Eternity
217472
223393050
2008-07-03T21:54:07Z
162.115.108.120
/* God and eternity */
{{otheruses}}
[[Image:4404 - Milano, Duomo - Monumento (1611) Consacrazione 1577 - Pietro Daverio, L'eternità - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto - 6-Dec-2007.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Eternity personified, holding the [[ourobouros]].<br>
[[Caryatid]] in the [[apse]] of [[Milan Cathedral]] (1611)<ref>[[Pietro Daverio]]: "''Eternity''". Allegorical caryatid from the Monument to [[Charles Borromeo]] in the apse of the [[Milan Cathedral]] (1611). Picture by [[User:G.dallorto|Giovanni Dall'Orto]], [[July 14]] [[2007]].</ref>]]
While in the popular mind, '''eternity''' often simply means existing for a limitless amount of [[time]], many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside of time. There are a number of [[arguments for eternity]], by which proponents of the concept, principally [[Aristotle]], purported to prove that matter, motion, and time must have existed eternally.
==Eternity as a timeless existence==
[[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote that time exists only within the created universe, so that God exists outside of time; for [[God]] there is no [[past]] or [[future]], but only an eternal present. One need not believe in God in order to hold this concept of eternity: for example, an atheist mathematician can maintain the philosophical tenet that numbers and the relationships among them exist outside of time, and so are in that sense eternal.
== God and eternity ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Open theism]] -->
Theists say that [[God]] is ''eternally existent''. How this is understood depends on which definition of eternity is used. On the one hand, God may exist ''in'' eternity, a ''timeless'' existence where categories of past, present, and future just do not apply. On the other hand, God will exist ''for'' or ''through'' eternity, or at ''all times'', having already existed for an infinite amount of time and continuing to exist for an infinite amount of time. One other definition states that God exists outside the human concept of time, but also inside of time. The reasoning for this definition is that if God did not exist both outside of time and inside of time, God would not be able to interact with humans.
Whichever definition of eternity is understood, it is common to observe that finite human beings cannot fully understand eternity, since it is either an [[infinity|infinite]] amount of the time we know or something other than the time and space we know. For the ''infinite'' definition, there are parallels that give some notion of an infinity—of at least a [[potential infinity]], or a [[sequence (mathematics)|series]] that begins and has not ended. A series of moments that has begun and not ended is however, not potentially eternal by that definition. A series of moments that has begun and not ended cannot be eternal, because even if it were to continue for the rest of (infinite) time, there would still be time prior to the initial moment in the series. The series of moments could not ever exist for ''all'' eternity because no matter what happened during the series of moments, nothing would ever cause the series of moments to have existed since the beginning of "eternity", and thus could never achieve the status of ''eternal'' or even ''potentially eternal''.
Related to the notion of eternal existence is the concept of God as Creator, as a being completely independent of "everything else" that exists because he created everything else (as against [[panentheism]]). If this premise is true, then it follows that God is independent of both space and time, since these are properties of the [[universe]]. So according to this notion, God exists before time began, exists during all moments in time, and will continue to exist if somehow the universe and time itself were to cease to exist.
Related to 'eternal life', the biblical [[revelation]] first indicated that Man as a special created being is able to grasp the abstract concept in contrast with the lower animal world which did not have the ability to understand the concept of "eternity". See book of [[Ecclesiastes]] 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set ''eternity'' in the hearts of men .." (from [[Bible]] translation in the N.I.V.). Contrast this with the ''timeless existence'' definition, which would imply animals are blessed with ''eternal life'' from birth (''because'' of their inability to grasp the concept of eternity or even ''time''), which is something mankind gave up when he was cast out of the "Garden of Eden." It is commonly believed among theists that although mankind can grasp the abstract concept of "eternity", one may only obtain "eternal ''life''" once returned to God.
See also [[the nature of God in monotheistic religions]].
== Symbolism and eternity ==
Eternity is often symbolized by the image of a snake swallowing its own tail, known as [[Ouroboros]] (or Uroboros), though the symbol can also carry a number of other connotations.
The circle is also commonly used as a symbol for eternity. The related concept, [[infinity]], is symbolized by <math>\infty</math>.
There is a folk story called "The Shepherd Boy" by the Brothers Grimm where a wise shepherd boy is brought to a king to answer three questions. The third question the king asks is "how many seconds of time are there in eternity?" To which the shepherd boy replies, "In Lower Pomerania is the Diamond Mountain, which is two miles (3 km) and a half high, two miles (3 km) and a half wide, and two miles (3 km) and a half in depth; every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on it, and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the first second of eternity will be over."
<gallery>
Image:Infinity symbol.svg|[[Infinity]] symbol variations.
Image:Armenian eternity.svg|[[Armenia]]n ancient symbol of eternity.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
Image:Ouroboros.png|[[Ouroboros]].
Image:Not-star-shaped.png|An [[Annulus (mathematics)|annulus]], a [[Celt]]ic symbol for eternity.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
</gallery>
== See also ==
{{wiktionarypar|eternity}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commonscat}}
* [[Aeon]]
* [[Arguments for eternity]]
* [[Eternalism (philosophy of time)|Eternalism]]
* [[Eternal return]]
* [[Perennial philosophy]]
* [[Presentism (philosophy of time)|Presentism]]
* [[Temporal finitism]]
* [[Time]]
** [[Philosophy of space and time|Time (philosophy)]]
** [[Sense of time|Time (psychology)]]
** [[Time in physics|Time (science)]]
==References==
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{{Time in religion and mythology}}
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[[Category:Christian eschatology]]
[[Category:Philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Philosophy of science]]
[[Category:Theology]]
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