The Bubble of Time

A reply I left on another blog (http://mattandrews.blogspot.com/) prompted me to get off my tush and write in my blog again (illness & work & just plain laziness being the demons keeping me away from posting!).

So here goes . . .

I've been reading up on my theoretical physics (yes, I am a geek - even my wife and boss agree!). And it's interesting . . . and I think there are implications for theology and spirituality in there . . . so I'll try to tease some out as I talk about free will and choice.

Theoretical physics tells us that space and time and bound together. They form the dynamic background in which all of creation (all matter) lives out its life. God, being the genesis of creation, in my humble opinion, must be outside of time - otherwise, he would be bound by the same laws of physics that we all are.

Since God is outside of spacetime, God is a timeless now - a state of being where there is no past or future, only present - a "God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow" kinda thing.

I like to imagine all of creation (all of spacetime & matter) as a bubble. Inside the bubble is everything - spacetime, matter, alternate universes, etc.. Outside the bubble is God. Now, since God can see everything (being omnipotent, omnipresent, etc.), I like to believe that God can literally see everything. Everything that has happened, that is happening, and that will happen, but also everything that did not happen, that still might happen, that may have happened, etc.

God can see every single consequence of every single action and choice ever made, as well as the consequences of all the choices/action that were not made. So God could see a world where WW I did not happen, as well as a world where it did. God can see a world where I was aborted, and one where I was not. Every choice, no matter how insignificant it appears to us, can be seen by God in a separate thread - a separate world/parallel dimension kinda thing (if you remember the TV show Sliders, it can help you get an idea of what I'm thinking about).

Theoretical physics even intimates that every choice we make may actually split off into another dimension - which by this time means there are countless worlds in existence, and every second there are countless more being born.

But I digress. :-)

I like to imagine God whispering to every single one of us to make the right choice, to make good and holy choices, to make choices that will serve others and not selfishness.

So God can see every eventuality, but God does not predestine/foreordain that there is a thread to our choices and actions that we must follow - God gives us the free will to choose which one to take. God may *want* us to take a particular thread (or one among several holy threads) - but God will not force us to do so, and God will not send us into our lives with one mapped out that we must follow. God is not a dictator, but someone who offers us the freedom to bring light into the darkness of the world around us.

One last thought - the book I'm reading right now (The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene - only into it on the 2nd chapter), says that for quantum physics, and for the movement of the smallest particles that make us matter, time is not an issue. Past and present are equally unneeded for them. (I hope this makes sense - I'm always reminded of the "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" quote!) Another way of saying it is that through mathematical experiments, it looks like when dealing with quarks and gluons and what have you, time can flow either forward or backward and it doesn't matter to the operations of the smallest bits of matter.

Which brings me to the question of prayer.

Can we really influence events through our prayer? Augustine wrote somewhere that God does not need our prayers. God does not need our praise, our petitions, our thanksgiving, our wonder and awe, our adoration - none of it - god is secure in Gods'self, God is complete and whole - no need for our prayers. God gives us the gift of prayer *for us* - not for God.

So when we pray, our prayers are for us - for us to change - for us to wrap ourselves to situations and people, not for God to be warped and influenced. I believe that God listens to our prayers, and I believe that God responds to them, but I think that it's more of a personal response. *We* should be changed and challenged by our prayers, not wait on God to produce a miracle and do the work for us. God does not want to crush us with displays of Divine Power - God wants to move us and put divinity to work through us.

That being said, I firmly believe that prayer can work both ways - we can pray for future events, we can pray for current events, but we can also pray for past events. We can strive to send our spiritual influence to give strength to others, to help shed divine light on problematic situations, to bring the presence of God to those in need, to move the hearts and minds of others who are perpetrating injustice and harm . . . and we can do this irrelevant of spacetime - our prayers can go around the world and beyond, because they are not limited by the spacetime we find ourselves limited to.

I'll write more later - it's time for a late breakfast, and my son wants waffles and eggs. :-)

Blessings & Peace to everyone this fine Saturday morning,
Hugo