tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post1141853883166904105..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: Time Present & Time PastRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-3493129091523276542008-10-12T14:02:00.000-04:002008-10-12T14:02:00.000-04:00ANNOYED PINOY SAID:“Speaking of the idea of a mult...ANNOYED PINOY SAID:<BR/><BR/>“Speaking of the idea of a multiverse, Steve, do you think that the Christian conception of God and His ways would preclude the possibility of a multiverse?”<BR/><BR/>I don’t have any a priori moral or theological objection to that possibility.<BR/><BR/>“What if the apparent contradictions and discrepancies in the Gospels (in fact the entire Bible) were due to God's preserving and recording the histories of various universes into one (or each) universe.”<BR/><BR/>You can entertain that hypothetical as a purely imaginary thought-experiment, if you like. But it’s irrelevant to real Bible history. And that’s not the proper way to deal with apparent contradictions and discrepancies in Scripture. <BR/><BR/>“Not being a theologian or philosopher, I'm not exactly sure how Calvinists account for personal identity through time in light of the law of identity.”<BR/><BR/>You can ground personal identity in the decree. God has a complete concept of everyone, and he instantiates his complete concept over time. Personal identity would have reference to the abstract totality, which concrete instances selectively exemplify.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-25919488599580239032008-10-12T12:43:00.000-04:002008-10-12T12:43:00.000-04:00This story reminds me of the movie "Time Cop", the...This story reminds me of the movie "Time Cop", the television show "Time Trax", and the book (and movie) "Timeline". In the book Timeline, people "traveled back" into the past by the use of science developed from quantum mechanic. In the story, they didn't ACTUALLY travel back in time. Excursions in the past actually created a new universe in the multiverse and the people who "left" didn't actually enter another universe. In reality, they ceased to exist because they were annihilated. A new universe was created in which they seemed to abruptly enter that universe (which had the appearance of age).<BR/>Maybe I'm confusing Timeline with Jet Li's movie "The One". Anyway....<BR/><BR/>Speaking of the idea of a multiverse, Steve, do you think that the Christian conception of God and His ways would preclude the possibility of a multiverse? Would it denigrate the dignity of an individual person? What if they could never interact with universes outside of themselves? Wouldn't that preserve the individuals dignity? Since, Thomas Dough in universe X who chose to become a doctor, never interacts or knows anything about the the Thomas Dough who choose to become a drug dealer in universe R. <BR/><BR/>What if the apparent contradictions and discrepancies in the Gospels (in fact the entire Bible) were due to God's preserving and recording the histories of various universes into one (or each) universe. In which case, there really is no contradiction. So, for example, the Judas in the universe Matthew was written in, is a "different" Judas than the one in the book of Acts. In which case, there really is no contradiction between the descriptions of the death of Judas in Matthew and in Acts. Why couldn't the similarity between the Judas in Matthew and Acts be close enough that they can be indentified as "one" in one sense, and "two" in another. Enough unity that we can derive the intended lessions from the Bible that God would have us learn. But different enough that it resolves seeming Bible contradictions and discrepancies?<BR/><BR/>If God can assign and maintain identity for ONE person in one universe even though the person changes through time; why not in multiverses? Possibly four. One for each gospel. <BR/><BR/>Not being a theologian or philosopher, I'm not exactly sure how Calvinists account for personal identity through time in light of the law of identity. If A ceases to be A, how can it still be A? I Albert of 4 years old, ceases to be the same (i.e. have the exact same molecular structure; believes, fears, preferences, etc) as Abert of 40 years old; how are they the same person? Because of the same unchanging soul? Isn't this the very reason why Plato denied that knowledge was possible in the this world of illusion since only in the realm of Ideas/Forms do realities not change (remain the same, and so are truly "knowable").ANNOYED PINOYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00714774340084597206noreply@blogger.com