Introduction
Time, as perceived by the human intellect, is a river that flows only through the finite. It orders existence, frames our memories, and shapes the unfolding of creation itself. Yet, when one gazes toward the infinite — toward God, eternity, or the quantum depths of the cosmos — time dissolves like a mirage. The Psalmist wrote, “For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past” (Psalm 90:4). This line alone suggests that time, as humans perceive it, is not universal but conditional — a property of the finite mind and the physical realm it inhabits.
I. The Finite Nature of Time
Time can only exist where change occurs. Change, in turn, implies limitation — a “before” and “after” defined by transformation. In a truly infinite and eternal state, there can be no succession, no progression, no entropy. The infinite is immutable, complete, and timeless.
Saint Augustine, in Confessions XI, wrote: “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.” Augustine proposed that time is a construct of the human soul — a measurement of motion and memory, not an objective property of God’s creation.
From a quantum physics perspective, time is not an absolute constant but a dimension woven into the fabric of spacetime — elastic, relative, and dependent on the observer’s frame of reference. In Einstein’s relativity, time slows as one approaches the speed of light; thus, for light itself — or perhaps for divine consciousness — time may not exist at all.
II. The Cosmos as Sentient Order
If the cosmos is indeed sentient — if consciousness pervades the universe — it may not experience time as humans do. The 20th-century physicist Erwin Schrödinger speculated that there is only one universal mind, of which individual consciousnesses are mere facets. Similarly, the Gospel of John proclaims, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). This “light” may be seen as the universal awareness that sustains being beyond the linear ticking of seconds.
If the cosmos possesses even a rudimentary form of abstract thought — as some quantum theorists such as David Bohm hinted through his “implicate order” — then the universe may dream in patterns of probability, collapsing into form only when observed. In this sense, time could be an artifact of perception — a divine illusion necessary for experience.
III. Time in Dreams and Quantum Condensation
In the realm of dreams, time bends and condenses. Hours of lived experience can occur within minutes of REM sleep. This psychological phenomenon mirrors quantum nonlocality, where two entangled particles can influence one another instantaneously across vast distances — as though existing outside of temporal flow altogether.
Carl Jung once observed, “Time is a child playing, moving pieces in a game; the kingdom belongs to the child.” This echoes Heraclitus’s ancient metaphor, suggesting that time, at its most fundamental level, is playful, creative, and not bound by the rigid measurements of clocks. In dreams — and perhaps in divine thought — all moments coexist, overlapping like waves in the quantum field.
IV. The Heart as Metronome: Biological and Cosmic Time
The human heart beats as the metronome of biological existence. Each pulse counts a measure of lived time. The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Just as the heart governs the rhythm of life, so do cosmic cycles — the orbits of planets, the procession of equinoxes — govern the seasons of existence.
Society, in turn, builds its own artificial rhythms: clocks, calendars, and schedules. These are temporal scaffolds upon which civilization organizes its finite tasks. But the universe’s time is musical, cyclical, and alive — not mechanical. When the Apostle Paul wrote, “In Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17), he implied that divine presence is the constant amidst motion — the silent stillness at the center of the cosmic clock.
V. Quantum Consciousness and the Eternal Present
Quantum physics introduces the concept of the “superposition” — where all possible states exist simultaneously until observed. Theologically, this parallels God’s omnipresence and omniscience: all times, all places, all realities known at once.
The mystic poet William Blake wrote, “Eternity is in love with the productions of time.” This statement bridges science and spirituality — suggesting that the infinite (eternity) uses time as a medium to express love and creation. Similarly, T.S. Eliot reflected in Four Quartets:
“Time past and time future
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.”
Eliot’s “still point of the turning world” resonates with both Christ and quantum theory — a timeless nucleus around which all motion occurs.
Conclusion: The Eternal Now
If time cannot exist in the infinite, then eternity is not endless duration but the absence of duration — a single, perfect now. In the Gospel of John, Christ declares, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58). This is not merely a claim of preexistence but a statement of timeless being — the divine consciousness unbound by linear chronology.
Thus, the cosmos may be a living mind dreaming in time, while the Creator remains awake in eternity. Our clocks, hearts, and seasons beat out echoes of divine rhythm — reminders that time, though finite, is a sacred bridge between matter and spirit. In the silence beyond time, God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever — the stillness beneath all motion, the thought behind every heartbeat.
Selected References:
Augustine, Confessions, Book XI
William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Schrödinger, What Is Life?
Einstein, Relativity: The Special and General Theory
The Holy Bible: Psalms 90:4; John 1:4; Ecclesiastes 3:1; Colossians 1:17; John 8:58
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