God is NOT time TLDR
If you are not gonna read my full piece on the conceptual analysis and defense of God’s immutability, then this piece will serve as a nice summary; however, you’ll still need the jargon if you’re not familiar with some of the ways I use terms. so, please check out my glossary of terms here:
https://robertdryer.com/god-as-relatio-subsistens-a-glossary-of-terms/
For the longer version of this piece, you can read it here: https://robertdryer.com/god-is-not-time/
FYI: I trained an AI on the RE Theory and the articles above, then aligned it with Catholic theology. Finally, I had it succinctly summarize the texts to produce the TL;DR version below, so you can save time and get to the point quickly. Enjoy!
God is not time in brief:
Classical theism and RE Theory provide foundational frameworks that align with Catholic doctrine, emphasizing God’s transcendent, immutable, and relational nature. This sets the stage by introducing the primary frameworks (classical theism and RE Theory) and their relevance to Catholic doctrine. It establishes the foundational understanding that God is transcendent, immutable, and relational, which is critical for the subsequent analysis.
RE Theory emphasizes relational ontology, viewing the fundamental nature of reality as constituted by relationships, including God’s intrinsic and extrinsic relations. This builds on the first proposition by specifying how RE Theory views reality as fundamentally relational. It introduces the concepts of intrinsic (within God) and extrinsic (God’s interactions with creation) relations, crucial for understanding God’s immutable nature within a relational framework.
Time, understood classically as a measure of change and succession, contrasts with God’s eternal, unchanging nature, where He exists in an eternal now. This proposition introduces the classical understanding of time and contrasts it with God’s eternal nature. It sets up the need to explain how God, existing in an eternal now, interacts with temporal creation without being subject to time and change.
God’s eternal now, as an internal ordering principle, encompasses all moments of time simultaneously, allowing Him to interact with creation without temporal succession. This explains the concept of God’s eternal now and how it functions as an internal ordering principle. It shows that God can interact with creation without undergoing change, bridging the understanding of temporal and eternal interactions.
This bridging idea of God’s eternal now explains how God relates to creation without being subject to temporal limitations or changes, reinforcing His immutability. This proposition synthesizes the previous concepts, explaining how God’s eternal now allows for relational interactions with creation without compromising His immutable nature. It sets the groundwork for integrating RE Theory’s categories.
Integrating RE Theory with the concept of God’s eternal now highlights how God’s relational interactions (intrinsic and extrinsic relations) are consistent with His immutable nature. This proposition integrates RE Theory’s relational ontology with the concept of God’s eternal now. It emphasizes that God’s relational interactions do not imply change, supporting the argument for His immutability.
The combined framework of classical theism and RE Theory, using the seven key categories, provides a robust and coherent argument for God’s immutability within a deeply informed Catholic metaphysical context. The final proposition consolidates the argument, showing that the combined framework of classical theism and RE Theory, along with the detailed analysis of time and eternity, provides a robust basis for understanding and defending God’s immutability.
By following these propositions, the paper establishes a coherent, step-by-step argument that builds logically from the foundational concepts of classical theism and RE Theory, through the understanding of time and eternity, to a detailed explanation of how God’s eternal now allows for relational interactions without change, ultimately reinforcing the immutability of God within a Catholic metaphysical framework.
The AI was also able to convert my work on time and the RE theory into an argument proper, so again enjoy.
God is NOT time as an argument:
Premise 1: Classical theism and RE Theory both provide frameworks that emphasize God’s transcendent, immutable, and relational nature.
Premise 2: RE Theory posits that the fundamental nature of reality is constituted by relationships, both intrinsic (within God) and extrinsic (between God and creation).
Premise 3: Time, understood in classical theism, is a measure of change and succession within the created order.
Premise 4: God, being eternal and unchanging, exists in an “eternal now,” where all moments of time are present simultaneously.
Premise 5: God’s eternal now functions as an internal ordering principle, allowing Him to interact with creation without being subject to temporal succession or change.
Premise 6: This eternal now, as an internal ordering principle, ensures that God’s relational interactions with creation do not imply any alteration or change in His essence.
Premise 7: Integrating RE Theory with the concept of God’s eternal now highlights that God’s intrinsic and extrinsic relational interactions are consistent with His immutable nature.
Conclusion: Therefore, the combined framework of classical theism and RE Theory provides a robust and coherent argument for God’s immutability, showing that God can engage relationally with creation without undergoing change, thus reinforcing His immutable and transcendent nature within a deeply informed Catholic metaphysical context.
Please note, this work on time is designed to appeal to and order your intuition towards the notions of relation and measure. Whenever an issue arises or you have a question, try to answer it in those terms as it relates to the work on time. However, there are points in this work, such as between steps five and six, where it might seem intuitive to want to discuss action theory proper. This work does not delve into action theory proper. I have written on action theory before, and you can search my website for it. Please keep this nuance in mind and adjust your perspective accordingly.
