Ever stopped to ponder what 'In the beginning...' really means? In this episode of 'Why Did Peter Sink?', the host takes a deep dive into the concept of time as introduced in the Bible. These three simple words challenge ancient and modern beliefs alike, suggesting that time had a distinct starting point. This notion shakes up long-held ideas, from the ancient view of time as a flat circle to modern theories like the Big Bang. Why does this matter?

Because it reshapes our understanding of everything from creation to our ultimate destiny. The host navigates through these complex ideas with ease, making you question what you thought you knew about time. If you're curious about how faith and science intersect, or if you just love a good philosophical debate, this episode is for you. Tune in and get ready to see time in a whole new light.

Dive into 'The Inversions (1)' and rethink the concept of time. Discover how the Bible's view challenges ancient and modern beliefs.

Rethinking Time: A Fresh Look at Biblical Inversions

When we read “In the beginning…” we must stop right there to contemplate the first inversion. The bible begins with these three words and tips over an apple-cart of worldviews. This idea of time having a beginning upsets various ancient and modern philosophies by saying, “I respectfully disagree: time had a beginning.” Many people then and now will claim that time has always existed, that there was no beginning. The bible inverts this idea. Why is this radical? It depends on where you live and what worldview you have been taught. Many in the ancient world believed that time was a flat circle, or that time always existed, or that time is an illusion. Many people today also believe those same ideas, and have added more variations, such as that time is a social construct. Most people today accept the Big Bang theory, which mostly aligns with the opening phrase of the bible, but not everyone accepts it.None of the ideas of “circular” or “cyclic” time fit with the Jewish and Christian view of time. The circular time models are kind of like the Ouroboros of a snake-eating its own tail. This image is a good metaphor for the view of time that many hold, such as believers in karma or reincarnation or Stoicism or The Matrix or Groundhog Day. “In the beginning” swings an axe to the root of these beliefs and philosophies. For instance, Hindus and Buddhists are on the outside looking in just from these three little words. Beliefs about “eternal return” and reincarnation suggest an infinite loop. Stoics, too, did not believe in “a beginning” but rather the idea of eternal return. Genesis may have been written down before the Stoics or the Pythagoreans wrote down their ideas, but the idea of circular time was around long before the Greeks or Moses spilled ink on the topic. But the message of scripture is that Genesis clearly disagrees with the “eternal return” time loop. “In the beginning” takes this declaration even further when we get to the creation story, because time itself was created. Another way of saying this is that time is a creature. Time was created just like planets and people. The same goes for energy or gravity. There is a beginning, and that beginning was created by God. What the bible does not say is that there are multiple beginnings. Genesis does not start with “In this beginning…” or “In the current beginning…” or “In the 999th beginning…” There are not multiple beginnings, there is one beginning. This time and space that we are living in had one beginning. Now if the Creator wanted to have more than one version of the universe, he could do that. Moreover, there may have been other beginnings, but we don’t know - nor do we need to know for our salvation. And here is a critical point of this inversion and all that follow: The books of the bible tell us exactly what we need to know for our salvation - and no more. What sacred scripture gives us is all that we will ever need to do good works and seek the highest good, which is God. Worth noting here as well is that the word “salvation” is based on the word “salve,” as in healing medicine. The sacred books administer to us all that we need for our healing. This is hard to accept for modern people. We want more data, more information. We want certainty. But the bible opens with one of the greatest mysteries of all, which is time. These mysteries, if you come to understand the inversions, are wonderful things to ponder without ever knowing the answer. This is what St. Paul meant when he spoke of seeing through a glass darkly: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” So it goes with our understanding of time. What the bible says (without saying so) is what we partially know by instinct: if there are other time-space continuums, we cannot fully know it - not yet - because we can only know the time and space we live within now. Multiple universes? Yes, there could be, but it doesn’t really matter for our salvation. Could there have been a million beginnings before this one? Yes, but it doesn’t matter for our salvation. Once we know this, we can call our mothers or invite a neighbor over for a pop. Once time is accepted as having one beginning, we can move on and live happily without worrying about all of the possible other beginnings and endings. This universe is the only time and space where we eat, sleep, marry, raise children, and die. This is simple to understand and allows us to go ahead and get started doing just those things. Time is a gift to us - it is not a curse, but a cure. In the time we have, God gives us all sufficient grace to understand our purpose and place in time. All of creation is something like a book that has a first page, or a movie with its opening scene. Consider a play like Macbeth, where the opening line is the First Witch in a deserted place saying: “When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” Surely, within Shakespeare’s pile of manuscripts, there could have been an alternative opening line. Perhaps in alternate manuscripts the witches would have decided to meet at the mall or in a nightclub. But in the book we have, they intend to meet again “In thunder, lightning, or in rain.” There could have been infinite other manuscripts, with infinite other opening lines, with wild versions like one where Macbeth makes balloon animals for Duncan, or where Lady MacBeth starts a food drive - but we will never know, and none of those other manuscripts are relevant for our understanding of the play Macbeth. In the play that exists, the one that we read, Macbeth is forever going to slay Duncan and Lady Macbeth always will be power-hungry. Whether or not Shakespeare wrote other versions, the version we have is what is. It has a beginning and an ending. As for the ending, Jesus mentions a cliffhanger about the “age to come” without great detail, telling people that it is only for the Father to know when the world will end, and not for him to reveal it. He came to tell us what we need to know, not what we want to know. This confirms that sacred scripture gives us only what we need, and no more. Our curiosity is the cause of so much of our trouble and Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, is all too aware of our catlike ways. Rather than give away the ending, Jesus is that good friend who already saw the movie but doesn’t spill the spoiler. The end is not to be