The Bible as a primer on time travel?

Eutychus

Junior Member
Messages
37
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

OK, now that I have a sense of how folks in here might react to such a topic, it's high time to introduce it if for no other reason than to irritate.

I have often been struck by some of the wording found in scripture that discusses God's perspective on chronological matters. "A thousand years is as one day and one day is as a thousand years" from God's perspective. There are several verses that speak to this sort of thing. Not all are chiastic expressions like this example, but they all give the feeling that God doesn't experience time as we do. We get the idea that God experiences existence as an eternal now, as in it is both a thousand years ago and today at the same time. If we assume for the sake of argument that my faith is not misplaced and the cosmology of the Bible is reasonably trustworthy, what might this say about time travel possibilities? If such a state is possible in the universe, to be able to touch 3500 B.C. with the left hand and 2005 A.D. with the right without having to stretch very hard, how do you do it?
 

JediStryker

Member
Messages
255
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

G-d created time. It is a dimension that He concocted and placed into existence as part of His plan for how our physical universe would work. He exists outside of time.

The verse you are referring to has two meanings. G-d is eternal; He has always been and He will always be. Time is something He created for us, and it has no bearing on Him. So a thousand years for us is like 'a day' for him, or in otherwords He exists in all those thousand years at the same time from His perspective. A day is like a thousand years to Him, though, because He knows every detail of every thing that happens in every microsecond of every day. G-d exists in yesterday, today, and tomorrow all of the time; He exists in every second all of the time.

The point of these verses is not to establish that time travel is possible for us, but that G-d is so incredibly powerful that time itself is something He created and has no bearing on Him. It's almost mind-boggling, and it is definitely humbling.
 

Judge Bean

Senior Member
Messages
1,257
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

Originally posted by Eutychus@Dec 29 2004, 02:38 AM
OK, now that I have a sense of how folks in here might react to such a topic, it's high time to introduce it if for no other reason than to irritate.

I have often been struck by some of the wording found in scripture that discusses God's perspective on chronological matters. \"A thousand years is as one day and one day is as a thousand years\" from God's perspective. There are several verses that speak to this sort of thing. Not all are chiastic expressions like this example, but they all give the feeling that God doesn't experience time as we do. We get the idea that God experiences existence as an eternal now, as in it is both a thousand years ago and today at the same time. If we assume for the sake of argument that my faith is not misplaced and the cosmology of the Bible is reasonably trustworthy, what might this say about time travel possibilities? If such a state is possible in the universe, to be able to touch 3500 B.C. with the left hand and 2005 A.D. with the right without having to stretch very hard, how do you do it?


To surpass time, it would be necessary to divest oneself of the influence of all other mass-- in all of its aspects, including gravity, such that one was suspended in an absolute vacuum which was not itself subject to energy or mass.

In such a state, there would be no "speed" of time, and our measurements would be meaningless. The week of Creation lasts both a week and 7,000 years. If it took 7 billion years, we might be able to "see" it, as a speck of light, occurring 7 billion light years away-- see it now. In such a state, also, a person would be neither dead nor alive, and would not need to eat or sleep. The impression would be one of a moment lasting forever, or vice versa.

To create something, in real time, you need to bring it through intermediate forms until it reaches the idealized final form. Therefore, evolution is nothing but very slow creation. In an altered form of time, the process might seem either instant or costing millennia.
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

As children are still somewhat closer to God in consciousness than adults, they have instinctively figured out how to bypass certain Laws regarding time, thus diminishing time, when they discovered the Mantra "Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? Are We there Yet? Are We There Yet?"

It has been noted by several trusted sources that the use of such Mantras by children causes a time dialiation, and curiously only seems to affect Adults.
 

Eutychus

Junior Member
Messages
37
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

Wow, interesting answers all. Star, the time dilation theory is a proof, not a theory. Yes, I have a kid. In fact, his is the photo I used for an avatar.

Anyway, a little clarification. I approach this kind of question from the pov of a writer. In November I completed a 50k novel as part of National Novel Writing Month. For that novel I toyed with the time travel idea I mentioned in the opening thread, but opted for a different mode of arriving in 1830s Pennsylvania. I was displeased with the variety of bovine fecal matter I was using to make time travel possible using an eternity state as a means of accomplishing it. By the way, Phase, very interesting presentation on extradimensionality.
 

Tippy

New Member
Messages
17
The Bible as a primer on time travel?

Originally posted by Eutychus@Dec 28 2004, 08:38 PM
OK, now that I have a sense of how folks in here might react to such a topic, it's high time to introduce it if for no other reason than to irritate.

I have often been struck by some of the wording found in scripture that discusses God's perspective on chronological matters. \"A thousand years is as one day and one day is as a thousand years\" from God's perspective. There are several verses that speak to this sort of thing. Not all are chiastic expressions like this example, but they all give the feeling that God doesn't experience time as we do. We get the idea that God experiences existence as an eternal now, as in it is both a thousand years ago and today at the same time. If we assume for the sake of argument that my faith is not misplaced and the cosmology of the Bible is reasonably trustworthy, what might this say about time travel possibilities? If such a state is possible in the universe, to be able to touch 3500 B.C. with the left hand and 2005 A.D. with the right without having to stretch very hard, how do you do it?


The Bible definition could easily point towards the thought that time is not 'lineal' as we here view it. Or - "there is no time".

Time could exist as only the "present" - but in many different layers - time lines. Everything that has happened - is still happening - but on a level we are no longer in tune with. Consider the 'prophets', Nostradamus and the like. Did they discover a way to pick up on what was happening in a different layer? One thing is certain - if they "saw" the future happening - it had to be happening on some level for them to see.

Time travel, then, would consist of 'jumping' from one layer - to another.

Good topic.
 

strangelove

New Member
Messages
15
Re: The Bible as a primer on time travel?

I agree with jedi stryker the bible is not meant to tell us that humans can travel through time , It is meant to explain to us how powerful god really is .
 

StarLord

Senior Member
Messages
3,187
Re: The Bible as a primer on time travel?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"JediStryker\")</div>
G-d created time. It is a dimension that He concocted and placed into existence as part of His plan for how our physical universe would work. He exists outside of time.

The verse you are referring to has two meanings. G-d is eternal; He has always been and He will always be. Time is something He created for us, and it has no bearing on Him. So a thousand years for us is like 'a day' for him, or in otherwords He exists in all those thousand years at the same time from His perspective. A day is like a thousand years to Him, though, because He knows every detail of every thing that happens in every microsecond of every day. G-d exists in yesterday, today, and tomorrow all of the time; He exists in every second all of the time.

The point of these verses is not to establish that time travel is possible for us, but that G-d is so incredibly powerful that time itself is something He created and has no bearing on Him. It's almost mind-boggling, and it is definitely humbling.[/b]

I have to agree with this. We (Soul) are just as eternal. I would proffer that in one sense, Spirit knows that eventually we will make our way home in whatever 'time' it takes so there is no reason to 'babysit' each and every person. They do that themselves.
 

Lucidus

Member
Messages
256
Re: The Bible as a primer on time travel?

Maybe God does sometimes bestows this element of timeless on mortals. I remember hearing of an Eastern Orthodox story about the Roman soilder who struck Jesus and is punished by living until Jesus returns. Just a thought.:)
 

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