What is Time?

What is time? Seconds, minutes, hours, even days are all measures of time, but do they define time? I recently read an interested article about Sean Carroll, a physicist who is developing his own theory of time.

Carroll proposes that time is linked to entropy, the theory that the natural order of things moves from order to disorder. Carroll states, "Basically, our observable universe begins around 13.7 billion years ago in a state of exquisite order, exquisitely low entropy. It’s like the universe is a wind-up toy that has been sort of puttering along for the last 13.7 billion years and will eventually wind down to nothing. But why was it ever wound up in the first place? Why was it in such a weird low-entropy unusual state?" Hmm, the universe began in an almost perfectly low entropic state and then moved to disorder and has been moving down that path ever sense? Sound familiar?

Carroll refutes the idea that the universe began with the big band. He states that the big bang was not the beginning; there was something more and something before. He also says the universe is not all that there is; the universe is actually part of something larger. Carroll suggests, "And if that’s true, it changes the question you’re trying to ask. It’s not, “Why did the universe begin with low entropy?” It’s, “Why did part of the universe go through a phase with low entropy?” And that might be easier to answer."

Carroll proposes a multiverse theory, where you have a static universe in the middle. From that middle static universe, smaller universes pop out of the middle universe and travel in different directions, in what Carroll calls, arrows of time. Carroll believes the universe in the middle has no time at all. He states, "There’s different moments in the history of the universe and time tells you which moment you’re talking about. And then there’s the arrow of time, which give us the feeling of progress, the feeling of flowing or moving through time. So that static universe in the middle has time as a coordinate but there’s no arrow of time. There’s no future versus past, everything is equal to each other."

So, the question everyone wants to know is this: what is time in that middle universe? Carroll responds,

"Even in empty space, time and space still exist. Physicists have no problem answering the question of “If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound?” They say, “Yes! Of course it makes a sound!” Likewise, if time flows without entropy and there’s no one there to experience it, is there still time? Yes. There’s still time. It’s still part of the fundamental laws of nature even in that part of the universe. It’s just that events that happen in that empty universe don’t have causality, don’t have memory, don’t have progress and don’t have aging or metabolism or anything like that. It’s just random fluctuations."

In sum, Carroll states, "the whole point of this idea that I’m trying to develop is that the answer to the question, “Why do we see the universe around us changing?” is that there is no way for the universe to truly be static once and for all. There is no state the universe could be in that would just stay put for ever and ever and ever. If there were, we should settle into that state and sit there forever."

Carroll explains,

"It’s like a ball rolling down the hill, but there’s no bottom to the hill. The ball will always be rolling both in the future and in the past. So, that center part is locally static — that little region there where there seems to be nothing happening. But, according to quantum mechanics, things can happen occasionally. Things can fluctuate into existence. There’s a probability of change occurring. So, what I’m thinking of is the universe is kind of like an atomic nucleus. It’s not completely stable. It has a half-life. It will decay. If you look at it, it looks perfectly stable, there’s nothing happening … there’s nothing happening … and then, boom! Suddenly there’s an alpha particle coming out of it, except the alpha particle is another universe."

All of this is interesting and familiar, especially if you read your Bible regularly. I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, and if you have an interest in time, pick up his book,
From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time. Blessings!

Time...

I believe the single most consistent excuse I hear, bar none, is time. Students run out of time, teachers don't have time, and all of us wish we had more time. The reality is that time should not drive us in the way that it does. Dr. Peter Kreeft has a great article on time that all should read.

Dr. Kreeft believes that the single largest obstacle to our relationship with God is having no time, and I believe he is right. We live in a time of great invention. Many tasks from the past that robbed us of valuable time are now taken care of by machines. Yet, we still have less time than we used to have. Why?

Dr. Kreeft believe we are out of alignment regarding time. He writes,

"We have time and prayer backwards. We think time determines prayer, but prayer determines time. We think our lack of time is the cause of our lack of prayer, but our lack of prayer is the cause of our lack of time."

