Time governs our very existence and dozens of phrases have emerged that refer to it.
'the passage of time', 'long time no see', 'time waits for no man', 'we cannot turn the clock back', 'time travel', 'time is of the essence'.
'time critical', 'time capsule', 'time lost', 'time perfect', 'its high time', 'in times past', 'escaping time', 'time immemorial', 'time limit'.
'finding time', 'making the most of time', 'its decision time', 'times up', 'time of our lives', 'timeless', 'from time to time'.
'time and again', 'frozen in time', 'in a timely manner', 'lost in time', 'time stood still', 'time machine', 'father time',
'time shall not weary them nor the years condemn', 'once upon a time', 'no time like the present'.
If you think the above is an exhaustive list, think again!:
The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present events into the past.
The Bible also obliquely refers to time in Joshua 10:13-14:
'... The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day ...'
From a scientific point of view this makes no sense at all, but God is all powerful and given that He created the Heavens and
the Earth and all life a feat such as this would be child's play.
Also Isaiah 38:8 declares:
'I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz ...'
Further evidence if any is needed that God has total control over all physical phenomena, but only exerts that control when the time
is right. Nothing is too great for our God!
What is true is that Einstein proved, through his theory of relativity, that time by itself was not an absolute quantity. Rather, time and space are united in a very precise way to form space-time, and this space-time is an absolute measure that can be used again, in a very precise, mathematical way to determine how different physical processes in different locations interact with each other.
These are all well known phrases and demonstrate just how much our lives are controlled by time, the phenomenum
that is not well understood? e.g. when did time start? Was it at the big bang, assuming there was one. We cannot see or feel time,
and being quantitatively aware of the passage of time is problematic. The other physical parameters associated with
time are distance and motion and our senses are by contrast well attuned to those.
God and time
It is said that God is outside of time. What evidence is there for this? Do our souls reside outside of time when we die. i.e. in God's realm?
Bible passage:
Psalm 102:26
26
They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
Can we ignore time and just live for the moment?
Many of us tend to do just that much of the time without thinking. Sometimes time seems to pass by slowly at other times it,
or events associated with it, seem to race by.
In reality we ignore time at our peril. For example, if we fail to guage the time it takes for a moving vehicle to pass by and walk
in front of it we are as good as dead. Fractions of a second after the hazard has passed we walk where the vehicle rolled by without
giving the matter a second thought. Our brain is fine tuned to guage the passing of time, much more so than other creatures. Some
of us could be considered masters of time, racing drivers, jet aircraft pilots, athletes, etc., who have to focus acutely on the
passage of time if thay are to survive or succeed in their endeavours. Our precious memories enable us to recall events back in time
but we are unable to travel back to those moments. In reality our entire life is governed by the passage of time whether we
like it or not, and it is one way only!
Possible insights
If we are made in the image of God as the Bible states this might suggest He is a material as well as a spiritual being.
The fact that Jesus lived as a human being is evidence that God is not averse to the notion of occupying a sentient human frame.
If He is at least in part material then this raises a problem because it would mean His body is almost certainly
composed of living cells. The problem with this lies in the fact that cells need to replicate because of
aging. The human body is designed to replicate cells with a high rate of efficiency but errors (mutations) creep in over time,
and if we manage to overcome diseases and fatal accidents these damaging mutations alone will lead to death from old age.
Clearly God does not suffer from this malady but why? One possible explanation is that His body cells always replicate with 100
percent efficiency (super cells), and that he is not exposed to risk of physical violence, antigens or pathogens, or any other hazards in life.
This plausible explanation potentially unravels several puzzles about the true nature of God, and our relationship with Him.
1. He does not appear in our presence in a physical sense. (to avoid exposure to threats of any kind, including from us)
2. He must possess a supreme intellect to have Created Life.
3. Heaven is a place where time stands still. This is arguably why we need to die (abandon our vulnerable bodies) to achieve Eternal Life. We leave time behind!
The Holy Spirit is immutable, offered to us by God and does not deteriorate with age! It lies outside of time because it is a part of God.
Imagine how clever people might become if they could live forever with brain power equal to that possesed when they were in the peak
of fitness? The cumulative knowledge, capabilities and accomplishments of humanity would accelerate and become unimaginably great.
Perhaps we were designed to have relatively short life spans to limit our capacity to develop to an extent that posed a threat to His Kingship.
The assumption that living for ever would yield positive outcomes for mankind may be misplaced. If history is anything to go
by the most likely outcome would be bigger and better wars between nations, and of course this is another reason for God to limit
our life spans.
The evidence from history shows the human race cannot be trusted to abide by God's commandments. With unlimited life expectancy we could
become too clever for our own good!
The organisation that has done more than any other to promote the Creationist cause using up-to-date
scientific discoveries
The Bible reflecting on the activities of man:
Ecclesiastes 3: 'A Time for Everything'
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