announced, otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a climax. A natural question for our intellect is: “What is the nature of time?” Who does not look into the night sky and ponder time? Who does not look at a fading photograph of past memories and consider the march of hours? Who has not been at a funeral of a loved one and wondered where did all the time go? But in this question, “What is the nature of time?” we can get lost. This question alone is enough to take us into a wilderness of intellectual drift. To simplify it, consider the two basic answers: Time is circular, or time is linear. The inversion states that the answer is a both/and. Time is linear, with cycles of events within time that appear to repeat but are unique. As a whole, what is needed for our understanding there is a beginning and an ending. Physicists speak of “the arrow of time,” which actually matches the idea of biblical time and salvation history. It is linear, not an endless loop. Yet there are loops within the arrow. We have lives that begin and end, like circles moving along the arrow. If you look at the shape of a nautilus shell or a galaxy or a hurricane, you may get a sense of this arrow of time and the patterns within it. There are loops within time of beginnings and endings. We cannot think of anything without time and space invading our ideas, but God can because he created space and time. God is eternal. Eternal means “outside of time.” We, on the other hand, are not outside of time - we are temporal. God does not experience time like we do. Thus, he already knows the beginning and the ending. But we do not. Now, this can spin us round and round until we fall down over the concepts of fate and free-will, but rest assured, both are true. God knows our fate, yet we have free-will. This is a wonderful paradox to embrace, not something to despair over. In fact, this makes reading a play like Macbeth, where fate and free-will are a heavy theme, much more enjoyable. Thus, this first inversion of the bible about time prunes away many alternative worldviews. Socrates and Greek mythology are some of the last ideas standing after a mere three words. Reincarnation is out. Karma is out. Stoicism is out. The Matrix is out. Groundhog Day is out. Before we even reach the fourth word of the bible, every circular and illusory view of time is set aside as error. The worldview of Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Elijah, Mary, and Jesus declares a beginning, which means there will also be an end. To say that “time began” is a declaration. It is a rudder for living in troubled waters and windy seas, for the journey's destination has a purpose beyond power, money, wealth, or pleasure. Moreover, it assures one in difficulty that “This too shall pass.” Atheists ask, “If time was created, what was God doing before that?” But the answer is simple: the question makes no sense to the Christian view of time. They don’t understand what they are asking, because before creation, time did not exist. “In the beginning…” is before time. Only God was, because God is. He is Being Itself. This is why when Moses asks for God’s name, the answer is “I am.” This is mind-bending but worth pondering, for there is nothing without the Being of God’s Being. (More on this in upcoming inversions.) When we misunderstand time and who created it, we can get in trouble as to who will conclude time and how it will happen. What we need to know is only this:Time began. Time was created. Time will end. As for “the end,” it is coming. The end will arrive when God’s will is done, not ours. When the end comes, there will be no time to modify our behavior or turn back, “for as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Thus, there is no need to be concerned with when time as we know it will end, just as we need not worry about exactly when time began. Sufficient for our salvation and sanity is to know: time began; time will end. The best answer to this mystery of time is exactly as Job concluded about other gifts of creation: “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” To experiment in the belief of eternal return, or circular time, is to go dancing on slippery rocks that may lead to a concussion and mental instability. The only answers on the circular loop of those slippery rocks is nihilism or the will-to-power. Why? Because when time is just a loop, God is not the one that gives life. If all will fade away and return over and over, self-destruction or self-salvation is the only means to get off the spinning wheel. Oblivion or victory: choose your escape. For physicists and philosophers, it is an enjoyable task to argue over the nature of time, or string theory, or the multiverse, or other speculations, but for those who have to get kids to school and laundry to fold, “In the beginning…” is enough. Truly, a lifetime can be spent pondering the nature of time and its many theories. This is wonderful for those who can afford such a lifestyle, but not practical for most. And here’s the funny thing: this idea of “In the beginning…” is where the greatest philosophers and scientists have ended up anyway, such as Plato, Aquinas, and most recently Stephen Hawking. The conclusion that came to both St. Augustine and Albert Einstein, after spending years pondering time, was Genesis 1:1. They both said, yes, it’s true: “In the beginning” is correct. But we do not need to be Stephen Hawking or St. Augustine to understand this, as the Word of God has the answer you need in the first three words. A child or adult can sleep peacefully knowing that “In the beginning” is the correct understanding of the nature of time. Time began. Time will end. For those who have to live in the world, the declaration of “In the beginning” fits with reality, where we see beginnings and endings everywhere: of days, of meals, of classes, of jobs, of friendships, of automobiles, of diets, of seasons, of wars, of affections, of plants, of pets. Within the arrow of time we observe little beginnings and endings, and they are not purely circular and going nowhere or repeating without meaning; they are the same, yet unique, like every human life or nautilus shell. They may look the same, but they are all going somewhere and they cannot be repeated in the same way again, ever. Thus our time in creation is our one chance. This is not just a read-through or simulation or a scrimmage: this is the real thing. The next inversion we will look at is the very next word that follows “In the beginning…” That word is God.Further reading: Horn, Trent. “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/thinking-deeply-about-the-nature-of-time">Thinking Deeply About the Nature of Time</a>.” Catholic Answers. 23 July. 2020. https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/thinking-deeply-about-the-nature-of-timeBarr, Stephen. “<a target="_blank" href="https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/augustines-push-against-the-limits-of-time/">St. Augustine’s Relativistic Theory of Time</a>.” Church Life Journal, 7 Feb. 2020, https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/augustines-push-against-the-limits-of-time/.Augustine of Hippo. Confessions. Penguin, 2008. Book 11. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://whydidpetersink.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">whydidpetersink.substack.com</a>

