Divine Action and the Meaning of Eternity

Abstract

Abstract In theological and philosophical analysis of divine eternity today there are debates about whether the notion of a ‘timeless’ or ‘atemporal’ God coheres with a Christian understanding of creation and divine action in time. In this article I seek to illumine the coherence of God’s transcendence of time and his presence and action in time by analyzing the concept of motion and the role it might play in an account of divine action and divine eternity. This will involve considering the reflections of some major authors of the Christian tradition on divine eternity and divine action and then exploring how those reflections are rooted in scriptural teaching on God and his relationship to the world. After describing how a right understanding of divine action bears on our understanding of God’s eternity, I will then suggest some specific ways in which this approach can shed light on the nature of God’s action in creation and providence.