God and time

ABSTRACT

John Polkinghorne

General relativity ties together space. time and matter, so that time is a created reality, as Augustine knew 1600 years before Einstein. The linear character of time, so important to the Abrahamic faiths with their emphasis on unfolding history, corresponds to the existence of five distinct, but parallel arrows of time.

There are three principal and distinct metaphysical concepts of time currently argued for. Each corresponds to a different conception of how God relates to time:

(1) The block universe: the flow of time is a trick of human psychological perspective; the actual reality is the whole spacetime continuum. This is consonant with classical theology's idea that an atemporal God knows all of history 'at once'.

(2) Time measures the development of a causally closed universe. This would be consonant with the God of deism.

(3) The process of the universe is open to the future. This requires us to treat the undoubted unpredictabilities discerned by modern science (quantum theory, chaos theory) as being ontological opportunites rather than merely epistemic deficiencies.

Theological consequences of this view include:

(a) God acts providentially in history, yet providence cannot be disentangled from other forms of agency.

(b) God engages with time. There is a temporal pole in the divine nature as well as an eternal pole.

(c) [more controversially] Even God does not yet know the unformed future. Creation has involved a kenosis of divine omniscience as well as divine omnipotence.