• Time, Modern Physics, and God

For thousands of years ideas from ancient Greeks, like Euclid and Aristotle, dominated our thinking about time and space. Euclid imagined three dimensions of space, which spanned the whole universe, and could be used to define the location of all objects. He added time as an extra parameter, which he assumed was the same everywhere.

But, what is time? Aristotle tried to define it, but our normal question isn't, What is time, but, What time is it? Devices were created to answer the normal question, and have been refined over centuries. Stonehenge measures the seasons of the year. Sundials are simple clocks. Christiaan Huygens invented pendulum clocks, which work by counting the swings of a pendulum. Today, many clocks and watches measure time by counting the oscillations of a small tuning fork made of pure quartz.

Modern Physics

Albert Einstein, to the astonishment of everyone, discarded this ancient understanding of time, as the same everywhere, when he published his relativity theories. There was a lot of resistance to his ideas, but, over time, numerous experiments proved him right (see, Deep Mysteries of Physics.^<1>)

In place of the ancient Greek ideas, we now have something called space–time. We no longer wonder, with Aristotle, What is time? Now we wonder, What is space–time? Space–time is shaped by the things inside it. What are those things? According to Einstein's famous formula, E=Mc², everything reduces to energy. What is energy? We do not know. Would space–time exist without energy? The answer seems to be no (see, The Material Universe.^<2>)

What is time? We thought we were measuring time by counting the swings of a pendulum. It is more accurate to say we observe time by watching things change. Without changing things, there is no time. It follows that, without time, there is nothing that changes.

Consider how strange this is. For thousands of years people worked to understand what the world was made from. It seemed like tremendous progress was made, right down to understanding the structure of atoms. But now, what is left? In a sense, nothing. Space–time depends on energy, and vice versa. We can make accurate predictions about how things behave, but we do not know what they are. We don't even know what space–time is. Does this leave you feeling empty? It should, if you were hoping physics would answer your fundamental questions.

Biblical Understanding

The Hebrew Bible opens with God, but no thing:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 [NIV]HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® by Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved., Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society publisher: International Bible Society

There was no thing. God made every thing, including time. He created space–time. What was there before the universe was created? That is a nonsensical question. The word, before, is a time reference word. Time is one of the things created by God in the beginning. Instead we might use the word, prior, in a logical sense, not a time sense. What is prior to the universe? Only God. God is prior to the universe in the sense that God created it. J. K. Rawlings is prior to her Harry Potter books. It would be odd, and somehow wrong, to say, J. K. Rawlings is before her books. She is not part of the time line occupied by the characters of her books.

Many passages in the Bible express the differences between God's existence and our own. For example, Psalm 90 opens with:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn people back to dust, saying, Return to dust, you mortals. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

Psalm 90:1–4 [NRSV]New Revised Standard Version Bible by National Council of Churches USA, 1989

According to such scriptures, God does not exist inside time. We do. The universe does. But not God. He is the creator of the universe, not part of it:

Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away; but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Psalm 102:25–27 [NRSV]New Revised Standard Version Bible by National Council of Churches USA, 1989

If God is not inside time, but creator of it, how does He relate to us? Psalm 139 answers this way:

You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.
...
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

Psalm 139:3–4 and 13–16 [NRSV]New Revised Standard Version Bible by National Council of Churches USA, 1989

In spite of existing outside of time, God sees us. God is personal. He cares about each of us before the moment of our conception. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He loves us better than we love ourselves. Knowing this, how can we do anything except be awe struck with amazement and praise our creator?

Is God difficult to understand? Yes, we cannot understand His ways or His thoughts. Is the material universe difficult to understand? Yes, and at the bottom, as revealed by modern physics, there seems to be ... nothing. The Bible declares God created the universe out of nothing. I don't think that is a coincidence.

What do you think? Is it a surprise that the Bible starts where modern physics ends, with nothing? Can God, who is not constrained by time, really care about you? Please feel free to post comments and ask questions.