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GOD, ETERNITY AND THE NATURE OF TIME God, Eternity and the Nature of Time Alan G. Padgett Assistant Professor of Philosophy Bethel College, St Paul, Minnesota tt ©AlanG. Padgett 1992 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published in Great Britain 1992 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world This book is published in Macmillan's Library of Philosophy and Religion series General Editor: John Hick A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-333-56319-0 Printed in Hong Kong First published in the United States of America 1992 by Scholarly and Reference Division, ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0-312-06813-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Padgett, Alan G., 1955- God, eternity and the nature of time/Alan G. Padgett, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-312-06813-1 1. Eternity. 2. God—Immutability. 3. Time—Religious aspects- -Christianity. I. Title. BT912.P33 1992 231'.4—dc20 91-24451 CIP To my beloved Sally Contents Preface ix Abbreviations xi 1 Establishing the Parameters 1 Introduction 1 Definitions 2 2 The Witness of Scripture 23 Old Testament 24 New Testament 29 A Biblical View of Eternity? 35 3 The Doctrine of Divine Timelessness: An Historical Sketch 38 4 A Coherent Model of Absolute Timelessness 56 The Possibility of Timeless Causation 56 Dialogue with Select Defenders of Divine Timelessness 62 An Argument from Absolute Divine Timelessness to the Stasis Theory of Time 74 Preliminary Objections Refuted 76 5 The Stasis Theory of Time: A Critique 82 The Argument from Science 82 Philosophical Arguments for the Stasis Theory 95 6 A New Doctrine of Eternity 122 God as the Ground of Time 122 God is the Lord of Time 123 God as Relatively Timeless 125 Objections Considered 130 Eternity in Whitehead and Barth 138 Summary and Conclusions 146 vn viii Contents Notes and References 147 Bibliography 153 Author Index 167 Scripture Index 170 Subject Index 172 Preface The book that lies before you began life as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Oxford (Oriel College). The authoring of such a monograph gives one the opportunity to express thanks to all who have helped and encouraged the author along the way. I would like to thank, first of all, my wife Sally and my son Luke. Words cannot express the love I hold for them both, and my gratitude to them for the many sacrifices they have made to enable my education. I am grateful, too, to my mother, Mary, and my father, Hank, who have always been of support and help to me throughout my life. They, too, have made my Oxford experience possible, not to mention my life, health and education. Professor Richard Swinburne is a model philosopher and graduate supervisor. He always puts a great deal of energy into the task of supervision, and I appreciate his patient tuition. I have learned a great deal from him, and much of this book was hammered out in long discussions in his rooms in College. To him, too, I give heartfelt thanks. Professor James Barr was my supervisor for the Biblical Studies section of my work, and I truly enjoyed my meetings with him, as well as learning a great deal. He and Jane have been very kind and friendly to me and my family. Thank you both. I could never have hoped to come to Oxford without the support of the Ralph L. Smith Foundation, and I am very grateful to the Foundation and to Ralph Smith. My cousin Dr Len Abrams, and stepfather Dr Jack Kent, have also been of help and encouragement. Len read part of my thesis at an early stage, and I have benefited from his knowledge of physics. Equally important support has come from A Foundation for Theological Education, who honored me with a John Wesley Fellowship. Ed Robb, Jr., Ed Robb, III, and Ken Kinghorn have been very kind. I appreciate the trust they and AFTE have shown in me. The Laguna Hills United Methodist Church has also honored me with a scholarship from their congregation, and I thank the church and the Scholarship Committee for their friendship and support. Many people have helped me with their friendship, support and general good will. I wish I could thank them all in person. In particular, though, Rev Dr Richard Sturch, Rev Martyn and Heather IX