What does the Church believe about time (A-theory or B-theory?)

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svid2 said:
Pax Christi!

Pardon my stupids, but what exactly are these theories, A and B? I’m not familiar with these.

What I know about time can be illustrated with this:

Imagine a donut being fired from a cannon at the speed of light, while rotating. Time is like that, but without the cannon and the donut.

That’s what I got. What do you guys have?

God bless!
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whether it’s a hole,
that’s not a creamy filling,
knowing not now, when?
 
fisherman_carl said:
I know this is what Dr. William Lane Craig thinks. He also believes that God doesn’t actually see the future, but predicts it with 100% accuracy because of his omnipotence. God’s knowledge changes under this view according to ‘tensed’ facts, or what is occurring in the present moment.

However, under this view, if God knew the future with complete accuracy then would his knowledge really change? If I know for instance that at 2:59 it is going to be 3:00, does my knowledge change when it becomes 3:00? It wasn’t like 3:00 was a surprise. The only thing that has changed is that the state of 3:00 has been temporarily classified from ‘future’ event to ‘now’ event. And then, at 3:01 it would be classified as ‘past’ event. Yet, my knowledge of the event remained the same. Only the classification of the event has changed. But, even that you knew was going to happen.

At any rate if God sees all of time at once in an eternal now then such distinctions become obsolete.
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Yes with A theory God has to change. He has to be temporal if you assume an A theory view of time because he would know that now is 7:00 and when it turns 7:01 he would have to change his understanding of now, knowing it as 7:01 instead of 7:00.
 
If we assume B theory, then God is changeless because all times are equally real and there is no past, present, or future. I’m trying to figure out which theory is more plausible.

In other words, what are some good reasons for believing in the A series and what are some good reasons for believing in the B series?
 
YosefYosep said:
I’ve been struggling with trying to understand what theory of time best fits a Catholic worldview.
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I think a compatible worldview would only require a belief that time had a beginning (CCC 293), that the present is the time of the Spirit and witness and also distress (CCC 672) and that time will end (CCC 682).

While holding these principles, one may speculate that time is the 4th dimension of reality whose existence does not negate the prior 3 dimensions but rather extends and further perfects their existence by providing motion and change.

In a 5th, 6th, or nth dimension, eternity exists. Eternity defined as that dimension of reality which includes all of time and perfects all things which existed imperfectly in the first 4 dimensions.
 
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