19 April 2010

A question of time

It was Augustine of Hippo who declared that time exists in the created, and that god exists beyond the created, for god was not created. This notion goes against all human-established/observed laws of nature. But since these laws were written by man does it necessitate that they are actually true? Could our observance of these laws be nothing more than an intentional illusion, or a weakness of mind? Is time not necessarily linear, or engendered with multiple facets?

For god to exist beyond time it is apparently necessary to support Augustine's view.  If actions require time, and god acts beyond time, then time itself must have a variable that allows for actions without time. It would require time to exist in a sort of multi-dimensional way, in that for humans time is linear, for supernatural beings such as a god time could be non-linear or multi-linear. As there have been interesting findings in the field of non-linear dynamics, it can not be omitted that time as we know it, may not be as it is.

Are humans of sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of nature? It is quite feasible that our arrogance prevents us from exploring/considering that what we “know” is in error. Our knowledge of nature is based on our experience and observations, and is limited to human-centric views. Perhaps dolphins perceive the laws of nature as something entirely different than the laws that we do. Does this lend itself to supporting that god could exist then? No. But it does allow for the possibility, as we do not have definitive answers to the universe. Physics may unlock many mysteries, but with each one unlocked, there are millions more that remain locked. The Anasazi are the only known people who were Moon worshippers. This seeming anomaly points squarely at the limitations of our understandings of physics and of nature. What knowledge did they possess, knowledge that we do not have now?

While it may seem impossible for a god to exist beyond time, we must have a concrete definition of time, one that is unchallengeable for us to make that claim a law. As we do not understand what gravity is, though we clearly experience it, we understand time as we know it. But time could be something entirely different from what we “know”. And as such, a being may exist beyond time as we know it, and that we may exist in a pocket of time that is just a facet of true time.