The idea that time isn't a real tangible thing does not require God to be indistinguishable from the beginning of creation.
I would say Time is not a tangible thing in the eternal realm because there is no reference points to attach the concept of time to… but time is tangible in the finite realm because God created the reference points that “moment by moment” time is attached to. This is why I make the distinction by using the phrase “timeline of creation” instead of just Time in general.
In the beginning, God created. He is self evidently distinct from the beginning of creation regardless of the nature of time.
I agree God is “distinct from the beginning” because “the beginning” is a reference point created by God it is not referring to a point in God’s timeline in which he began something.
“The beginning” is a moment in the existence of creation’s timeline not a moment in the timeline of God’s existence.
Nor does it require God be "in" creation for God to be watching the flow of creation unfold. I would suggest He did watch, and declared it good.
If you want to apply “watching” to God’s predetermined Storyline level character
interaction with his creation then I can agree… but
if you are applying “God watching the flow of creation unfold” to the Transcendent Level of God’s
outeractions then I will have to disagree. There must be a distinction or we will end up falling in to the same inconsistency as the Open Theist by assuming God can only experience moments of his creation
the same way his characters do.
If you simply refer to Time as a whole there is no distinction between the eternal singular moment of God’s existence, before creation, and the moment by moment timeline of creation.
This assumes there is such a thing as "eternal singular moment". Not sure I can even concieve of such a thing.
I understand your point and I am not an expert on Gods eternal existence “before he created” either, but all I meant by “eternal singular moment” is that we can not identify a specific moment in
God’s timeline” to place the “beginning” of creation. God does not have a beginning reference point in order to say something like “At God’s 12,143rd moment God created the heavens and the earth”…
At what
moment can we place “creation”
in God’s “timeline”?
I can however conceive (somewhat) of God living moment by moment in fellowship of trinity from eternity past.
I understand this but I don’t believe God’s eternal “moment by moment” existence is the same as his creation’s “moment by moment” existence because of 2 Peter 3:8 which states…
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.”
Consider the number 8. Did God create that number, or did He not create it, and is actually "bound" by the number 8?
The answer is neither. It's a false dichotomy. The number 8 isn't a created thing, only a concept we connect to created things. Similar with time. It's a concept of sequencing events.
I agree God did not create an “8” thing, and I agree that it is a “concept we connect to created things” therefore “8” is meaningless without a reference point in creation. God created all the reference points for time in creation so when we are referencing time in creation we can point to a clock, or the sun, as a reference point for 8 moments in the “timeline of creation”. If we are on an island we can count the moments the sun has risen as a reference point from the beginning of our arrival. These are God created and sustained reference points for the “timeline of creation”. These reference points of time do not apply to God eternal existence with the Trinity.
The sun does not rise “8 times” as a reference point
for Gods “moment by moment” existence.
These are the reasons why I make a distinction between God’s existence and our created and sustained “moment by moment timeline” existence.
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