Posted on 07/02/2010 6:56:08 PM PDT by Desdemona
That sentence makes no sense. It's like saying "Trees grow in the mountains, therefore I use a fork to eat peas."
God is indeed inside and outside of time - past, present and future. That does not negate the fact that we are living God's thoughts after Him.
Creation ex nihilo goes to the heart of physical cosmologists. It is seen as a failure to Steinhardt and his cyclic model and to Hawking and his imaginary time model that the physical cosmologist cannot explain the origin of real time.
Infinity past is a necessary "belief" of all atheists but it does not hold up to scrutiny by math or science.
Real time and real space are required for physical causation which is the fundamental necessary element for all physical cosmologies whether multi-verse, ekpyrotic, multi-world or whatever.
Mathematically, the dimension of a space is the minimum number of coordinates (axes) necessary to identify a point within the space.
A space of zero dimensions is a point; one dimension, a line, two dimensions, a plane; three, a cube, etc.
That is the geometry of it. In zero dimensions, the mathematical point is indivisible.
It is not nothing. It is a spatial point. A singularity is not nothing.
In ex nihilo Creation, the dimensions are not merely zero, they are null, dimensions do not exist at all. There is no space and no time. Period.
There is no mathematical point, no volume, no content, no scalar quantities. Ex nihilo doesn’t exist in relationship to anything else; there is no thing.
In an existing physical space, each point (e.g. particle) can be parameterized by a quantity such as mass. The parameter (e.g. a specific quantity within the range of possible quantities) is in effect another descriptor or quasi-dimension that uniquely identifies the point within the space.
Moreover, if the quantity of the parameter changes for a point, then a time dimension is invoked. For example, at one moment the point value is “0” and the next it is “1”.
Wave propagation cannot occur in null dimensions nor can it occur in zero spatial dimensions, a mathematical point; a dimension of time is required for any fluctuation in a parameter value at a point.
Moreover, wave propagation must also have a spatial/temporal relation from cause point to effect point, i.e. physical causation.
For instance “0” at point nt causes “1” at point n+1t+1 which causes "0" at point n+1t+2 etc..
Obviously, physical wave propagation (e.g. big bang/inflationary model) cannot precede space/time and physical causality.
In the absence of time, events cannot occur.
All physical cosmologies require space and time for physical causality. Period.
There is no ex nihilo explanation for the beginning of real space and real time and therefore physical causality.
And because, since the 1960’s forward, measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation consistently agree that the universe is expanding – that there was a beginning of real space and real time – we know that there was creation ex nihilo. Moving the goalpost back to prior universes does not make that issue go away.
Only God can be the uncaused cause, the first cause, The Creator.
Space, time and physical causation are not properties of God the Creator. They are properties of the Creation. Only God is uncaused.
The point is not that you don't "have" to do anything. The point is that for the first time you will want to do something "God-pleasing" because we are told in the Bible that "anything not of faith is sin."
Further, Scripture tells us over and over that the only work that saves anyone is the work of Christ on the cross, which permits His righteousness to be imputed to the sinner.
Otherwise, you're just boasting, contrary to Paul's instructions in Eph. 2.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" -- Titus 3:6
Seems pretty clear to me.
You get a hearty AMEN! from me on that one. 8~)
Hint: Despite the vanities of all our "centrisms", it is most unlikely that we are precisely "on" -- or, even, anywhere near -- the "most direct arrow of time" between creation and the present state of the Universe!
I am thrilled you took notice of this thread and am very much looking forward to your article on the "universal now." Your perspective as both a Christian and a scientist will no doubt be very illuminating.
Like you, I have trended to a volumetric time based on Scripture and geometric physics from Vafa and Wesson v successes and failures at CERN (Higgs field/boson) - and insights from my brothers and sisters in Christ!
MHGinTN has approached volumetric time and Scripture - and has shared some glimpses with us.
And betty boop will probably be touching on it in her manuscript for "God and the observer problem."
Praise God!!!
Well done.
WELL PUT,
imho.
Thx.
Because it was what they ultimately wanted to do.
The unregenerated will WANT to sin and the regenerated will WANT to repent.
And yes, God chooses who to regenerate and who to leave in their sins. God elects; Christ redeems; the Holy Spirit sanctifies.
That's life as we know it, according to the word of God.
That’s a GREAT line. I’ll remember it.
Only God can be the uncaused cause, the first cause, The Creator.
Space, time and physical causation are not properties of God the Creator. They are properties of the Creation. Only God is uncaused.
Beautifully said...
Can you add me to your ping list, Alamo-Girl... Thanks.
I am humbled by your knowledge, Sister. It seems to me that there is no explanation that excludes ex nihilo. That creation and ex nihilo are in large part synonymous. I do like the idea that any change necessitates space, time, mass, etc.
My contention was that moral self-awareness that we see has to have a greater cause which would indicate that that greater cause is at a minimum a greater moral self-awareness. (Spirit)
God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. (Truth would parallel the “moral” dimension and Spirit the “self-awareness” aspect of my construct, feeble as it was.)
Therefore, Spirit (God) and Truth (a (the?) key attribute of God) is eternal. He is eternally “I Am”, Holy, and Glorious.
There is no argument against it, since to argue implies both morality and self-awareness.
Common sense tells us that these things do not randomly assemble themselves.
Perhaps your correspondents do not realize that you and they aren't even on the same page when it comes to approaching Holy Scripture.
May I borrow for a tag :)
This humble preacher will gladly attend when you offer your first Freeper online physics class. FRysics 101, Instructor Prof Alamo. Let me know when you launch.
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