The subject of the beginning of time was discussed long before the
discoveries of modern science. If I correctly recall my reading of
Augustine's Confessions, Augustine addressed the question of what God was
doing before He created the universe. Apparently skeptics of his day asked
this with the intention of following it up by asking why He didn't create
it sooner. Augustine indicates that some people answered that He was
creating hell for those who pried into mysteries, but he disapproves of
giving such an answer. Instead he says that the question is meaningless
because God created time along with everything else, and so there was no
such thing as time before the creation.
Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0395
On Tue, 11 Jan 2000, James W Stark wrote:
> I have found nothing in science or the Bible that establishes with much
> logical force that there was a beginning for time. It can be a useful
> assumption, if one chooses to use it. I find that it creates too many
> additional conflicts in my personal worldview, but I remain open to
> questioning that assumption. Thanks for the feedback.
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