Answerer

Well, only future discoveries could give us the answer of what time actually is. Anyway just curious, Eh, are you a student or physicist?

Bill

This is a standard theistic argument, used to prove that "God did it." It is formally known as the "Kalam" argument, after the ancient school of Muslim philosophy which originally developed this as an apologetical argument for God. <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/index.shtml" target="_blank">Graham Oppy</a> has written extensively about William Lane Craig's version of the Kalam argument, and the Infidels are proud to have several of his articles on-line, <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/t_finite.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>, <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/davies.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>, and <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/graham_oppy/reply.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Professor Adolf Grünbaum takes on Craig's Kalam argument <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/adolf_grunbaum/comments.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.

Frankly, I think that the whole idea that it is impossible for there to be an infinite amount of past time is just so much nonsense. I mean, Christians have no problem at all in hypothesizing an infinite amount of future time. So, just why is an infinite amount of past time such a daunting idea that they must dismiss it out of hand? Certainly, we cannot argue that the present moment does not exist. And what is the present moment but one single point on a timeline that stretches off into the past and future for at least nearly inconceivable amounts of time?

Frankly, the only argument against an infinite amount of past time is the fact that Genesis 1 says that God created everything, and they read that to include creating time as well. But if God has existed for an infinite amount of past time, then there must have been an infinite amount of past time within which God might have existed. So, why can't we dispense with God (an unnecessary hypothesis for sure) and just rely upon the infinite amount of past time that we need to fill up our theories?

Ever since the invention of Calculus, we have had a far better understanding of infinite amounts of this or that. Even finite intervals of time contain an infinite number of moments. So, exactly what is so daunting about an infinite number of finite lengths of past time, each containing an infinite number of past moments? I, for one, don't see this as being a worthy argument in the least.

== Bill

echidna

Hmmm, sounds a bit to me like a wishful attempt to parallel the Hindu version of universal death and rebirth. Does not the latest cosmological data indicate that the universe will not collapse back to a Big Crunch ? Their theory then relies on the hope that some unknown fifth dimension will pull everything back together.

Can’t remember, but apart from the 6 tightly wrapped dimensions of string theory, I thought a fourth spacial dimension was largely discredited.

The trouble I have with this plethora of new universe models, is that they seem to offer spectacularly few practical predictive features. It would seem to me that at least for the foreseeable future, humanity is approaching the limits of its knowledge. I fear Cosmology is descending towards undergraduates simply playing “SimUniverse”.

Speculation about the universe which must exist outside our universe does seem to be remarkably (or cunningly ) intangible.

eh

Just a casual reader of all them nice physics books. I guess it's just a fascinating hobby for me. And you?

eh

Bill,

The problem I have with infinite regress into the past is as follows. We can easily say that the universe will exist for an eternity into the future. The thing is, now matter how far into the future you go, you'll never reach infinity.

That is because infinity is not a real number. Go trillions and trillions of years into the future, and you're no closer to reaching infinity than you were before you left on your time traveling journey.

But with infinite regress, we have already reached infinity before the creation of our own universe. That means we have an infinite amount of events, and an infinite amount of time before our big bang. How are we here at all?

Anyway, theists will try to solve this problem by posting a God who himself exists an infinite amount of time before the BB. If there is no before the BB to speak of, then both God and infinite regress are killed with the same stone. Are we at least somewhat on the same page here?

Answerer

Well, they tried but their theories are far too simplistic and irrational. Besides, who knows that God won't create another universe and Adam. The existence of God only create more questions than answers.