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Einstein eat your heart out
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Kendall K. Down
Apr 24, 2022, 2:29:56 AM4/24/22
to
St Augustine was certainly a clever cookie - though possibly he owes a
debt to Greek philosophy as well. Certainly he seems to have anticipated
Einstein in his ideas about time and space. Take these statements:
=========
If they imagine infinite spaces of time before the world, during which
God could not have been idle, in like manner they may conceive outside
the world infinite realms of space, in which, if any one says that the
Omnipotent cannot hold His hand from working, will it not follow that
they must adopt Epicurus' dream of innumerable worlds?
...
If they say that the thoughts of men are idle when they conceive
infinite places, since there is no place beside the world, we reply
that, by the same showing, it is vain to conceive of the past times of
God's rest, since there is no time before the world.
Augustine, "City of God", XI.5
=========
It seems to me that Augustine was pronouncing the space-time equivalence
as well as asserting that there was no time before the universe came
into existence.
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
debt to Greek philosophy as well. Certainly he seems to have anticipated
Einstein in his ideas about time and space. Take these statements:
=========
If they imagine infinite spaces of time before the world, during which
God could not have been idle, in like manner they may conceive outside
the world infinite realms of space, in which, if any one says that the
Omnipotent cannot hold His hand from working, will it not follow that
they must adopt Epicurus' dream of innumerable worlds?
...
If they say that the thoughts of men are idle when they conceive
infinite places, since there is no place beside the world, we reply
that, by the same showing, it is vain to conceive of the past times of
God's rest, since there is no time before the world.
Augustine, "City of God", XI.5
=========
It seems to me that Augustine was pronouncing the space-time equivalence
as well as asserting that there was no time before the universe came
into existence.
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
Mike Davis
Apr 27, 2022, 8:29:56 AM4/27/22
to
the gist. But you are using words like 'before' which has no no more
meaning than, say, 'under' or 'outside' IN THIS CONTEXT!
(I'm interested in that translation - what word did Augustine use that
actually translates as 'infinite'?)
Mike
--
Mike Davis
Kendall K. Down
Apr 27, 2022, 3:59:56 PM4/27/22
to
On 27/04/2022 13:26, Mike Davis wrote:
> Indeed, I understand what you are saying and would certainly agree with
> the gist. But you are using words like 'before' which has no no more
> meaning than, say, 'under' or 'outside' IN THIS CONTEXT!
You may well be correct, but nonetheless it is an accepted convention to
> Indeed, I understand what you are saying and would certainly agree with
> the gist. But you are using words like 'before' which has no no more
> meaning than, say, 'under' or 'outside' IN THIS CONTEXT!
say that there was no time *before* the universe came into existence.
> (I'm interested in that translation - what word did Augustine use that
> actually translates as 'infinite'?)
free from the internet - look down the bottom of the Wikipedia article
for a choice of several. I can't even remember whether it came from
Project Gutenberg or somewhere else.
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