- #1
Royce
- 1,538
- 0
In the physical universe sequential time exists and is directional in that locally cause always precedes effect and that the past always precedes the present which always precedes the future. We experience time sequentially in that the future moment becomes the present moment which becomes the past We live, at least in effect if not actually, on a 3 dimensional plane that travels in one direction along the temporal axis so that we experience only Now with both the future and the past forever beyond our reach and experience. The past is forever lost to us with only memories of it left to us and the future is forever unknowable. We can make predictions about future events based on the past and present circumstances but these predictions can only be verified when it becomes the present. Time is also known to be relative to an observer and the relative velocity of the observed in that the faster the observed moves away from the observer then slower times appears to the observer to pass for the observer.
If we assume that the physical universe is a part of, but not all of, a subset of reality, there is that which is not of the physical universe. There is ample evidence that this is true. It is, however, not scientific evidence as science deals only with the physical universe. That there is a universe that is not physical is dealt with by Philosophy, namely Metaphysics, beyond Physics.
One of the commonly reported attributes of the of this metaphysical universe is that it is atemporal, i.e. timeless, eternal, in which there is only the present moment or as I refer to it as the One Eternal Moment. In this case eternal means without beginning and without ending. The past, present and future coexist in this one moment and are equally real in that the past was, is and always will be; the present always was, is and always will be; and, the future always was, is, and always will be.
It is often concluded that since the past, present and future coexist and are real in the moment then the future must already be known and determined. This is Atemporal Determinism and often associated with religion specifically Judaism and Eastern religions and philosophies and also with revelation and enlightenment.
In the Christian traditions, however, a paradox arises in that God granted us Freewill. Freewill is excluded in all forms of Determinism. How could we exercise freewill, defined here as the ability to choose between real alternatives without, free of, outside forces, compulsion or divine intervention, when the future is already known and has therefore been determined, exists and is real?
This is a real problem for me philosophically because I know that the One Eternal Moment is real and I also know that reality is indeterministic and that Freewill exists and is real. I suppose that I should say that I believe or think that I know, but that is really saying the same thing isn't it? How can I rationalize or justify these two seemingly mutually exclusive paradigms? Well, being schizoid helps. I use two analogies to help me think about it.
I think of atemporal reality existing as a big reel of film in which we are normally able to see and experience a little bit of it one frame at a time sequentially while the god head sees, experiences and knows the entire contents of the whole reel all at one time, atemporally, the eternal moment.
The second analogy is that I am both a father and a grandfather and remember well my children and grandchildren learning to walk. I knew that they were going to fall and that sometimes when they fell they would get hurt. Yet I let them try and learn. When they fell and hurt themselves I would pick them up, hold and comfort them and when they were ready and strong enough to try again I would set them down to try again knowing that they were going to fall again and again until they learned to walk on there own. Then later it was the same when they were learning to ride a bike, drive a car, date and eventually get married and have children of their own.
I knew that life is full of falls, pain and heartache. Yet I allowed my children to learn to walk, ride etc. because the only alternative was to attempt to keep them infants, totally dependant and crippled. It is the only way that they could learn, experience life for themselves and grow up to be strong people in their own right, standing on their own two feet.
Could this be what the god head does. He knows what the future holds. He knows what has, is, and will be; yet, he let's us live, experience and learn as well as freely choose on our own. He already knows how and what we will choose and experience, where we will go wrong and right, where we will suffer pain and heartache, even death as a consequence of our choices. Yet to intervene, to make the world deterministic would keep us as infants, not allowing us to learn and grow and experience life ourselves. To make it merely an illusion or delusion would be no better.
What would be the point? I strongly doubt that any rational, sane godhead would be nothing more than a voyeur, a sadistic one at that. This is one reason why Christians think of God as Our Father, knowing that this is but one aspect of God.
There is a difference knowing and determining, between knowledge and determinism.
