#799 Time and God’s Victory over Evil
September 04, 2022Hey Dr. Craig, I hope your day is going well.
This is a question I haven't encountered yet, maybe you have. It was sparked by the unfortunate passing of a family dog.
As I'm studying divine eternity, obviously a huge question, in fact possibly the most crucial question, is which theory of time one adopts.
On the B theory of time, everything past, present, and future are on an ontological par. Conversely, on the A theory of time things really do come into being and go out of existence. On some level, do you think the A theory of time makes evil and suffering in the world more bearable? While I don't believe adopting this view will make grieving the loss of loved one's any easier, the thought of suffering never technically passing out of existence according to the B theory of time seems quite disturbing. I'd love to know your thoughts on this.
Christ's love,
Christian
Talbot School of Theology
United States
Dr. craig’s response
A
I have addressed this question, Christian, in chapter 5 of my book Time and Eternity (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2001). The problem you raise seems to me one of the most serious theological objections to the so-called B-Theory of time.
The idea that the world tenselessly exists seems to negate God's triumph over evil. On the B-Theory of time, evil is never really vanquished from the world: it exists just as sturdily as ever at its various locations in space-time, even if those locations are all earlier than some point in cosmic time (for example, Judgement Day). Creation is never really purged of evil on this view; at most it can be said that evil infects only those parts of creation which are earlier than certain other events. But the stain is indelible.
What this implies for events like the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is very troubling. In a sense Christ hangs permanently on the cross, for the dreadful events of AD 30 never pass away or transpire. The victory of the resurrection becomes a hollow triumph, for the spatio-temporal parts of Jesus that were crucified and buried remain dying and dead and are never raised to new life. It is unclear how we can say with Paul, "Death is swallowed up in victory!" (I Corinthians 15. 55) when Death is never really done away with on a B-Theory of time. Therefore, it seems to me that independently of the B-Theory’s philosophical or scientific problems, the theological objection to the B-Theory of time rules it out.
- William Lane Craig