Re: a question for monists

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:03:46 -0500 Jan de Koning <jan@dekoning.ca>
writes:
> At 10:08 AM 3/29/2005, Charles Carrigan wrote about the sinner on the
> cross
> hearing Jesus say: "Today you will be with me in paradise"
> When the "moment" we die is the "moment" of the resurrection of all
> who
> believe that Jesus died for our sins, it does not say anything about
> what
> is going on "outside earthly life." If "time" is only something we
>
> experience in that way here on earth, we don't have any idea about
> "timelessness." Our Creator stands above time, and so do people who
>
> died. Jesus could meet with people like Moses and Elijah.
> So, not only our Lord, but they as well, were above time.
>
> Since we live in "time" we have difficulty to understand what it
> means to
> be "outside time". Time is part of creation. We are not able to
> say, what
> "being outside time" means, we only know it is part of creation.
>
> Jan de Koning
>
Jan,
I think you've confused two senses of 'eternal'. God is eternal in the
sense of being timeless and so, in the traditional understanding,
sees/knows everything within the created realm, which open theology and
process theology deny. The normal theology requires being infinite to be
eternal in this sense, a characteristic of the Godhead, not of creatures.
The second sense is a matter of infinite time which, like the natural
numbers, has an end which can never be reached by counting or being. It
can, however, have a beginning. My eternal life, as I know it, began when
I placed my faith in Christ. In God's view, my eternal life was
foreknown. As a finite creature, I shall never attain to God's infinite,
timeless view. As a creature, I had a beginning. I could have an end if
God had not promised otherwise. But I can never become uncreated, without
beginning, infinite.
Davd
Dave
Received on Tue Mar 29 15:49:55 2005