I know this, but still, I resist and allow time to determine prayer. Dr. Kreeft believes we should think about time differently. He goes on to write,

"Time is like the setting of a play. The setting is really part of the play, contained by the play, determined by the play. But we often think the opposite: we think the play is contained by the setting. We think that the theme, the meaning, the spirit of the play is in its material setting instead of the other way around. That's like thinking the soul is in the body. In fact, the body is in the soul. So says St. Thomas Aquinas. And since time measures the movements of material bodies, while prayer measures the movements of the soul, time is really in prayer rather than prayer in time. Prayer determines and changes and miraculously multiplies time. But prayer multiplies time only if and when we sacrifice our time, offer it up. There's the rub. We fear sacrifice. It's a kind of death."

Do we fear sacrifice? I believe we do. We do not like the word sacrifice in the west. We think, in our minds, that there is something wrong with it. That it is a dirty part of faith reserved for those poor souls struggling with their faith. Maybe, I am the only one who thought that way. Dr. Kreeft makes the case for sacrifice when he writes,

"All the real religions of the world are based on sacrifice, on willing death. Only the fake religion of pop psychology (which has infiltrated even the modern church) ignores this fact. Even pagans and polytheists know it. The most popular god in India is Shiva, the Destroyer, and the most popular goddess is Kali, his female equivalent. Even Hindus know the importance of spiritual surgery, death, sacrifice. After Calvary, how can Christians know this any less? Our Lord repeatedly taught us that unless we took up our cross and followed him, we could not be his disciples. This probably means some terrible and difficult things; but one of the simple and easy things it means is to sacrifice our time to God. For time is life—"life-time."

I believe he is accurate in his analysis. If you read his article you will notice that Dr. Kreeft challenges his readers to get rid of the TV. Our family is a testimony to this radical idea... we have not had cable for over a year, and it has changed our lives. Dr. Kreeft uses TV as just one of the many examples of the things we do instead of spending time in prayer. Dr. Kreeft leaves us with a challenge...

"The first rule for prayer, the most important first step, is not about how to do it, but to just do it; not to perfect and complete it but to begin it." Think of the things preventing you from spending more time in prayer... and rid yourselves of them. I am making my list right now. Blessings!

Time

This past week I was in Grand Rapids, MI as a member of the Van Lunen Fellows Program. Friday morning we were assigned a time of reflection on our conversations and readings from the past week. One of the readings that came to my mind was an article by Dorothy Bass entitled, "Learning to Count Our Days." The article convicted me in many areas of my life. Below I share some of the article with each of you. Enjoy!

"What is the measure of my days, weeks, and years, those I have had so far and those remaining? All of us wonder, naturally, about the quantity of this measure. More important, however, is its quality? Are we living lives that are good, in some large sense? Lives that contribute to the well-being of other people, close at hand and far away, and to our own well-being? Lives that are attuned to the good creation and to the active presence of God?"

In the last three years I have gotten caught up in stuff and not thought this way. What about you? The author has more for us.

"Understanding time as God's gift will make us more, rather than less, dissatisfied with the way in which economic, social, and cultural forces structure time, thereby impelling us to become partners with others in changing unjust structures of time. In The Time Bind, Arlie Russell Hochschild calls for a "time movement," an organized effort to develop economic structures that permit both adults and children to move more humanely within time"

And more...

"Only a dwelling place of the breadth and depth of God can finally count and hold all the days, weeks, and years of humankind. And it is only within this dwelling place that we mortals can ever count our days wisely. To count is to attend to each piece one by one, knowing its true value and acknowledging that the sum will not be infinite. Counting, in this sense, helps us know the true value of a day and attend to the gifts each one bears - just what the practices that guide us in receiving time as a gift of God would have us do."

What is your view of time? My view has changed especially when it comes to my family. Blessings!