Richard A. Holland Jr. - God, Time, and the Incarnation

F rom the earliest days of Christian history the consensus opinion among theologians has been that God enjoys a timelessly eternal existence. Those comprising this majority have asserted that God is atemporalthat he does not experience temporal sequence or succession of any kind. This assertion has been founded on theological and philosophical inquiry into the nature of Gods existenceinquiry that was often prompted by various challenges brought forth. Augustines development of Gods relation to time, for example, arises from his consideration of the question, What was God doing before He made heaven and earth?

The view held by Augustine and Boethiusthat Gods existence is atemporalquickly became the accepted model, with notable theologians from Anselm and Aquinas, to many of the Reformers, to Friedrich Schleiermacher all defending the atemporal view. In the works defending the classical atemporal view, the contemporary arguments typically follow those first made by Augustine and Boethius.

The arguments and definitions laid down by the two early proponents of the doctrine of Gods timelessness share some common features. One key similarity is the emphasis on God experiencing the whole of his life at once, with no passage and no temporal relation of one part of his life to another. In Book XI of his Confessions , Augustine argues that the eternity of God is such that it has no temporal relations such that there is no past, no passage, and no future, but that all things are equally present. He writes that in the Eternal nothing passeth away, but that the whole is present. In Book 5 of his Consolation , Boethius goes on to contrast that which is eternal from that which is in time; and he concludes that while time passes away, Gods eternity is always wholly present.

Further, the idea of immutability also plays a key role in what is now known as the classical atemporal position. A strong sense of immutability is logically connected to Boethiuss argument. If God experiences the fullness of his life at once, without passage of any kind, it would follow that God is necessarily immutable, by virtue of his timelessness. This connection is found also in Augustines argument in The Trinity . He argues that to refer to God as eternal is the same as to refer to him as unchangeable. Making the case, Augustine writes, His immortality is genuine immortality, as in his nature there is no change. But that is also genuine eternity by which God is unchangeable, without beginning, without end, and consequently incorruptible. Therefore one and the same thing is being said, whether you say God is eternal or immortal or incorruptible or unchangeable. So these two conceptsthe fullness of the Divine life and Gods immutabilityare commonly tied together in atemporal models.

Contemporary defenders of the classical view generally invoke these main features in their arguments. Stump and Kretzmann, for example, use Boethiuss definition of eternity to develop their model of divine interaction with the world. In their often quoted and highly influential article Eternity, Stump and Kretzmann rely heavily on Boethius, and devote a significant portion of their essay to expounding Boethiuss conception of eternity. These four authors are representative of the contemporary defense of the classical atemporal view.

Some contemporary arguments, however, have challenged the traditional view that God is timeless. During the past thirty years, a body of literature has developed among Christian philosophical theologians that challenges the classical formulation of Gods relation to time. These authors have suggested, as an alternative, the thesis that God does experience a kind of temporal existence. This contemporary divergence from the classical position has spawned a debate on Gods relation to time; and my intent in this work is to make a contribution to the ongoing discussion.

Purpose of this Work

The purpose of this work is twofold: to examine Gods relation to time, and to offer a critical evaluation of traditional atemporal models and contemporary temporal models in light of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. I will argue that the Incarnation of Christ indicates that God experiences temporal sequence in his existence.

In order to accomplish this purpose, my argument is developed in three main points of focus. First, it reviews the history of the debate within Christianity from Augustine to the present, highlighting the development of various models consistent with the classical atemporal view. Second, it asserts the central importance of the Incarnation for Christian theology, and provides a theological evaluation of prominent temporal and atemporal models in light of this doctrine. Finally, it will provide a philosophical model for how God experiences temporal sequence in his existence based on the Incarnation of God the Son. In each phase of the presentation, special attention is given to how the various models of Gods relation to time account for the Incarnation, both as Christ entered the world, and as he remains incarnate in a post-resurrection transformed state. Thus, I am attempting to offer a viable solution to the debate by using the Incarnation as the lens through which Gods relation to time is properly viewed.