Augstine And Time
...Time is always on the minds of people. We never have enough of it; it goes too fast and at times too slow. Augustine attempts to explain what time is in human terms but also acknowledges that this is difficult to understand when thinking of God, eternity, past, present, future, etc. In Confessions Book Eleven: Father (Origin), Chapter Three Augustine looks at the nature of time. This is where he famously wrote, “I know what it is if no one asks; but if anyone does, then I cannot explain it.” (p. 267). Augustine argues that time was created when God created the world and that He lives in a world outside of time. Time is only needed for people and that we question the meaning of time to have a deeper understanding of God. I will look critically at the explanation that St. Augustine gives of time and its human and divine aspects. I will also examine if Augustine’s description of time is still relevant today. Why is even wondering about what time is important. What was happening before creation, “the mystery of time, which is essentially bound up with the mystery of the created being” (Hausheer, 1937, p. 503).
In Book Eleven of Confessions, Augustine begins his discuss of the nature of time. Chapter Three begins with the discussion of time in relation to understanding the presence of God in our human world. Augustine writes:
There was, therefore, no time before you made anything, since time itself is something you made. No time could be eternal along with you, since you were always there; and if time were always, it would not be time. Then what is time? Who can give a brief or easy answer? Who can even form a conception of it to be put in words? Yet what do we mention more often or with more familiarity in our conversation then time? We must therefore know what we are talking about we refer to it, or when we hear someone...
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