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Thank you so much for including me in this sidebar you having with spunkets!

The things that spunkets is addressing here and on the link provided on his reply are fascinating to me – an attempt to reconcile perhaps physical and spiritual realities?

You know me, hosepipe, I can’t seem to get enough of physics and especially geometric physics. LOL!

At any rate, such reconciliations are things I put in the “musings” category, but if you are interested, here are my thoughts on the matter:

First, is the Jewish interpretation that the reason there was a beginning at all was that God the Father wanted to reveal Himself.

In the beginning – regardless of cosmology (cyclic, inflationary, epkyrotic, multi-world, multi-verse, imaginary time, hesitating, etc.) all that exists is God Himself. Space and time do not exist, neither does causality.

In the absence of time, events cannot occur.

In the absence of space, things cannot exist.

Without space/time there is no energy, no matter, no thing at all. Only existence exists, i.e. God.

IOW, the beginning (both physical and spiritual) was a willful act of God the Creator. (First Cause) Which is to say there is nothing of which anything can be made but God Himself. Reality is God's will and unknowable in its fullness.

But God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. He is good and not evil. So I meditated and prayed why this is so.

In response to that prayer, I now have peace in the spirit with this understanding: God has revealed Himself by contrast. How would we know light if we had never seen darkness? Good if we had never seen evil? Sickness v. health, courage v. fear, right v. wrong – and so on.

And so The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in the Garden of Eden, in plain sight of Adam, by God Himself. (Gen 2) Adam was to observe it and not to participate in it.

It was a sign (language) to Adam standing there. Adam could see the fruits of good and of evil – but he was not to make those fruits part of himself by feeding on it under pain of death death. (Gen 2)

To use a modern metaphor, it is as if Adam was being shown a stage play so that he could understand the difference between good and evil to comprehend that God is good and not evil. But instead of watching the show to absorb this revelation of God, he jumped onstage and became a part of it. But the firmament between the two is like a one way mirror. He could be seen, but he could not see. He couldn’t step off the stage and thus he was banned to mortality, physical reality, doomed to be an actor in the play he was intended to watch (Genesis 4.)

He did it to himself. The only way Adam can get off that stage is to be born anew as a spectator, that is what Christ accomplished in the Resurrection.

So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. – I Cor 15:42-45

Because of Christ, Adamic men can return home, to where they belonged in the first place. To follow the metaphor, to be reborn into the audience (spiritual reality.)

You see, it was never “about” this heaven and earth – from the beginning, it has always been about the next heaven and earth [Final Cause] - Genesis to Revelation – God and His family and those to whom He has revealed Himself and with whom He will always live.

All of this brings me to my final point, that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (emphasis mine):

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:1-3

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven.– Col 1:15-20

Here is the distinction (and where some around here raise their eyebrows at me) – Jesus Christ was caused by God the Father, He was begotten of the Father. He not only had a beginning, He is the beginning [First Cause]. He is also the end, the reason for the Creation – both physical and spiritual [Final Cause]. The Alpha and the Omega.

Any hoot, those are my musings...

What happens to time when speed increases approaching the speed of light?

[ So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. – I Cor 15:42-45 ]

A very deep verse of scripture.. indeed..
Very good treatment of several subjects in post #7900..

Paul surely visited the seventh heavens to have received that bit of verbiage above..
As well as most of the epistle to the Ephesians...

Here is the distinction (and where some around here raise their eyebrows at me) – Jesus Christ was caused by God the Father, He was begotten of the Father. He not only had a beginning, He is the beginning [First Cause]. He is also the end, the reason for the Creation – both physical and spiritual [Final Cause]. The Alpha and the Omega.

Bump to the whole post, and this especially lovely conclusion, so worthy of repetition, dear sister!

Ping for narby to post #7,900. Much of what is written there by Alamo-Girl is straight from A-G/bb's book, Timothy which I recommended to you.

Masterful as usual.

Tons of agreement. No disagreement.

Thanks.

Thanks for prayers, BTW, chest feels better though sore from coughing yesterday.