The Inversions (1): Time

Faith-Based Recovery

Addiction

Recovery

Religion and Spirituality

Mental Health

Personal Recovery Stories

Relationships

Self-Help

Society and Culture

Substance Abuse

Alcohol, Addiction & Recovery

Creativity & Innovation

Sexual Health & Wellbeing

Health & Wellness

Substance Abuse & Drug Recovery

Financial Empowerment

Comedy & Culture

Family & Relationships

A story of addiction, fitness, faith, and recovery. "He stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, 'Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Listen to hear the answer to "Why Did Peter Sink?" Start on "Episode 1: Blue Light" to begin the story. <a href="https://www.whydidpetersink.com?utm_medium=podcast">www.whydidpetersink.com</a>

Why Did Peter Sink?

Ever stopped to ponder what 'In the beginning...' really means? In this episode of 'Why Did Peter Sink?', the host takes a deep dive into the concept of time as introduced in the Bible. These three simple words challenge ancient and modern beliefs alike, suggesting that time had a distinct starting point. This notion shakes up long-held ideas, from the ancient view of time as a flat circle to modern theories like the Big Bang. Why does this matter?Because it reshapes our understanding of everything from creation to our ultimate destiny. The host navigates through these complex ideas with ease, making you question what you thought you knew about time. If you're curious about how faith and science intersect, or if you just love a good philosophical debate, this episode is for you. Tune in and get ready to see time in a whole new light.

Start on "Episode 1: Blue Light" to find out.

Why Did Peter Sink?

The Inversions (1): Time

The Inversions (1): Time

The Inversions (1): Time

Wednesday 17th January 2024

About this podcast

Why Did Peter Sink?

Rethinking Time: A Fresh Look at Biblical Inversions

Episode Overview