusions are to make sense. As such, is time travel possible? I say no. If one could travel back in time, then they could kill their parents before they were born and so they would not be alive to travel back in time. Time travel creates paradoxes and is therefore illogical.
What about the time that we read on clocks? Clocks tell us about change. The clock represents not just any change, but one that people select as a standard in order to measure other changes against. This “empirical time” is used in our formulas to describe our perception of change against our selected standard of change. Hence, we can use this empirical time as a variable in relativistic equations. It becomes a floating parameter that can change. However, empirical time is only describing a change in perception from a particular point of view and not a change in the separation of events. Empirical time is only a mathematical concept and not reality. Empirical time can generate paradoxes, which are illogical. However, time continues to separate events regardless of how we choose to measure those changes. This separation of events is logical and changeless.
Consider relativistic time as described by empirical equations where “time” is said to vary with relative speed. Immediately paradoxes are generated in our attempt to describe what we perceive as happening. The equations predict that as an object approaches the speed of light it must become infinitely dense and small. Clocks and processes are said to slow down as well. Paradoxes are created, since you can never be infinitely dense or infinitely small; nor can there be time itself independent of change, which can slow down.
Question: If I am moving close to the speed of light with respect to you, then the relativistic equations predict that when we meet again, I will have aged less than you. However, you have been moving at the same speed with respect to me, so when we meet, I would think that you should have aged less than me. Paradox?
The purpose of Relativity Theory (note it is a theory and not a fact) is to suggest these ideas:
1) The speed of light can be used as a constant time standard
2) Clocks approaching this speed alter their movements
3) Empirical Time is not absolute but requires a frame of reference
These ideas about empirical time are theoretical assumptions, which only apply to our relative perceptions and not to the separation of events
Time does not have any substance or intelligence whatsoever. Time is merely the separation of events. Since God is separating events, God must be moving through time as well. God "has a watch on", but He is clearly outside the time of His thoughts. In conclusion, all thinking beings are moving uncontrollably through their own time, but they are outside the time of their thoughts. They can control the time of their thoughts and they know the end from the beginning in those thoughts.
Since God is thinking of us, only He knows our future perfectly. He can control our time, but no one in our world can do that. In fact, God can override the laws of physics and make our spinning Earth stand still without pieces of it flying off into space. God alone can predict our future accurately, before it ever happens. This fact distinguishes God from angelic beings that also have supernatural abilities with respect to us. God is thinking of humans and demons in the same thought, so neither of them can know what He will think of next with certainty. God alone can predict our future without error, so this is one of His distinguishing characteristics, which we can use to "test the spirits”.
26 July 2001, updated on 22 November 2001
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