Is it possible for something to be outside of time?
- YES
- NO
0
voters
Is it possible for something to be outside of time?
It is impossible for any physical to be outside of time.
So, as usual, your question is too ambiguous to sat “yes” or “no”.
Possible as in
‘I know the way reality is put together and given this I know that something could potentially be outside time.’
or
‘For all I know this is a possible’
I sense you’re leaving the door open for you to engage in special pleading.
Would a non-physical thing qualify as a “something”? Or would a non-physical thing be other than a “something”? Would something that’s not a something be a nothing?
And yet again, being guilty of your own accusation, it is YOU “leaving the door open for special pleading”.
I merely stated the obvious. I am not going to bother with your pleading.
I’m merely asking a question: is it possible for something to be outside of time. No more and no less.
James is correct, in a way.
But to see this you have to abandon the materialist view and recognize ‘principle’.
In such a view, any manifest existence (matter, time) is a consequence of persistently applying principles.
And a human mind can ‘contain’ such principles. In this way the human mind can be interpreted to attain to a timeless state.
If something existed outside of time, how could we confirm its existence?
You personally can’t. You have to know what it means to exist before you can confirm anything concerning it. And even after that, you have to learn how to use simple logic.
In other words, if something exists outside of time, there’s no way we could know it does exist. So what difference would it make to us if it exists vs. doesn’t exist?
You need to establish some definitions before we can continue.
Your question assumes that time is a container with a boundary. Can you expand upon this concept please.
If something did exist outside of time, how would we be able to identify that it exists?
If an outside of time object could be discerned, how would we know it was outside of time?
In what way would an outside of time object manifest itself without being inside of time?
What do you think it means to exist?
As Christians who posit that God is outside of time have explained to me, it means not bound by or subject to the rules of time. Also an outside of time being would see all events in time simultaneously.
… to have affect, to lead to or cause change.
Not “simultaneously in time”, but “regardless of time”. And “see” is a bit of a stretch. “Know” is more acceptable, although a bit misleading.
Who could know? Ask someone in 1645 how one could teleport subatomic particles or heat things with invisible waves or use sound to see babies or know what happened billions of years ago in the universe and they might also use deduction to show that such things cannot happen. Deduction is overrated when you are dealing with things like this. If the response is, right, who could know, how can they know? Still, perhaps they can or some of them can and the others are lucky.
Do you think it is possible for something to not exist?
Christians posit that their god observes all events in time simultaneously.
Oh come on, Christians do not do this. What, do they all have theology picnics or something? Very few Christians have ever had a thought like this. Some if pressed might spit out, for the first time, something similar. Some that is. But to refer to Christians as positing this is just silly.
I’ve asked several Christians how they reconcile the problem of free will. E.g. if God knows what you will do tomorrow and you do something different, then what does that do to God’s foreknowledge. They reconcile this by asserting that God is outside of time and observes all events in time simultaneously. But if we look up the definition of ‘God’ in the dictionary, we don’t see any mention of his being outside of time or transcending time.
[b][i]God
Syllabification: God
Pronunciation: /ɡäd /
NOUN
1[WITHOUT ARTICLE] (In Christianity and other monotheistic religions) the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
SYNONYMS
2(god) (In certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity:
a moon god
an incarnation of the god Vishnu
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
SYNONYMS
2.1An image, idol, animal, or other object worshiped as divine or symbolizing a god.
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
SYNONYMS
2.2Used as a conventional personification of fate:
he dialed the number and, the gods relenting, got through at once
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
3(god) An adored, admired, or influential person:
he has little time for the fashion victims for whom he is a god
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
3.1A thing accorded the supreme importance appropriate to a god:
don’t make money your god
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
4
(the gods) INFORMAL The gallery in a theater.
From Merriam Webster
1god noun \ˈgäd also ˈgȯd
God : the perfect and all-powerful spirit or being that is worshipped especially by Christians, Jews, and Muslims as the one who created and rules the universe
: a spirit or being that has great power, strength, knowledge, etc., and that can affect nature and the lives of people : one of various spirits or beings worshipped in some religions
: a person and especially a man who is greatly loved or admired
Full Definition of GOD
1
capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as
a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe
b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2
: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship;specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
3
: a person or thing of supreme value
4
: a powerful ruler
See god defined for English-language learners »
See god defined for kids »
From dictionary.com
God
[god] Spell Syllables
Word Origin
noun
1.
the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.
2.
the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute:
the God of Islam.
3.
(lowercase) one of several deities, especially a male deity, presidingover some portion of worldly affairs.
4.
(often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particularconception:
the god of mercy.
5.
Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love,Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle.
6.
(lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol.
7.
(lowercase) any deified person or object.[/i][/b]
And we don’t see it there because it isn’t a necessary part of the beliefs. I have met a good share of Christians and I almost never heard this explanation - which is clearly problematic, since it simply explains how God can know what is going to happen in the future and does not eliminate determinism. And while many Christians can and do defend their ideas with poor arguments, I am still very skeptical that it is consensus theology for Christians, even less so that most Christians on the ground think this way.
And as I said in a prior post, I don’t think we can rule out the possibility of something being outside time, given our limited perspectives. It’s fine to try out our logic on such an issue, but any conclusions should be treated as seriously speculative.