What was God doing?

[Christianbookworm]

This was before he created the universe.

But none of our tv shows would exist untill He actualized this universe. Instead of actualizing any other universes. Hey! What if all fictional universes are possible universes that God chose not to create? For various reasons.

[Sparko]

But none of our tv shows would exist untill He actualized this universe. Instead of actualizing any other universes. Hey! What if all fictional universes are possible universes that God chose not to create? For various reasons.

Well the guy who was asking the question wanted to know what God did with all that time before he created the universe (and time) so since that was a nonsense question, I gave a nonsense answer: Netflix, which did not exist before a few years ago.

[Christianbookworm]

Well the guy who was asking the question wanted to know what God did with all that time before he created the universe (and time) so since that was a nonsense question, I gave a nonsense answer: Netflix, which did not exist before a few years ago.

Sure!

[One Bad Pig]

Well the guy who was asking the question wanted to know what God did with all that time before he created the universe (and time) so since that was a nonsense question, I gave a nonsense answer: Netflix, which did not exist before a few years ago.

ANY answer would be a nonsense answer.

[Christianbookworm]

ANY answer would be a nonsense answer.

Yeah. Might as well claim He was making square circles and other illogical objects.

[guacamole]

For those of you who believe that the universe was created 14 billion years ago by an eternally existing deity, I'm wondering what it is you think that deity was doing for that eternal duration prior to that creation?

He was creating. Everyday is an infinitesimal piece of the continued act of creation.

[shunyadragon]

I would kindly suggest that you spend more time thinking about what God WILL do when you stand before Him.

[Cow Poke]

You are most kind, sir.

[JimL]

Creating hell for people who ask such questions.

Or so goes the joke related by St Augustine. It is rather interesting that both Hawking and Vilenkin cite Augustine on this question. If time itself came into existence, it makes no sense to ask what was occurring before that. Even if one cannot accept the theological singularity of believing in an eternal God who is not limited by our own human and finite perception of time, why is it hard to acknowledge our own human limitations in understanding such ultimate realities? Some physicists speak of Euclidean time as a fourth spatial dimension or even one of 10 or 11 dimensions in string theory as mathematical attempts to answer this question. Trying to understand the math might not be much different than hell.

I think the question does make sense, and Augustines sarcastic answer was probably the result of his own frustration of not being able to come up with a logical answer. Incorporating other time dimensions doesn't solve the problem or answer the question, because it still puts God in relationship with time. So the question still needs an answer, what was God doing in his own separate and eternal time dimension prior to creating this universe?

[JimL]

I would kindly suggest that you spend more time thinking about what God WILL do when you stand before Him.

Well thank you for the suggestion, but how about an answer to the question?

[mikewhitney]

I think the question does make sense, and Augustines sarcastic answer was probably the result of his own frustration of not being able to come up with a logical answer. Incorporating other time dimensions doesn't solve the problem or answer the question, because it still puts God in relationship with time. So the question still needs an answer, what was God doing in his own separate and eternal time dimension prior to creating this universe?

We essentially have knowledge of God through the revelation of scripture -- and this is probably analogical -- or pre-digested, as it were, so humanity could understand some aspects about God. How could we even start to understand anything about God beyond the created universe?
Is there something you need to know here or is there a point you are making?
If we sought to speculate based on some scientific proposals, we might suppose that God exists first in some of the 10-11 dimensions mentioned by Robrecht. But alas there seems no grounds, from scripture, to even propose ideas in this direction.

[JimL]

I thought robrecht gave an excellent response. Even amen'd him. So, it wasn't a 'dismissal', Sea -- it was a supplemental.

Robrechts response was a comment, not an answer.

[Cow Poke]

Well thank you for the suggestion,

Sure

but how about an answer to the question?

I wasn't there, so I really don't know. You might could ask mossy.

[robrecht]

I think the question does make sense, and Augustines sarcastic answer was probably the result of his own frustration of not being able to come up with a logical answer. Incorporating other time dimensions doesn't solve the problem or answer the question, because it still puts God in relationship with time. So the question still needs an answer, what was God doing in his own separate and eternal time dimension prior to creating this universe?

Augustine merely relates the joke; it is not his answer.

Note the conditional clause: If time itself came into existence, it makes no sense to ask what was occurring before that.

The question does not make sense under that condition because there would be no 'before' if there was no time.

It is certainly an interesting and perplexing question, but since Hawking, an atheist, and Vilenkin, an agnostic, essentially agree with Augustine regarding the contingent nature of normal sense of time, there is no need to even relate the question to God at all. If you want to show that Hawking and Vilenkin are both wrong, that would be an interesting discussion.

[mossrose]

Sure



I wasn't there, so I really don't know. You might could ask mossy.