Doing Hard Time: Is God the Prisoner of the Oldest Dimension?
Ryan Mullins
Ryan Mullins
Quote:In this paper I shall first offer a proper understanding of divine timelessness and divine temporality. With a proper understanding of these doctrines, the Christian theologian can avoid the caricatures that plague much of the contemporary discussion. It will also allow the Christian theologian to examine the most thorough and rigorous version of the prisoner of time objection offered by Paul Helm. As we shall see, Helm argues that divine temporality deprives God of the sovereignty and a fullness of life that are appropriate for a perfect being. After unpacking Helm’s argument, I shall offer a refutation. In particular, I shall argue that divine temporality does not deprive God of sovereignty, nor fullness of life. Helm, like so many others, equates divine timelessness with the sovereignty and fullness of life that is appropriate for a perfect being. I shall argue that divine timelessness is not a possible perfection, so it cannot establish sovereignty or fullness of life.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell
- Bertrand Russell