B-theory of time and Creatio ex nihilo

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JimG said:
I’m not familiar with B-theory either. But Catholic theology asserts that God creates the universe from nothing, and that means he didn’t start with space, time, energy, or matter. All of those are created ex-nihilo. (In fact, a Catholic theologian would assert correctly that even a universe which extends infinitely in time in both directions, would still require creation ex-nihilo by God, since it would only be He who could create that kind of universe.)
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Yes, Thomas Aquinas discusses this in S.T., Part 1, Ques 46. LInus2nd
 
Peter_Plato said:
You might consider reading William Lane Craig’s article on time and the Kalam Cosmological Argument found here:

reasonablefaith.org/time-and-the-kalam-cosmological-argument

He wrote a fairly lengthy dissertation on the nature of time and has a number of insightful things to say on it. He refers to absolute and relative time from an Infidel’s article which is not quite the same as A and B Theories but may shed light on alternative ways of viewing time.

I think Augustine had a great deal to say on time, but I can’t recall where precisely besides the Confessions.
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Craig should be avoided, he rejects Thomas’ explanation of causality, therefore he is highly suspect in every thing. Popularity is not equivalent to reliability. Linus2nd
 
Linusthe2nd said:
Craig should be avoided, he rejects Thomas’ explanation of causality, therefore he is highly suspect in every thing. Popularity is not equivalent to reliability. Linus2nd
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My, you are dismissive this morning. At least, more so than usual.

Did you have a sleepless night? A little cranky are we?
 
Peter_Plato said:
My, you are dismissive this morning. At least, more so than usual.

Did you have a sleepless night? A little cranky are we?
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Don’t mean to be. And no one else is " cranky, " just me? I will try to do better. Linus2nd
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
I’m currently reading a philosophical piece that claims a proponent of a B-theory of time can not believe in creatio ex nihilo. Since I am sympathetic to a B-theory of time, I find this concerning. Is this true? Does a B-theory of time exclude creatio ex nihilo?
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I don’t see how the B-theory of time precludes creation ex nihilo.

The B-theory of time says that that certain phrases like ‘in the future’, ‘in the past’ and ‘presently’ are adequately paraphrased by phrases like ‘later than’, ‘earlier than’ and ‘simultaneous with’. To say the prior phrases are ‘adequately paraphrased’ by the latter phrases just means that the latter express all the same facts as the former. Most B-theorists of time also believe that all times and events exist.

Creation ex nihilo means that (i) God creates everything out of nothing and (ii) that there was a first moment of time simultaneous with the universe’s first coming into existence. It is perfectly consistent with B-theory that God creates everything out of nothing, i.e. gives being or produces everything without some prior material. If you are a theist and you hold to B-theory and you also hold that all times exist that just means God creates all times out of nothing. B-theory is also consistent with the idea that there is a first moment which is earlier than all moments and later than none. The only thing B-theory might incline us to think is that all the other later moments exist. But this does not mean that they all exist at the same time; B-theory still says that some moments are earlier or later than others and thus exist at later times. So if we take (i) and (ii) to adequately capture what we mean by creation ex nihilo I see no reason to think B-theory is inconsistent with it.

Note: I am an A-theorist and not a B-theorist. But this is mainly for abstract philosophical reasons, and I have never seen anything about B-theory which contradicts Church teaching. As for your friend who said Aquinas is wrong on most things, he or she should back that up with arguments. But even if Aquinas is wrong that does nothing to contradict Church teaching; it is okay to disagree with Aquinas sometimes (in things not pertaining to dogma), since his philosophical theories are not Church doctrine, and there are many great doctors of the Church who have held different viewpoints. By the way, St. Thomas’s position is probably closest to an A-theory of time.
 
I agree. There is nothing in B-Theory time that precludes the beginning of the universe or the universe itself as a created event. An analogy would be to a completed novel as a “story” object. The story within the novel has its own time scheme as encapsulated from the beginning to the ending. It could be said that each event persists in the book and is accessible at any “time” by turning back or forward to the chapter containing the event.

Also realize that the time scheme outside of the story is a separate time scheme from that contained in the story.

The universe, like a novel could contain its own beginning (Big Bang), middle and ending, along with a serial unfolding of temporal events, all of which could be accessible to someone outside of that particular time scheme, i.e., as God would in eternity.

Furthermore, nothing precludes separate time schemes from obtaining outside of the universe such as a scheme in heaven or in other universes, if these exist; just as the time scheme in other novels do not conflict or impinge upon time in one or other novel or story.
A heavenly time scheme may be multidimensional (I think CS Lewis suggested this) and have depth as well as length. It could be possible for someone in heaven to pause or expand a moment of time to take it in more fully as one might reread a particular part of a novel several times.

B-Time Theory introduces interesting possibilities into the “after” life, but it certainly doesn’t argue against God.
 
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