I totally agree.

Checked out these music tests linked to by Jeremy (Parableman).

Here are the results of the tests done so far…

Tone deaf test:

Ali        91.7%

Paula    77.8%

Pitch test:

Ali (first attempt) - At 500Hz, you can reliably differentiate two tones 3.75Hz apart.

Ali (second attempt) - At 500Hz, you can reliably differentiate two tones 1.425Hz apart.

Okay, let me clarify.  I am assuming that it is accepted that God is atemporal.  This means that there is no sequence involved in his existence outside of time - everything he does just is being done.

So, if you hold to this understanding and also adhere to an Arminian understanding of salvation, God’s omniscience is an attribute completely different from his other attributes for the following reasons:

If there is anything that does not proceed from God, our created nature (derivatively from God) and/or circumstances (from God) - such as the decision to follow Christ in the Arminian scheme of things - then God innately knows future happenings that are not dependent on him in any way.  He cannot be involved in the sequential act of gathering knowledge outside of himself and then acting in accordance with it because that would be a sequential act and impossible for an atemporal God.

So, somehow, without reference to anything within himself or any determining influence from himself, God knows what people will freely choose.

That, however, puts God’s attribute of foreknowledge in a category of it’s own.  Every other attribute God possess’s is grounded in himself.  His creative power comes completely from himself; his omnipresence is due to his own atemporality and vastness; his love begins from his own self; his purposes come from his own heart - every ability and attribute is dependent on God alone, and therefore able to be atemporally active.  Foreknowledge of libertarian freewill creatures does not.  In fact, God’s foreknowledge of such seems almost…magical.

Now, this doesn’t mean God is not able to know the choices of libertarian freewill beings innately in a way that we can’t explain, but to me such foreknowledge is the odd one out and does not seem feasible.  In fact, it seems more consistent to argue that God’s foreknowledge does depend on himself and accept that if libertarian freewill creatures exist, they make choices that God himself does not know beforehand as understood in Openness Theology.

Me?  I remain a believer in the deterministic atemporal God.

If God is atemporal, why did he create time?

My answer is that God created time so that we finite creatures would be able to better appreciate the gloriousness of who he is. This is the plan that is to be continued on forever, time without end (which the Bible calls eternal life).

God introduces circumstances that draw out a response from him in time for us to see. Those who are his draw out his goodness, those who are not, his wrath.

Time also allows us to better understand his characteristics. For example, as the Trinity, God’s love and his glory co-exist atemporally. In time, however, we are able to see that God’s love is not dependent on his glory - i.e., he does not love because of something is glorious (Romans 5:8), but also that his love does glorify (John 17:24).

Why time?  To show God.

Somehow I was asked to be on a panel of three “experts” for the older Youth Group at our Church last night.  It was a sacrifice missing that much Friday night TV, but it was a good time.

One of the questions went something like: How does it work that God existed before the creation of the world? or What was God doing before he created the world? or something along those lines.  It was thrown to me.

I looked at the guy who asked it, thought for a moment, and decided I was too tired and that most people wouldn’t follow my rambling about the topic, so gave him the most honest answer.

“Nobody knows.”

And it’s true - despite the best theories on the topic, nobody does know.  But it is fun trying to figure out those theories, so I want to quickly outline my favourite one.

Despite my previous thinking on the subject, eternity as refers to God does not involve time at all.  You cannot use words and phrases like before, after, during, at the same time, continue, forever, then, now, stop, start, and so on when talking about eternity.  It is like the moments we sometimes get when everything about a topic suddenly falls into place and becomes crystal clear - there was no (conscious) leading up to the clarity, it all just happened.  Eternity just is.  It is all happenings just happening.

Yes, yes, yes, this is when you check out saying, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”  Fine, I’ll carry on writing to myself.

Pictorially, think of time not as a straight line going on and on in either direction.  Instead, think of time as a curved line going round and round creating a sphere.  (I got that from Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time).  Put God at the centre (remember, this is merely illustrative) simultaneously creating, preserving, dictating, intervening, causing, destroying, recreating the multitude of different things that occur at every point along the line of time.  From the perspective of eternity, God is creating the world, causing babies to be born, destroying nations, killing His Son, redeeming Christians, recreating creation neither before or after each other - He is just doing it all.  It just…is happening. 

From our perspective, however, these things are done in sequence.  So we ask what God was doing before creation and time, but it is an unanswerable question because terms like before don’t apply outside of time.  Outside of time God is doing everything we have and will experience in time and much more besides.  He never started and he never stopped, because stopping and starting don’t exist in eternity.  Everything just is.  God just is.

(If you want to read a more comprehensive and intelligent take on all this, go to Parableman’s blog and search for “eternity” and related concepts.)

I was thinking how much of a different society we live in today, compared to, maybe, when my Mum was having children…. i.e me. How did this come about? I wanted to do the mowing. The lawn badly needed it. And the weather was finally fine. But now we have a beautiful precious child, and don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to change that. But I can hardly get anything done, especially not the lawns. I thought I would have all this spare time, but alas it is not to be so. You see, we don’t have any family here, just each other. And while the Kiwi is at work, the emu is looking after the chick, and there is no mother, mother in law, cousin, aunty, sister or brother, to ask if they could just pop over for 1 hour and watch the chick, while I get the lawns done. I think it is sad how our chick will have long distance relationships with all her grandparents and auntie and uncles and cousins. I know my Nana very very well and it saddens me to think our Babe will not have as close a relationship with her Nana or Grandpa or Grandma.
It also saddens me how little I have helped my friends when they have been in the same situation. My good friend had a baby, her husband was away at sea a lot, she had no close relatives here, just friends like me. And I never offered to look after her boy whlile she went and got her hair done, or got the lawn done, or shopped, or whatever. I feel really sad about my selfishness. All I can do is try to do better in the future.
How nice it is for all you parents out there who have some extended family around. They may drive you nuts at times, but they are still there to help you out and give your child that extra dimension in relationships.
Maybe things will change in the future for us and our little chick will be able to have those relationships. And as far as getting things done, I am learning to let things go, and just enjoy the time I have with the little cherub. After all, it is not forever. If you know someone who could use a hand, be sure and offer, especially if you have got the time. You will be blessed I am sure.

Hmmm, missed one.  And this one is a couple of days old.  Still, check it out at Parableman.  No, Glenn, I didn’t put an entry in this time.

Quite some time ago I discovered Greg’s Couch, a website by Greg Johnson.  Why God is Selfish a.k.a. Theology slays Barbie religion is a good example of what its on the site.  Well, it’s not actually. There are far more graphics on that one than most of the others.  But it’s pretty cool - well, pretty, anyway.

Other articles in on his site are really good too.  It’s sad that new articles are only infrequently added, but I guess he’s got other things to do.  And have a look at the centre for christian study site - really liked the articles there!

One more article I thought good - not written by Greg but pointed out by him - is Singled Out for Good, by Paige Benton, about being single.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go look!