Knowing is passive, letting it be, letting it happen. Whereas Determinism has a connotation
of control, intervention, lack of choice, of Freewill. Yes the future exists and is known. Our lives, our free choices are already contained within that existing future. The results of every roll of dice is already known to the god head but it is not determined. God does play dice; but, he doesn't cheat. He knows; but, he does not intervene in the natuaral course of events except where necessary.
If we assume that the physical universe is a part of, but not all of, a subset of reality, there is that which is not of the physical universe. There is ample evidence that this is true. It is, however, not scientific evidence as science deals only with the physical universe. That there is a universe that is not physical is dealt with by Philosophy, namely Metaphysics, beyond Physics.
One of the commonly reported attributes of the of this metaphysical universe is that it is atemporal, i.e. timeless, eternal, in which there is only the present moment or as I refer to it as the One Eternal Moment. In this case eternal means without beginning and without ending. The past, present and future coexist in this one moment and are equally real in that the past was, is and always will be; the present always was, is and always will be; and, the future always was, is, and always will be.
It is often concluded that since the past, present and future coexist and are real in the moment then the future must already be known and determined. This is Atemporal Determinism and often associated with religion specifically Judaism and Eastern religions and philosophies and also with revelation and enlightenment.
In the Christian traditions, however, a paradox arises in that God granted us Freewill. Freewill is excluded in all forms of Determinism. How could we exercise freewill, defined here as the ability to choose between real alternatives without, free of, outside forces, compulsion or divine intervention, when the future is already known and has therefore been determined, exists and is real?
This is a real problem for me philosophically because I know that the One Eternal Moment is real and I also know that reality is indeterministic and that Freewill exists and is real. I suppose that I should say that I believe or think that I know, but that is really saying the same thing isn't it? How can I rationalize or justify these two seemingly mutually exclusive paradigms? Well, being schizoid helps. I use two analogies to help me think about it.
I think of atemporal reality existing as a big reel of film in which we are normally able to see and experience a little bit of it one frame at a time sequentially while the god head sees, experiences and knows the entire contents of the whole reel all at one time, atemporally, the eternal moment.
The second analogy is that I am both a father and a grandfather and remember well my children and grandchildren learning to walk. I knew that they were going to fall and that sometimes when they fell they would get hurt. Yet I let them try and learn. When they fell and hurt themselves I would pick them up, hold and comfort them and when they were ready and strong enough to try again I would set them down to try again knowing that they were going to fall again and again until they learned to walk on there own. Then later it was the same when they were learning to ride a bike, drive a car, date and eventually get married and have children of their own.
I knew that life is full of falls, pain and heartache. Yet I allowed my children to learn to walk, ride etc. because the only alternative was to attempt to keep them infants, totally dependant and crippled. It is the only way that they could learn, experience life for themselves and grow up to be strong people in their own right, standing on their own two feet.
Could this be what the god head does. He knows what the future holds. He knows what has, is, and will be; yet, he let's us live, experience and learn as well as freely choose on our own. He already knows how and what we will choose and experience, where we will go wrong and right, where we will suffer pain and heartache, even death as a consequence of our choices. Yet to intervene, to make the world deterministic would keep us as infants, not allowing us to learn and grow and experience life ourselves. To make it merely an illusion or delusion would be no better.
What would be the point? I strongly doubt that any rational, sane godhead would be nothing more than a voyeur, a sadistic one at that. This is one reason why Christians think of God as Our Father, knowing that this is but one aspect of God.
There is a difference knowing and determining, between knowledge and determinism.
Knowing is passive, letting it be, letting it happen. Whereas Determinism has a connotation
of control, intervention, lack of choice, of Freewill. Yes the future exists and is known. Our lives, our free choices are already contained within that existing future. The results of every roll of dice is already known to the god head but it is not determined. God does play dice; but, he doesn't cheat. He knows; but, he does not intervene in the natuaral course of events except where necessary.
